ckouba Posted February 19, 2006 Posted February 19, 2006 Distracted by the possibilties of ice again in the Columbia Gorge, a pair of climbers went and took a swing at Crown Jewel yesterday. They managed to complete the first pitch just as an enormous part of the route "retired." Thankfully, the belay stance was out of the way and the follower was about three moves from it. It could have been rather ugly... This pair of climbers then retreated post-haste, simply tying a single rope to the manky anchor and rapping off. So yes, this means there's a rope hanging from the top of P1. If anyone is out today and snags it, please drop me a line and I will make sure it gets back to the proper owner... THANKS!! Chris PS - It was thin in spots, a little cauliflowered, but it took some stubbies if you placed them cautiously. Don't fall though, and make sure it's below freezing when you're trying to climb ice! Quote
ryland_moore Posted February 19, 2006 Posted February 19, 2006 Ah, the perils of trying to push it when the ice is not "in". Had two friends out there yesterday looking at it in the morning and said it was definitely not in climbing condition. It is your fault, so drive the measly 20 mins. and go get the rope yourself! At least you will get practice jugging for aid this summer! Doubt if anyone is dumb enough to climb it today with temps getting above freezing......... Quote
ckouba Posted February 19, 2006 Author Posted February 19, 2006 Uh, dude, relax. I never said it was the smartest thing ever attempted and I am not blaming anybody for our decision to leave a rope. I also never said I wouldn't go back out there and get it myself. This post was meant to recover it if someone else beat me to it. I intend to let it settle a bit before returning there. Time for a Sunday morning group hug? Chris Quote
ryland_moore Posted February 19, 2006 Posted February 19, 2006 I am relaxed. Just chuckling at the recreational darwinist move you had and had to poke a little fun. Glad you are o.k. and that the ice didn't come down on you while on route. Patience is a virtue..... Quote
layton Posted February 19, 2006 Posted February 19, 2006 a bunch of folks climbed it today and marcus and i climbed tunnel vision. not so dumb, both climbs were in fine shape. Quote
ckouba Posted February 20, 2006 Author Posted February 20, 2006 So is anyone walking around with an extra rope? CK Quote
mwills Posted February 20, 2006 Posted February 20, 2006 nice tick layton, i saw you and marcus walking down this afternoon from the interstate. as for crown jewel, we checked it out on saturday and by 11 it was falling apart. driving by today however, it did look a bit better... hard to judge the ice in these conditions - i'll continue to error on the safe side i guess. congrats to those who got out. Quote
snodger Posted February 20, 2006 Posted February 20, 2006 Did anybody get a close look (as opposed to gaping from accross the river while driving 75 mph) at the 3-4 lines that were formed up below Cape Horn? While driving up to Meadows they looked really wide and fat, which seemed strange considering the southerly aspect- WTF? Quote
iceslut Posted February 20, 2006 Posted February 20, 2006 (edited) me and sastrugi climbed the leftmost obvious line above Cape Horn yesterday (~30 m). the upper pitch looked like it had been big, but was coming down with the sun. the first pitch was a little thin at the top (albeit strong) so with a little solo pitch of ice we put up a top rope and had some good climbing. it would take screws, even 16 cm, but it was in full sun while we were climbing. bluebird day, sunrise over the oregon side, and the mighty columbia in the background. a couple hours of fun climbing and back to portland by 10:30 am! if we could always be so spoiled. photos provided by sastrugi... Edited February 20, 2006 by iceslut Quote
ckouba Posted February 20, 2006 Author Posted February 20, 2006 Took a spin out to CJ for rope recovery and the past couple of days have not been too kind to the route. Upper section looked a little mankier than last time and enough stuff was sloughing off it that we didn't want to spend any quality time on it. However, it appears that someone has constructed a much more trustworthy anchor (as seen from the ground) and the tat which was up there is now gone. Hats off to the responsible party if this is the case. Additionally, the above referenced rope is no longer hanging around. Anyone on here recover it? Chris Quote
layton Posted February 20, 2006 Posted February 20, 2006 nobody mentioned any booty yesterday when I ran into the group on crown jewel. sorry dude that blows! Quote
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