Beacon Rock Notice

[ClimbingCowboy]

The tree adds charecter to the route and the shade is nice. My primary objective should be to use gear and the rock as an anchor - when possible. The SE route gets inexperienced and/or lazy leaders. An experienced leader should know better. I say the leader because its obvious they are responsible for for setting a safe anchor. That can be attributed to a number of factors (time, weather, experience). Joseph has posted two ideas that will help in spreading the word:1)rapelling from the nearby anchor and 2)a notice on the board. 'Course none of that will work if a person is against the tree or reading the board.

 

In reading Joseph's posts from 2004, in 2004, my first impressions are currently unchanged - favorable. There seemed to be an initial (clique) I was concerned about. But in remembering that nothing had really been done at Beacon in the late 90's and into this century, that what the group was doing made sense, and a work-party call had been sent out.

 

What a lively debate this has been. Drink more beer and bond. Now that I live in Chicago and climb at Devils Lake and the Palisades (both state parks in Wisconsin and Illinois (and also the closest being 2 hours away)); it's all trad!

[ivan]

in retrospect, my favorite experience i've yet had ont he 2nd pitch of the corner was w/ the aformentioned 2-step'n fool! ha, todd, how the hell are the flatlands? shame you ain't round still, i could scare the shit outta ya!

 

man, taking all the bolts of the last pitch of YW would definetly make it more fun! i love that pitch, best of the route i think

[billcoe]

After talking with Bill I wanted to reiterate a point and be explicit about another.

 

I guess my bottom line is if you want to achieve any of the following results:

 

- Get route development on the NW Face opened back up.

- Cooperatively monitor the Peregrines to help determine the extent, scope, and duration of each year's closure.

- Get the West face out from under the Peregrine closure.

- Get the East face closure revisited and reexamined in part or in whole.

- Get a clear and shared understanding and agreement on route "cleaning" so we can operate transparently.

- Get the fixed pro approval/route development process changed from a per placement basis to a per route basis.

- To establish pre-opening and post-closure work sessions to get work done that is too hazardous to accomplish during the open season.

- To insure us "locals" are positioned to partner with the BRSP Staff in the next review/revision of the BRSP Climbing Management Plan.

 

And if you think you can do it with no credibility, no track record besides a bad one (in their eyes), and no formal standing - then, hey, go for it. And you may be able to build the requisite relationships with the human beings representing the various agencies by smack-talking them and trying to "hide" information from them on one hand (bad faith) while putting on the appearance of operating in good faith, but I can't - and further, I won't.

 

Again, none of this is a good time for me, I'd rather be doing something else like climbing and putting up routes. From my personal perspective it's a matter of holding on to the events, behaviors, and attitudes of the past while nothing gets done besides endless bitching and moaning or sucking it up, taking a few [minimal] risks, and try to move forward.

 

 

 

Apparently no one cares.

 

I went home last night and thought this thread over. Know something. I started getting somewhat disturbed. That's a pretty rare thing for me. In fact, it kind of started to piss me off. In a way, it reminds me of that nursery rhyme with the little red hen somewhat. You know the one, One day as the Little Red Hen was scratching in a field, she found a grain of wheat.

 

"This wheat should be planted," she said. "Who will plant this grain of wheat?"

 

"Not I," said the Duck.

 

"Not I," said the Cat.

 

"Not I," said the Dog.

 

"Then I will," said the Little Red Hen. And she did.

 

(that process goes on for a while)

 

Later…………

 

When the wheat was threshed, the Little Red Hen said, "Who will take this wheat to the mill?"

 

"Not I," said the Duck.

 

"Not I," said the Cat.

 

"Not I," said the Dog.

 

"Then I will," said the Little Red Hen. And she did.

 

She took the wheat to the mill and had it ground into flour. Then she said, "Who will make this flour into bread?"

 

"Not I," said the Duck.

 

"Not I," said the Cat.

 

"Not I," said the Dog.

 

"Then I will," said the Little Red Hen. And she did.

 

She made and baked the bread. Then she said, "Who will eat this bread?"

 

"Oh! I will," said the Duck.

 

"And I will," said the Cat.

 

"And I will," said the Dog.

 

"No, No!" said the Little Red Hen. "I will do that." And she did.

_________________________________________________________

 

Except in the climbing version, the dog the cat and the duck start yelling "WTF are you even "baking the bread" for you F*ing asswipe? Lets sit here and see if it will just get better.

 

It’s one thing to be just vaguely ambivalent. There are lots of people who haven’t weighed in because they either want to be out of the loop or just are. I was thinking how many great folks/good climbrs/interesting people have been absent lately. Haven’t seen Steve Strauch or Neil Olsen for quite some time. I know Steve Lyford is getting back into it, as was Mark Cartier. But there doesn’t seem to be any support or help out there. Lot of apathy in general. I do damn little and that leaves Joseph pulling almost the entire load with an occasional assist from left field via that person or another.

 

I was going to head out there with JH this Sunday, but now I don't want to go out there this weekend. I have a project I'm cleaning elsewhere that’s gonna be a classic sometime, and that’s where I'll be in case any of you ungrateful bitc*hes give a fuck.

 

Joseph might feel putting in the time as an unpaid bureaucrat, WITH NO SUPPORT OR HELP AND DAMN LITTLE ENCOURAGEMENT justifies the end results he laid out (copy above): but as no one else seems to Give a F*,: Fu*Kit, I'm done.

 

 

[ivan]

perhaps treebeard you'd be more content as boromir?

 

the way i see it, there's still plenty of cool folks at beacon to enjoy with....

[JosephH]

Bill,

 

I very much appreciate the support, but I actually think we've had a pretty good vetting of folks' impressions, desires, feelings, doubts, and fears around the issues. I appreciate the comments of all involved as they give us "locals" the possibility of coming to, as crimper put it, some "understanding"; even if that doesn't necessarily mean a unanimous consensus. Somewhere along the line we, as a locals group, have to start singing something roughly recognizable to outsiders as the "same song" and this is a start, however rough and tenuous.

 

I admit, this is a big change in the status quo, and I/we possibly could have handled it better relative to the community at large, but time and resources being what they were, along with the desire to keep it a "locals" effort, this is how it ended up transpiring. Personally I'd love to see what Vern, Eric, Mark, and yes - even you Kevin - could put up on the NW face and I'd love to reclaim some of the West face routes. In the long, long term (and quite possibly never) I'd love to see three routes up the 600' of black streaked dihedrals on the NE face/corner. No one, though, myself, the BRSP, WDFW, or anyone else is making guarantees or promises of outcomes - but nothing ventured, nothing gained; and to venture we have to vest, risk, and trust again and hope for the best - not all that different a requirement than for climbing itself. It's a political venture to be sure, but one we should be able to navigate if we step up as partners in the process operating in good faith and out in the open.

 

And the last outcome I'd want to see is for any of you motherf#ckers to not show up even if it's to bitch me out. And that includes you Bill - goddamnit, I've been waiting for that f#cking foot of yours to heal; tasting it is alright, but don't stick it all the way in your mouth just yet. Bring that punked out ass out to Beacon Sunday and don't make me come get you...

[ivan]

i wanna be there sunday - we'll see if i can find company...

[mattp]

I think Bill Coe makes a good point, and it is something we struggle with all over the place. We sorely need to become more organized and find ways to address access, environmental or ethics issues in a manner that encourages climbers to participate and which increases our standing and credibility with the land managers but there is a tendency for most climbers not to get involved and some seem only to know how to complain or take pot shots when they don’t like what they see going on.

 

Are those who complain “bad people?” No. It is part of human nature that we often don’t really think about a situation until we notice something we don’t like.

 

Also, those “malcontents” probably have some good points. Just because they haven’t shown up for any work parties doesn’t mean they haven’t thought about the issues or that they have no right to comment.

 

Joseph has made several posts about wanting feedback and indicating a willingness to work with climbers holding different views. I hope more climbers will get involved.

 

One thing to remember is that those who step forward to try to organize things have only gotten involved at that level because they have strong feelings about some issue and it is only natural that others may disagree with some of their views. Remember, too, that these folks are never elected but they are volunteers: if you want smooth-talking politicians who will never offend anybody in this role, you better start forming formal organizations and collecting a lot of money so you can pay them.

 

Whether you think any of this is good or bad or a mixture of the two, the best thing you can do is to show up (at the crag or here on the Internet or whereverelse that climbers are getting together) and get involved. If at some point you feel that your voice is not being heard, STICK WITH IT.

 

[JosephH]

===================

Beacon Rock Update - 10/16/05...

===================

 

SE Corner Tree:

 

Slings and rap rings were removed today.

 

SE Corner P2 Anchor:

 

Slings and rings were also removed from this anchor. This anchor on the first pass just had the hangers replaced. It will be redone shortly to bring the two hangers into closer proximity. How many of you actually do this rap or see folks doing it?

 

Grey Sling Swap Out:

 

The gray slings on SE Corner and the main SE descent raps were swapped out for black webbing so they are not mistaken for 'weathered' slings by beginners.

 

General Issues

 

SE Corner P2 Slab Cam Removed: For those of you that hug the dihedral, the mangled cam is now gone. It came out fairly reasonably by manipulating all four cam tips at the same time with fingers.

 

Joseph Healy

Beacon Rock Climber's Association

[crimper]

I ended my last post my asking "if we've come to some kind of understanding here" and Joseph addressed my question above, writing about the need to "sing the same song". And I agree.

 

The reason for the recent "mutiny" and outpouring of criticism/comments about Joseph is that many Beacon climbers don't surf this website or don't post on this website, and they haven't known about what Joseph has done out at Beacon, or what he plans to do.

 

But what's happened is that now those climbers have become aware, and we are having our first true opportunity to post our opinions about the subject. And of course it's only natural that we don't 100% agree on every single decision that Joseph has made.

 

Yet where Bill Coe (who generally is so positive that his last post caught me off guard!) sees a lot of bitching and moaning by malcontents, I see an activated community (many of whom already replace anchors, clean routes, and are generally the "stewards" of Beacon - but just don't use this website) voicing its concerns. Sounds like democracy to me.

 

Also, there's a lot to like about what Joseph has done. What climber wouldn't want increased access, more reliable anchors, or less lichen on the routes? So long as those goals are not achieved at the expense of Beacon's "mysterious" and "historical" character, that is.

 

Joseph deserves credit for his willingness to listen to the voices of dissent, and even reverse his actions, as with the rap slings on the SE corner (thank you again for removing them, and thanks for removing them on the P2 anchor as well - and no, I've never seen anyone rap off of those).

 

But at the same time, when he put himself into the spotlight via his leadership role, it is only fair and just that he should receive feedback on his performance, and that not all of the feedback will be positive.

 

Thanks to all who participated in this conversation, whether online or in conversations that were sparked by this thread. Hopefully the voices of dissent and concern will not only provide criticism, but will also provide illumination and perspective leading to an understanding that Beacon itself does not have to change in order to keep up with us in this digital age.

[billcoe]

 

Yet where Bill Coe (who generally is so positive that his last post caught me off guard!) sees a lot of bitching and moaning by malcontents, I see an activated community (many of whom already replace anchors, clean routes, and are generally the "stewards" of Beacon - but just don't use this website) voicing its concerns. Sounds like democracy to me.

 

 

I agree with your statement. Concerning the first part of the comment, *ahem* *cough* *ahem* .......hmmmmm....must have just been my time of the month!

 

Thanks to all who participated in this conversation, whether online or in conversations that were sparked by this thread. Hopefully the voices of dissent and concern will not only provide criticism, but will also provide illumination and perspective leading to an understanding that Beacon itself does not have to change in order to keep up with us in this digital age.

 

Words of wisdom Crimper - thank you for pointing out the obvious truth. Everybodys voice is important, and often critisim can be very enlightening, truthful and empowering.

_________________________________________________________

Point of this post:

 

Follow up to the tree thing. I ran into Ranger John Ernester in the parking lot after hiking back down last Saturday and he brought the tree up to me. (He suprisingly asked my how my foot was doing!? I was all like WTF? Hmmm, as it seems they might be reading these pages let me just say now that these are really great, hard working, and concerned people! )

 

Anyhooo, he indicated that the Hortoculuralist for Washington State, Lisa __??__ repeated what both Ffei and Stewart already indicated on these pages, putting anything on the tree roots is a bad idea and will likely lead to an earlier demise as the hardened roots change back to water bearing roots and probably rot. I did go look at the tree, and the end of the long dry spell we had had really changed the way it looked in my eyes. Mere water seemed to revive it and perk it up. So thats a non-issue.

 

Final note: you can tell from the people who park wrong taking up 3 spaces per vehical that many people are offline and out of the "Beacon Rock please park head in updates".

 

Take care - Bill

[texplorer]

Maybe we should require SE corner patrons to pay homage to the Corner-tree by feeding her a nalgene of water as a toll for her services.

[ivan]

does taking a leak on it count? i drink lots of stout beforehand to make "old sappy" smile...

 

[Blake]

If people are concerned about the recent work done at Beacon (and online blogging of what has been accomplished) because they feel it will make Beacon too crowded, think about this: should the efforts of Josheph et al lead to the opening up of spring climbing, or of faces currently closed to climbing, that increase in climbable lines could negate any increase in total numbers. For what it's worth, I've climbed at Beacon four or five times in the past year, and seen only Jim Opdyke and a buddy as they watched me flail up a rainy "Free For All." Do you really find yourself waiting for climbs or dealing with big crowds a lot?

 

Joseph, any chance that the BRSP or other knowledgeable group could help asses the stability of that remaining loose boulder atop Young Warriors, Pitch one? A trundle seems in order if possible. (I know you mentioned it may support more rock higher up)

[Mr_D]

"maybe cuz nobody ever looks in the sw washington forum because no-one gives a shit about helens or adams?"

 

Right... Could this be the same Ivan?

 

Re: [TR] Beacon Rock- Young Warriors 12/18/2004 Southern WA Cascades ivan 07/17/05 05:35 PM

. Re: St Helens Southern WA Cascades ivan 05/19/05 07:46 AM

. Re: St Helens Southern WA Cascades ivan 05/18/05 02:46 PM

. Re: [TR] Beacon Rock- Young Warriors 12/18/2004 Southern WA Cascades ivan 12/21/04 09:14 PM

. Re: new st helens doom is looking sweet Southern WA Cascades ivan 12/15/04 02:22 PM

. new st helens doom is looking sweet Southern WA Cascades ivan 12/15/04 11:45 AM

[ivan]

hmmm, let's see, of the 6 posts you list, 2 regard beacon, which as the argument goes, more properly belogns in the oregon section. so that leaves 4, all about st helens, 2 of those celebrating it's fiery destruction, none of which involve climbing. at any rate, with 1200'ish posts, those 4 posts represent less than 0.3% of my historical sprayage.

 

speaking of sprayage, i shall now retire to the closest bathroom w/ my favorite magazine...

[billcoe]

hmmm, let's see, of the 6 posts you list, 2 regard beacon, which as the argument goes, more properly belogns in the oregon section. so that leaves 4, all about st helens, 2 of those celebrating it's fiery destruction, none of which involve climbing. at any rate, with 1200'ish posts, those 4 posts represent less than 0.3% of my historical sprayage.

 

...

 

 

Don't go start getting all mathy on us.

[JosephH]

===================

Beacon Rock Update - 1/2/06...

===================

 

!!!Caution!!! SE Corner Rockfall

 

Jim Opdyke got homesick and went out to Beacon Sunday and reported a significant rock fall has occured from very high above the SE corner. This rock fall spread rock from where the trail meets the rock all the way around and just short of tunnel #1. To spread in this pattern the rock fall must have occured quite high, possibly even coming off the SE corner ridge. At this time we do not know where the rockfall came from or if there is still more highly unstable rock up above. We hope to get out on a survey mission as soon as we get a break in the weather for a couple of days. If we do we'll also get photos and a more detailed study of the rock at the top of p1 on Young Warriors while we're at it. Remember, Beacon is a highly dynamic crag with a long history of large loose rocks coming down periodically. Until we know more about this incident be doubly cautious and alert if you are out there doing anything around the SE Corner between now and Feb. 1st when the park closes to climbing.

 

SE Corner Tree

 

After all our discussions of the SE Corner tree we will see how resilient it is as Jim O. said this rockfall took about 6 feet off of the main branch extending out to the South. If nothing else it will certainly lower its drag profile. Further, BRSP staff checked with the state biologists and habitat folks about the the SE Corner tree and the consensus back was do nothing to it and that settles that discussion as their word is final.

 

Dogs and Parvo

 

BRSP Staff wanted all you dog owners to be aware that there is a high incidence of Parvo within all boundaries of the park. If you have any questions about this please do drop in and talk to them.

 

NW Parvo FAQ

 

Peregrine Closure and Monitoring

 

2005 was a great year for seeing the falcons (and bears). David Anderson with WSFW is responisble for the Peregrine Management Plan and he really dedicated a lot of energy in to the monitoring Beacon in 2005 along with all his other duties which led to this year's early opening. But we never found the nest this past year but we do know they didn't nest in their usual South face nest/scrape on Big Ledge. Unfortunately, knowing where they are nesting is a requisite for any real early opening. To open the South face significantly early requires that we locate where they are nesting, not simply saying where they are not. We and Dave will be putting a lot of effort into locating their scrape this coming year and will keep you posted as that monitoring kicks in.

 

2006 Pre-Opening Work Session

 

We don't have a schedule yet but the proposed focus of this year's Work Session is cleaning up Grassy Ledges and above of loose rock. Some rockfall like what just happened we can't control, nor do we want to - we like Beacon wild - but the two decade buildup of rock on high traffic areas above the routes at the base of the Beacon's SE flank have to be addressed before there is a serious climber-initiated accident. We had quite a bit of rock come down this year on to the trail on busy weekends and we'd like to minimize this next season. This is particularly an issue on the lower Grassy Ledges from Blownout to Little Wing. We will also be doing more anchor replacements in this area during the session because it had too high a load of loose rock to work on it this past summer and fall while it was open. Setting up this effort takes a bit of coordination relative to dropping rocks down. We'll probably have Parks biologist/habitat folks out again and possibly others relative to determining the best drop zone for the rocks coming down. As of now it looks like the area below Blownout is a good candidate with regards to having a minimum impact on trees. We'll keep you posted on scheduling though it is almost entirely dependent on the Peregrine fledging and WSFW's approval to proceed.

 

BRSP Staff

 

Just a note to say that the BRSP Staff is highly supportive of climbing at Beacon as one of its many unique and distinctive characteristics as a WA State Park. We are fortunate to have them. I'd encourage all of you do drop by and at least meet them and say hello and introduce yourselves at some point in the season - you might be surprised at how nice and supportive they really are.

 

Joseph Healy

Beacon Rock Climbers' Association

Beacon.Rock@AvaSys.com

 

P.S. Please extra careful on the ice and in all your alpine endeavors this winter and play safe...

[markd]

joseph,

i would like to be part of this initial clean up and anchor replacement session.

are you talking about the anchors in the center of the south face like flying swallow and flight time?

 

Edited January 4, 2006 by markd

[JosephH]

Mark,

 

Would love to have you in on it. All the low, middle and top anchors have been replaced from Flying Dutchman to "Flying Swallow" / "Flighttime" with the exception of "Takes Fists". There is still mid/top anchor on "Flighttime" that requires a rap from much higher up on the face still to get. Most of the work will be from Flying Dutchman to Little wing and will wrap it all up.

 

What we are really going to need is for everyone interested in doing these column routes to pick one, adopt it and clean it out good (I have the gear if needed). Most of them won't be that big a deal, but a couple like "Takes Fists" which is overgrown by bushes every couple of feet will be multi-day team epics. "Flying Dutchman" is done as is much of "Iron Maiden".

[markd]

sounds good. just keep my updated and i'll be there. i can also probably help a little with the peregrine watch, but not consistently as i don't live in portland anymore.

[alexbaker]

I live in ptown and would be happy to do some work as well. Just shoot me a pm if need be.

 

alex

[JosephH]

Will do!

[kevbone]

Just a question: If it is proven that the birds did not nest there this last year and are not nesting in nesting season ( april and may )this year, then how can they justify closing the rock to perigrin nesting when there are no birds?

[JosephH]

Kevin,

 

We, after the fact, only proved the Peregrines didn't use Big Ledge last year. We never did succeed in finding out where they the did nest though my own suspicion is they nested way high up on the East face.

 

They were definitely nesting in nesting season, though, and again we just don't know where on Beacon it was. Bill thinks there is a possibility they didn't nest on Beacon but I spent a lot of days out there this past pre-season monitoring and they were all over Beacon pretty much every day I went out.

 

Beacon is closed in February so as not to influence the Peregrine's choice of nesting sites. My hope is that this year they return to where ever they nested in 2005.

 

All of us will be putting in a lot of energy into locating the nest this coming season. If we locate it and it isn't on the South face then I suspect Dave Anderson will be amenable to opening up climbing on it.

 

The key is we have to know with certainty where they are nesting - knowing where they are not nesting is not sufficient (nor should it be) for opening the South face. That is because even though they may not be on Big Ledge they could still be elsewhere on the South face.

 

We did manage, however, to establish (after overcoming much suspicion) a good working relationship with David Anderson, the WFWD biologist responsible for the Peregrine Management Plan, and that was a big accomplishment in and of itself. This year we'll just build on that relationship and, in fact, we hope to get him out climbing at Beacon. Believe me, Bill and I want Beacon opened as much as you and will be working hard to make that happen if it is at all possible and will keep you and everyone else here posted.

 

Joseph

[kevbone]

Thanks!