Stefan Posted July 19, 2001 Posted July 19, 2001 I was at Spire Rock circa 87-90 becuase I was at PLU during those days. I remember the condoms everywhere, seeing spray painting, the guys from the army base showing off their rappeling techniques to their girlfriends....a dead body or so in the woods. Aaah. Those were the days..... Quote
johnny Posted July 19, 2001 Posted July 19, 2001 You know, I just may have met this Bad Teeth Dan guy at Spire last year. Long, scraggly hair, wiry as hell,about 5'4" had the whole rock mwmorized. Said his name was Dan. I had been climbing for a while and stopped to rub the pump out of my forearms and watch this beautiful woman traverse, she was quite a good climber, very graceful. This guy moves up next to me and goes, "man, is she hot or what???" "Yeah, I said, why can't I meet more women like her?" He struck up a conversation with her and managed to creep her out enough to cause her to talk to me as a way of getting rid of him. I ended up seeing Tammy for a couple of months. Really cool woman. Thank you so very much Dan. I truly appreciate both you and your bad teeth!!!!! Quote
jblakley Posted July 19, 2001 Posted July 19, 2001 Yeah I used to go to Spire all the time when I lived in Fed Way. I used to see that Dan guy there all the time. Aussie rappeling. Now there's a handy skill to have. LOL Quote
Dwayner Posted July 19, 2001 Posted July 19, 2001 I could write a book about all the goofy stuff I've seen at Spire Rock but lucky for you, I won't. Here's a sample: One night, me and a buddy were out climbing (the field lights illuminated the place). I pulled over the top of the tower section to confront a steaming pile of recently deposited human dung. I carefully avoided the mess but decided that my pal should have the pleasure of discovery himself. Indeed he did as he did some sort of dyno and slapped his hand smack in the middle. Needless to say, he chased me up and down the rock for the next five minutes trying to fling and wipe goo on me. On another occasion, I saw some G.I.'s take a brand new rope out of a plastic bag, tie one end to a fixed anchor on top of the rock, and the other to the bumber of their jeep. They told me they were setting up a "slide for life". They tightened the line and the jeeps wheels were actually spinning as their new 150 ft. rope stretched permanently to about 180. They spent the afternoon, "sliding for life", often grounding out in the process. At the end of the day, they had to cut the knot on the Spire anchor because it was practically melted tight. Just another typical day at Spire Rock.... Quote
Yossarian Posted July 19, 2001 Posted July 19, 2001 When I was learning to climb I headed down to the spire with my brother using a short static line to toprope. Because the line wasn't long enough to reach the ground, you had to climb up a few feet and then clip into the rope. I fell just before the top and my brother didn't catch the fall. The knot in the end of the line locked into my brother's belay device. The result was my and my brother were both a few inches off the ground. The static fall on my homemade webbing harness hurt like hell and soon my brother and I are throwing punches at each other while suspended from the top of the spire (BATTLECAGE!). Eventually we ceased as we started to draw a crowd. Those were the good ol' days. Quote
Dwayner Posted July 19, 2001 Posted July 19, 2001 By the way, believe it or not, it's Spire Rock's 25th birthday this summer - it was formally dedicated in 1976. Many thanks to Wayne Cook - the man behind the rock - and his numerous volunteers including the young Jimmy Yoder for building that rock that has given us hours of entertainment and a good workout once in awhile. Hey, I'm going out there this afternoon and slug a few Mickey's in Spire's honor. You wanna join me, I'll see you c. 5:30. You bring the cake and the snacks and I'll show you the best place to practice your "Aussie rapell" face-plants. aloha, Dwayner Quote
Sean_Halling Posted July 19, 2001 Posted July 19, 2001 Backcountry, the Aussie-rappel master you are referring to is, in fact Bad Teeth Dan. I remember seeing Bad Teeth Dan showing off his Auusie-rappel skills to all the on-lookers. Then he would explain how you could run down a cliff and still be able to fire your sub-machine gun at the bad guys. Of course he was alluding to all the on-lookers that he was some ex-Special Ops Guru. Of course being a newly assigned member of the Ranger Bn. I had to bust him out in front of everybody. It shut him up for a bit and sent him packing for a day anyways. Unfortunately everyday after that he was my new best buddy at the rock and wouldn't leave me alone. I have to admit that I am guilty of setting up a slide for life once...but not the jeep incident. I am also guilty of the upside down Commando rappel. Mike maybe one of these days we should go to Spire and conduct a SAR mission to find Bad Teeth Dan. Sean Halling...Spire Rock (91' to 97') Quote
Dru Posted July 19, 2001 Posted July 19, 2001 Man that place sounds like Lighthouse Park (granite bluff in West Vancouver popular with top ropers). One time in 94 or thereabouts I was at Lighthous with 2 friends doing some route or other when this hiker comers by and says "Oh, someone is calling for help over there..." So we run over. This guy named "Lighthouse Mike" [a strange dude who likes to set up TER's using about 4 old ropes tied off to trees 30m away for the anchors, and tries to find newbies and teach them his special climbing tricks before they know any better] has a Tr set up and then has been soloing next to it. He fell off, hit rocks on the way down, and broke some ribs and a leg, then fell in the ocean, and has crawled out on a ledge just above tide line. This is in late March by the way. So friend #1, a nurse, takes command of first aid. Friend #2 goes running off to nearest phone. Hiker keeps walking her dogs, stupid %$&^ figured she had done her part I guess... Anyways Friend #1, Nurse AMC, gets sketchy Mikes soaked clothes off and him covered up with our fleeces. He's in shock, bleeding, half drowned, way fucked up. Eventually local firemen show up and flail all over the rock in their rubber boots with huge hemp ropes trying to remember how to do a rescue.They call for Coast Guard hovercraft. Hovercraft arrives and Mike is thrown in along with our fleeces and vanishes. Fireman offes me Mikes rack and ropes but I don't ever want to be in contact with him so I say, No, keep em at the firehall. Nurse AMC manages to get her fleece back by visiting Mike in hospital but he says mine is out being washed. His rack is collected from firehall next day. Weeks go by and I dont see myt fleece returned. No one knows how to contact Mike. I even run classified ad with no results. One day I'm riding the bus downtown and I see Mike wheeling along sidewalk in his wheelchair (leg is still broken). Get off bus and chase wheelchair down city sidewalks eventually catching him. After threatening to run wheelchair off dock into English Bay, Mike tells me where he lives. I show up that evening tpo collect fleece, Mike has changed his engine block while wearing it and it has brand new cigarette burns and grease stains. MORAL OF STORY: if you rescue someone, keep their rack as collateral. Quote
mikeadam Posted July 20, 2001 Author Posted July 20, 2001 Yesterday Jens and I were getting a good laugh talking about all the goofy things we've seen while climbing at Spanaway's Spire Rock. When I lived down there I used to climb on the Spire almost everyday, and saw my share of funny stuff. I can remember pulling a few bonehead maneuvers myself, but luckily the gang of 12 year olds who regularly hung out there set me straight more than once. They could have started their own Spire Rock Guides Service. I bet I've inadvertantly met more than a few of you who hung there from the period of 94-96. First off, let me say that I think The Spire is great little practice rock to learn on, AND it also brings out some of the most bizarre characters I've ever seen in my life. Most entertaining. I know some of you HAVE to remember "Bad Teeth Dan". Ya know, the wiry dude who had been in prison off and on for murder and other fine offenses, yet had the whole rock wired. He loved to sandbag newbies, myself included. Who can forget the 360 degree upside down problem in which he did a full revolving circle on the same 5 foot square of rock? What happened to Bad Teeth Dan I wonder? Anyone out there know? And what about all the twinkies who had the same traverse wired and could be found almost every other day doing the same moves to impress the ever present gapers (later on-myself included)? I bet if I went there now I'd be sandbagged by a whole new crew, and probably some of the old crew too. You know who you are. One of my favorite stories though is about one day I was complaining about my second climbing harness (the 1st one I had we called "The Death Harness") which had no gear loops (a BD alpine Bod). I was saying about how I needed to tie some 5 mm to some features that looked made for the part to make some. I was standing with Captain Caveman at the base of the "Crisco Slabs" when out of the corner of my eye I see this guy leaning out over the edge of the tower in an Australian rappel position. Just as quickly, and in a Bugs Bunny/Road Runner sort of manner, there was a suspended moment and then *POOF!* This guy comes flying straight down horizontally and decks out on the gravel at the base. Immediately, before the implications could even set in this guy jumps up like he had just performed some kind of rehearsed circus trick, throws his arms up in the air and yells "I'm alright!". Whoah! "That was kind of funny" I'm thinking to myself. Without another word the guy waltzes back around the roof corner like nothing had happened and disappears. Like a person drawn to the site of an accident I look down and notice that there are 2 plastic loops and some shredded cordalege right where the guys impact crater was at. OH SWEET! Premade Plastic loops for my gear slings!! But then I start thinking to myself while putting 2 and 2 together. Well duh, the reason Slizage decked out was he tied into his gear slings which at tops are probably rated for about 80 pounds and tried to Aussie Rappel. NOW THAT'S PRETTY FUNNY. But sort of dangerous too eh? So I climb up to the top of the tower and there he is again holding this granny knot with a puzzled look and fingering his haul bag loop with his right hand. So I say "Hey do you need some help". He accepted my help and I showed him how to tie in and how to tie some knots. I think he was all set to try again by tying into his haul line before I came up. Since I had done such a good deed I didn't bother telling him I had his gear slings in my pocket. I kept them, and they are still on that old alpine bod which I donated to Proguiding Service's basic rock classes. Right now your kid may be wearing them at Vantage or exit38. If you are missing your gear loops from about 1995 feel free to contact me and I will try not to bust out laughing in your face this time when I return them. Does anyone else have funny Spire stories, or UW/Marymoore tales to share? I'd like to hear them. Mike Adamson Quote
Backcountry Posted July 20, 2001 Posted July 20, 2001 I used to hit Spire circa '90-'91... The dude that grounded wasn't using a black static line was he? There was some shifty dude there everytime I'd go that was all set-up for the gapers and would aussie rap... Quote
Backcountry Posted July 23, 2001 Posted July 23, 2001 Sweet, I had hoped that it was him...truly rubbing elbows with greatness... Milward is back CONUS...maybe a reunion is in order... Quote
EddieE Posted July 24, 2001 Posted July 24, 2001 wow...bringin' back the memories. I was at PLU from 92-96 and blew off steam at Spire with my buds all the time. The bad graffiti, local kids getting stuck at the top, sticking your hand in the cracks and hoping it was water...not piss, military guys spending hours just rappeling (not climbing) just rappeling...it all brings tears to my eyes. I remember while climbing the overhang I reached up with my right hand for the lip and landed it smack into some gooey shitty crap. I could't pull on it, and it grossed me out so much I kicked off backwards, landed on my back and knocked the wind out of myself. I laid there catching my breath and reveled in all that is Parkland. Quote
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