Rocky Butte New Route - Who's working on it....?

[JosephH]

I was out at RB with Bill Coe last night (RB sandbagger extraordinaire) and see someone has finally spotted an old (circa 1994 or so) project of Marco Fedrizzi's and mine on the arete down and to the right of Blackberry Jam. From the chalk it looks like whomever is doing it, is stemming off the top of the platform boulder to get onto it and I very much recommend going down and doing the two lower roofs as the start. The route goes up those two roofs onto the arete and the crux is using a small side pull out left to complete the transition from the arete onto the face and that is as far as we ever got in our two goes at it. We figured it in the 12.d range. The route features a very unusual 5" diameter vertical bore hole up into the second roof. No idea whatsoever how it could have been formed either naturally or humans - really one of the strangest features I've ever seen on rock. Good on whoever is getting on it - best of luck with it...

 

Also curious, though, if the same folks are the ones that put the bolt in next to the pin high on the face? It's a completely bomber Bugaboo and it is kind of amusing (if a bit sad) for us old guys to see that we are now getting to the point where a good pin can't be recognized as just that. Times they are a-changing no doubt. C'est la vie...

[John Frieh]

Drilled pockets

 

Not me. Great route to DT though

[texplorer]

Times are a changin no doubt. When you are relagated to climb at haunts like the Butte. I hope to be crankin basalt with you guys in early July.

[JosephH]

John,

 

I don't think the hole is drilled unless someone has a big ass drill with a 5" bit. Take a look at it when you're out - Bill knows the arete I'm talking about...

[billcoe]

JH, I appreciate the comment "sandbagger extraordinaire" , coincidentally, my regular handle in the old days was "Couchmaster", put on me by Opdycke once when we went out to Beacon and I hadn't been out for months and must have cranked something hard.

 

John, Joseph is talking about a direct start to Red Zinger - Breakfast cracks area (just slightly to the R). Joseph had told me a long time ago about working that with Marco, then we showed up the other day and there like magic, was chalk on it. And a new bolt too I guess, which was probably more for Red Zinger. Since Red Zinger is 11c or d, and this arete thing is way harder than that, must be pretty F*ing hard. Should be interesting to see if somebody can crawl up it.

 

Joseph, the 5" hole was drilled by the quarry folks I'm pretty sure, there are some other ones here and there. That one seems unusual in that it's drilled straight up into a roof...but there it is. I think one of the blocks on the inside the structure on top has a similar, although slightly smaller diameter hole in it.

 

I think it might have been one of this quarries blasting methods. They would drill a big assed hole somewhere, pack it with HE and let loose. They were trying to get blocks out, which would be one way to do it I suppose. Top down hammer drilling leaves the fines which need to be cleaned out first, so maybe drilling straight up elimated that issue.

 

I'm making all the last part of that up you know.

 

 

Edited May 11, 2006 by billcoe