Smiff Bolt Wrecker

[ivan]

whilst laying siege to monkey face y-day, i learned the lesson that bolts ain't necessarily as bad ass as you might think. about half way up the bolt ladder, i was attached to a big, solid metolious hanger, high-stepping in all of my 6'7" glory so i could skip a bolt. just as i clipped my daisy at the limit of my reach...POP! i swung a bit, felt confused, looked down...there, still attaching to monsieur fifi hook was the hanger, complete w/ 4 inch bolt and washer (i could just make out the metallic ringing of the sleeve which was bouncing it's way down 3 pitches). i was very happy my upper daisy had just been clipped, as i only fell an inch or so. also, to make life easier for my partner, i'd only been clipping every 4 bolts or so!

 

maybe i'll post a picture tomorrow. the bolt makes for a nice keep-sake.

[schnitzem]

Not a suprise, you can pull out a number of the bolts on the west face by hand.

[Dru]

The next time Dan's Dreadful Direct gets retroed we will just get Ivan to aid it instead of sending Mitch up with the love bar.

[markd]

what kind of bolt was it that popped? i thought they were all pretty new.

 

the west face route was just rebolted by ryan, thomas and chip, so those bolts should be pretty good now.

[billcoe]

what kind of bolt was it that popped? i thought they were all pretty new.

 

the west face route was just rebolted by ryan, thomas and chip, so those bolts should be pretty good now.

 

Dude, if thats not a wake up call to lose some weight.......

 

BTW, next time I see you, if I have my yellow chalkbag, reach in the bottom and I have a Yos. bolt hanger my second popped (John Petrosky- who must have weighed perhaps 150 at the time) on the first bolt of the former bolt ladder on NE Butress of Middle Cathedral. It went free right after that at a moderate 5.10C.

[Hanger]

Yep, perdy exciting

 

I heard a *POP* (woke me up outta my sleep...gotta love belaying aid)

 

Then...*ping, ping, ping, ping, ping*...down went the (presumable) sleeve

 

Eric was feeling pretty burly as it was...for P2, he worked the 5.9 sh*t rock crack, as opposed to traversing the death-rope-drag 5.4 variation...he took about a 10' fall on, what appeared to be, a manky cam

 

Let's see...all of this after my near loss of a nalgene bottle to the river's foilage below...and a near loss of a #3 stopper on P1

 

Great route, great pardner, great time

 

Sp what are we doing next weekend E?

[ivan]

what kind of bolt was it that popped? i thought they were all pretty new.

 

the west face route was just rebolted by ryan, thomas and chip, so those bolts should be pretty good now.

metolious bolt is all i know..quite new n' shiny. what fucked it was the direction of pull. the bolt i was stretching way out to clip required me to lean back on the bolt i was fified to, so the pull was coming strait out.

 

a novel experience, and much fun on the west side of monkey phallus, as rob n' i tried out all the variations possible for pitch 2 (the left most one being the most enjoyable pitch of the day)

[billcoe]

Must be the West face Variation route, Not West Face. Both are fine routes, but the bolt must have been on the Pioneer Bolt Ladder (Upper West Fast Variation finish) and not one of the new West Face Bolts?

 

Sounds like a good time was had! If it was me, I'd probably still be wiping up the sh*t dribbling down my leg from the sudden shock of it.

[ivan]

ya, the west face variation, i'm not quite up for 5.12 or whatever the west face goes at. i was in fact on the pioneer route's bolt ladder, which is now going to require a high step to complete.

[corvallisclimb]

i did the pioneer route a few weeks ago... the bolts are huge 1/2 inch or somethin... but i did notice one or two that i felt suspect of some movement but wasnt quite sure if it was because it was like 6am and i was fuckin tired and cold or what. who knows, that woulda been quite the shock on a route like that. would have been interesting if first ascent had a group out there and saw there leader take a whippper on the bolt ladder

[billcoe]

I think Markd was refering to the West Face route, which saw a bunch of 1/4 star dryvin bolts get replaced after a zipper - like 6 or something bolts in a row pulled.

 

BTW, Ivan, the West Face (not WF Variation) got easier as an aid line when it went free as a couple of more bolts were added at that point on the first pitch. P2 and P 3 are a bolt line. You might consider putting that one on your "bolts to be ripped out/zippered" list as its a real nice route to do on aid! Small wired RP nuts and carabiners is pretty much the gear list I think (better check the book, I really don't remember for sure).

 

Besides, once you do it, then the rest of us will know for a fact that it will hold us!

 

The old 1/4 dryvins were very interesting to get on, might not be many left at this point.

[ClimbingCowboy]

I don't think Ivan can afford to loose anymore bodyfat. He's outside the median size of the population. Time for "Ivan-style" equipment and routes. God knows I've had to listen to him bitch (for good reason)about routes made for 5'8" climbers.

[Hanger]

It's keeping up with the stride of a 6'7" giant on the flatlands...makes me feel like a freakin midget

 

Okay, E, let's hit the West Face...I'll take P2, I need the practice

[Jim_T]

Ahhh so that was you!!! We went up on Sunday to do the Pioneer Route (first time aid climbing for both of us). I got halfway up the bolt ladder only to find a bolt missing, and no way to reach the next one!

 

We rapped down but didn't want to give up, so my partner ran back to the car to get a big collapsible tent pole while I fashioned a clip stick out of a biner, rubber band, and two shoelaces tied together. We got back on the climb, up to the missing bolt, I assembled the tent pole gadget, and clipped the bolt above my head. Amazingly, it worked and I was able to tie some slings to my aider to climb above the missing bolt. Good thing, too - I would have hated to leave a 20 foot tent pole hanging from the wall!

 

[ivan]

i thought about just sticking the bolt back in the hole and setting up a camera to watch the poor soul who next wandered upon it...i think maybe the tent pole solution is more amusing! wow, tremendous dedication too to run all the damn way back to the car.

 

i think that those familiar w/ aid might still be able to top-step to get past this section. giants like meself need not worry.

[corvallisclimb]

wow, tremendous dedication too to run all the damn way back to the car.

 

yeah i cant imagine being half way up the bolt ladder then bailing, and coming back the same day

[Jim_T]

Ivan - thanks for not sticking that bolt back in - that would have freaked me out!

 

You might be right about being able to aid past the missing bolt without a cheatstick, but I can't imagine how. The next bolt was probably 6 feet above my head and I couldn't hold myself up to stand on the top step of my aiders. But then, I'm no giant ...

[bigwalling]

Thats pretty funny! I did this thing a week before you and was thinking that the bolts looked really good compared to some stuff I've done. My fifteen minute clip-up was the next guys rap and run to the car and run back and send clip up.

[rbw1966]

are your fists sore from beating your chest yet?

[ivan]

shit, takes me at least 15 minutes of cursing at my fahqing adjustable aiders before i can even clip the 2nd bolt...

[Alpinfox]

 

So is anyone going to replace the bolt? Would a glue-in be better?

 

Until the bolt is replaced, do you think it's better to hook the bolt-hole or bring a stick? Or can non-giants really top-step past it?

 

I was thinking of doing this route during the Smiffay rope up and will bring a bolt (Rawl 5 piece) with me if it hasn't been replaced by then.

[corvallisclimb]

Until the bolt is replaced, do you think it's better to hook the bolt-hole or bring a stick? Or can non-giants really top-step past it?

 

ive asked the same question before, depending on the angle of the rock hooking would be a fine option, a talon or bat hook woud work. its your call though stick clip or hook, but who knows by the time your there i wouldnt be surprised if the bolts allready been replaced on a route like that. just my non-professional 2 cents

[ivan]

the bolt yanked because of an outward, not downward pull. i bet you could just stick a free bolt back in the hole, gingerly move up a little bit, then clip the rope higher to the next good bolt and continue aiding up, removing the sketchy bolt 'fore you go.

 

it's only appropriate there be a lot more sketch on a monkey puss route

[billcoe]

So is anyone going to replace the bolt? Would a glue-in be better?

 

Until the bolt is replaced, do you think it's better to hook the bolt-hole or bring a stick? Or can non-giants really top-step past it?

 

I was thinking of doing this route during the Smiffay rope up and will bring a bolt (Rawl 5 piece) with me if it hasn't been replaced by then.

 

Better IMO, to brigna stick. Hooks will wear through the rock real fast.

 

BTW, Ivan, isn't the hole larger than 3/8"? Like 1/2 or 5/8 diameter? Might be showing up with a 3/8 bolt will do nothing for you. Better to check it out and replace with something that fits, otherwise you'll have to redrill.

[ivan]

i believe they're 1/2 inch, but then i've never placed a bolt before and generally eschew sport climbing. i still have the bolt at home, maybe i'll take a picture and post it.