Beacon open early

[billcoe]

Thanks to the efforts of Joseph, Beacon is open as of right now. If you want to drive out and run up the corner, it's not raining out there currently.

 

 

Ivan and I pulled off another block JH had identified as a troublemaker. The one @ 40 feet right above the 1st pitch SE corner belay @3 feet tall X 1-1/2 foot wide.

 

Gone, but not forgotten.

 

Be careful early in the season as not all the rocks were pitched and although it looks generally pretty good, there are some smaller loose ones here or there. Ivan and I did SE corner to the Jills rap (to get the block off) then back up and topped out on uprising. Can't say what the winter build up on the rest of the rocks looks like.

 

Hopefully Joseph will flesh this out somewhat and give the full meal details including the monster rock he trundled! All you Beacon folks need to thank him for his efforts. Erik Plunkett "head ranger extraordinaire" as well, who ran into a bit of wall with the RR this year, very last min., we only got the heads up OK that the RR was OK to do this like 4:45PM last night. He'll be working with thim to smooth this for next year, as it benefits them to have a loose killer block brought down in a planed, orderly manner as well as the climbers and any hikers below.

 

The important part again, OPEN FOR CLIMBING RIGHT NOW.

 

Thanks again Joseph, and a thank you to Hanme as well, for both making the RR guy comfortable and happy as she spotted rocks from the tracks with him, and for belaying and climbing with JH and most likely picking up Ivan and Mines slack on the weak terracing job on the upper chutes. We thought that JH and Hanme had done the work, so we just tidied up a bit, but I think we were wrong, so we headed down and changed out the signs.

[Winter]

Excellent!! Thanks guys.

[ivan]

i see my idea of not notifying hte interweb didn't work

 

beautiful day - funny how grey and gloomy it is just 20 miles west - least my garden don't need me 2day...

[pink]

sweet

[fheimerd]

thinking of heading out from 9-5(a day at the office) anybody else able to break the chains from the money making machine for a day.

[billcoe]

i see my idea of not notifying hte interweb didn't work

 

I thought you were kidding!? These folks want to get on it too.

 

beautiful day - funny how grey and gloomy it is just 20 miles west - least my garden don't need me 2day...

 

Yeah, pretty bizarre to be almost overheating on the rock in the sun, then driving right into the rain on the way back. My neighbor said it started raining here like noon.

[ivan]

actually bill was just kidding - the rocks really still closed - and they unchopped IB so you can go do that instead - and there's poison oak everywhere, especially the south face - the whole south face- and there's flying lawnmowers and wierd shit that like that all endangerign the trail on the way in and stuff...

 

you have been warned

[powderhound]

I might not be able to use it until latter this summer, but I would like to thank bill, ivan and JH, and anyone I left out, for all there time and effort spent getting beacon open. You all had other obligations but, you put forth the commitment to complete a selfless act, and for that, next time I see you its a on me.

 

Thanks,

 

Bryan

[JosephH]

I'd like to second Bill's comments about BRSP head ranger Erik Plunkett - Erik went way out of his way tackling the railroad on this issue this year. He really got after them when they kind of changed the rules of the game this year and kept after them on his own off-hours time.

 

Many thanks are also due WDFW Raptor biologist David Anderson who is the final authority on any early opens - he put in a lot of time at Beacon this year despite being pressed hard in getting EIS work done on a bunch of high profile wind power projects out East. He could easily have let the July 15th closure date stand given those high priority responsibilities.

 

And let's not forget Bill and Ivan who did a great trundling job on the block that's been looming over the first pitch anchor of the SE Corner (from just right of Jill's) and then went on and swapped out all the signage for the BRSP which is why it could open yesterday as getting the signs changed can take the park a couple of days.

 

And last to Hanmi Hubbard-Meyer who escorted one of the railroad guys (Gene) down to the tracks and did the spotting with him. He got to see some eye-opening trundling and Hamni really worked hard to get across the point it's a real win-win situation for the the climbers and the railroad to do these coordinated drops. She then went up and did a bunch of terracing and was a big help throughout the day.

 

To repeat Bill's heads up - there still is loose rock to be wary of out at Beacon (there always is) and if you run across any on a ledge trail or route please stash/stack it somewhere off to the side rather than tossing it and it will likely get cleaned off during next year's cleanup when we'll do another thorough ledge and trail purge.

 

And do stop by and meet and say hi to the BRSP rangers - they're always up for meeting climbers - the rangers out there are Erik, John (an ex-climber and our biggest supporter), and the newest ranger, Vivian.

[eldiente]

Nice work guys. A big thanks! I won't be out till next week but I am very much looking forward to it.

 

-Nate

[ivan]

anyone wanna crag at beacon tomorrow morning 'fore it gets a)hot and b) time to get liquered'up'n'pissed'off for the 4th?

[John Frieh]

did you buy a new rope? how early?

[bonathanjarrett]

I'll be out there at 7:30 with my buddy, Andrew.

[pink]

i'll be there in september.

[ivan]

did you buy a new rope? how early?

rope?

 

[JosephH]

Moved to head of the queue...

[Stewart]

A-frame feature (also colloquially called the 'butthole' by some, but I can't quite bring myself to that moniker for such a lovely sequence).

 

 

Joe!

 

Thanks for the phone call about the opening. I was on vacation and wasn't able to get out until this mon.

 

You know its a butthole! The way you reach up into it and the walls feel like there going to scrape off in your hand like a cheese burger that you ate 10years ago. Full on cholonic!

 

Did you get your jacket back from my sis?

[JosephH]

No problem Jon. We just think completely differently about that pitch - everything is as solid as it needs to be and the moves are lovely. That stuff might come off is more about a climber's ability to move lightly than about the rock itself. If you're yarding up through stuff like that it will repay you in kind.

 

Still haven't seen the jacket, but would be nice to have it for fall.

[JosephH]

========

Safety Note

========

 

[i[Young Warriors p2[/i] - a significant flake was loosened yesterday and was reported to Jim Opdycke as "about to come off". The top of this flake formed the righthand side of where you stand when you first arrive at the small ledge below the main A-frame feature (also colloquially called the 'butthole' by some, but I can't quite bring myself to that moniker for such a lovely sequence). This flake also acted as the right side of a double mantle for many folks coming up through the first of the two mini-cruxs on p2. Bottom line now that it has been removed - p2 is now a tad bit spicier than it was.

 

[ Note: Many routes at Beacon occasionally use flakes, both big and small, for holds; please do not pull outward on any such flake - pull only in-plane with the flake (parallel to the wall), as many are fragile - this remains especially true for much of Young Warriors p2. In general, always moving as lightly as possible over the stone is a good idea out there... ]

 

SE Corner Route Anchors and Raps - Please do not add slings and rings to any anchor or tree out at Beacon - especially the SE Corner p2 anchor or the SE Corner tree. In fact, please DO NOT RAP FROM THE SE CORNER TREE at all - either don't go up to the tree and at the top of the slab instead go straight ahead to the Young Warriors p2 anchor. That or continue up the route to the standard descent raps from the Grassy Ledges. Also, the anchor hangers in use at Beacon are "Rap" hangers and do not need slings or rings in the locations without them; you can safely rap directly off the hangers. Hangers with slings and rings have them to provide directional options and/or optimally extend the rope for an easier pull in situations where friction can be an issue.

 

Loose Rock - Loose rock is constant condition at Beacon. And though an effort to deal with the worst and biggest of it is now made before each year's opening, there is simply no way to eliminate this natural condition. From the time you leave the ground until you return to it please tread lightly and be aware of every foot fall and where your rope is running to avoid knocking rocks off. Tricks such as draping your rope in bushes or clipping the branch of a tree to keep the rope off the ground when traversing ledge paths can make a real difference in this regard.

 

If you do come across loose rock - please do not throw it - stack it off to the side somewhere and it will get cleaned at the earliest opportunity or in next seasons pre-opening work session which will be sweeping the ledges looking for such caches again. If you discover something of any size that concerns you or anything that appears newly loose or dangerous please pm 'billcoe' and myself here on cc.com, email Beacon.Rock@AvaSys.com, and / or tell Jim Opdycke if you see him out there. Failing those contacts, or if the situation is an emergency, please contact the BRSP staff at the Rangers' office or leave a note / voicemail for them if it is closed.

 

[ivan]

post early, post often

 

if the "butthole pitch" don't do it forya, how about "the judge" 'cuz he looks just like this guy...

[Stewart]

Joseph,

 

I think that we think the same about that pitch. It is the best because you have to be delicate. If I ever do get a cholonic, I would hope the Doctor would be soft and gently, just like I am on the "BUTT HOLE PITCH"

 

It's o.k. to say it! Try saying it out loud by yourself a few times and then try it out in front of other people. I have faith that you can do it.

 

see ya out there on Sunday.

 

Stewart

[Stewart]

Ivan,

 

Is that a self portrait? You are as sick as I thought you were!

 

See you out there too! Hopefully wearing some pants.

 

Stewart

 

[JosephH]

Can't do it, would never had even thought of it in such a way except hearing it from you guys and I still don't really get how such a great feature and pitch could end up with such a moniker. Probably plays no small part in the reason I don't jam it like all you guys...

[kevbone]

JH......I have been climbing YW from the day he first opened it up to the public and it was always called the "butt hole" pitch.....I suppose it does seam fitting. From the ground it looks like a "butt hole".....

 

 

Jim called me and told me that that flake has come off. Wow....that will for surley make it harder....I used that flake everytime I climbed it. What to do now.....I suppose I will have to climb up and left.....either way nice job.

[JosephH]

Yeah, it's definitely spicier and I now undercling a flake to complete the mantle and I suspect it will have a half-life of about a month unless folks are real careful with it...