ivan Posted November 9, 2008 Share Posted November 9, 2008 Trip: Beacon Rawk - Bitch Slapped on the Axe of Karma (5.10c A3 III) Date: 11/8/2008 Trip Report: a dark dreary november sprung in my soul, as melville said, so i went strait for the cure 2 goddamn weeks off embroiled in inlaws and presidential politcs the weather was forecast for 100% suck - it was actually only 50% correct - winds none too bad - rain off and on but never too hard - not as painfully cold as a few weeks ago damn daylight savings - gotta get there earlier these days if you wanna do something long and stupid dawn in the parkng lot waiting for geoff - was he the one tailgating me that the beraged oinker had so cruelly cut out behind me on the drive in? eagels soared and swooped in the forlorn fall air - shrieks and whistles the local weather system was exhilirating - strong winds near the river drove ghost-whispers westwards to portland while a great storm cell threw ceiling-lofting clouds rapidly east, portending downpours and desperation i thought it was finally time to confront the "arena of terror," the far left side of the south side of beaocn that was blasted out in a great explosion a century ago - there were rumors of a great catwalk below the intimitadating rooves - i found them greatly exaggarated our plan - geoff would aid the first pitch of pipeline - a full meal-deal waterfall pouring off crusing and ground zero assured us no free-climbing hardmen would be chomping at the bit and growing bitter waiting for us to clear out - i would then lay siege to axe of karma, a mystery route that has no more beta than a cryptic "5.10c A3 - kb's, la's, rurps and pro to 4" in the olson guide - it looked overgrown, like every adventure route worht doing at beacon, but i figured hey, if its soaking, that's less dust to scratch my corneas this time, eh? staring at the narsty traverse from below, i secrety hoped it would be as sweet as that on "the crack 2 nowhere" - it looked like there were decent cracks to make the traverse - the upper part certianly look brush-fucked and desperate as hell, so i desperatly hoped the a3 bit would be relegated to up there - how ruinous this rumination was geoff raged on the first pitch i need to practice jugging as 2nd - i put on a tour de force of lameness following geoff up the short 60 feet or so to the hanging belay - the rain began to pick up as i set off - my head cleared as i got right under the sweet-ass roof and the weather turned dark and sullen and fearsome shit seemed shirley - a couple aid nuts but then several good cams under the roof cracks - man, hope this holds! - sadly it didn't - looking up above the first one was a goddamn litho-horror-fuck-show - a giant panel of rock maybe 5 feet wide and 4 feet high is seperated from the wall by about 3/4 of an inch - thumping it w/ my palm produced a moan like grandma arrived at auschwitz - i figured i had at least a 50% chance of not dying if i trying put cams behind it - so findsomething else - a thin nut and i was up a bit, then what? jesus fuck - where did my goddamn sweet horizontal cracks go? what looked possible from the ground was revealed to be desperate indeed - hooking on crazy-suspect blocks and panels - the roof joints themeselves were totally glued shut - no hope at all, but i've found w/ aid climbing, if not climbing in general, sometimes it's best not to worry too far ahead and jsut work out the shit closest to you and hope the rest gets right - i placed a blind green alien in a horizontal pocket - it bounce tested well and i moved onto it - but then nothing! fuck! after hemming and hawing, i figured i could down-aid back if need be, but should try pushing it at least little further - the rain picked up, but far behind me and impersonal like - i placed a thin nut behind a loose block - bounced on it - moved to it - went to fifi and then...falling...my right leg still in etrier on the alien - the rope not clipped to the alien, i shock the cam w/ my daisy and it blows, me going half inverted and rushing past the roof - faaaaallling! i look up and am dead even w/ geoof again, close enough to lean out and shake hands - he takes a good picture of me and suddnely notices the damage done to my noggin when i foolish blew a lowe-ball while weight-testing it - do i look drunk? "dude, did you just see a real bright light?!?" looking up we see two pieces blown and me hanging lazer-like off a tiny nut, welded to its seam i hold out the judas iscariot dynamic-duo - you have betrayed me! - is it me or does this pic totally need to go to me ma on next mudder's day?!? okay, so i'm not impressed - i've never backed off a climb at beacon (or anywhere really) in my life but this shit ain't going today - i just didn't see it, and w/ these fall days getting short and so much more nasty ground to cover - i figured the pitch would be at least as bad as pipedream and that took 5 goddamn hours! at any rate, touching my head and the yet unglimpsed strawberry that's currently bursting out of my head as i type these pleasing lines, i figured i needed to change my whole attitude, my goddam whole rason'de'etre or whatever those french-fawks say - just re-aiding back to the jesus-nut, cleanign it w/ a hammer and savaging the swage in the process, then down-aiding back to the belay was adventure enough then we ate mesacaline and went jugging up ground zero - our trip was differnet - it was a classic re-affirmation of all that is right and true in the age of obama, but only for those who are full of true grit - and we are damned deficient in that! there are more beacon beatdowns in my future i am certain! Gear Notes: everythign including the kitchen sink Approach Notes: watch out for the slugs and recent 'shroom sprouts on the trail Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JosephH Posted November 9, 2008 Share Posted November 9, 2008 This traverse was one of the first climbs my old partner and I did at Beacon back in '87. It's actually a nice free climb up until you have to head up the column line ('Silver Crow' I believe). That's the point we had to stop becasue the girls were getting real impatient to split. You get a perfecct #9 hex where the orange circle is and then you can just walk left across the traverse as there is a several inch wide 'ledge' that goes across it. There are also a bunch of McGown bashies across the traverse. When we bailed we rapped off the #9 hex and it stayed up there for a couple of years before someone went that way again. If you go back up on aid, please be extremely careful of the delicate loose panel structure in the green box as it's the only thing that makes free climbing it possible. was meaning to get back up there before I got preoccupied with 'Menopause'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ivan Posted November 9, 2008 Author Share Posted November 9, 2008 joe - did you not see what i wrote about the panel? i done realized its a death-trap! i feel when the nut i had behind a loose block blew, right at the top right of your green box. normally a fall wouldn't bother me much, but i didn't think the fates were with me today to go and fuck w/ that scary panel. "the axe of karma" is a perfect name for the route - if your karma is poor (i've been beating my wife too much lately adn snorting too much V), you get the axe! the heads are still in place, one at the start of silver crow, which i think is the exit left of your yellow dot, and one at the start of axe of karma, the far left not an inconceivably place to free across, but it'll be a very religious expereince, and not one i even contemplated in boots upon hitting hte ground and looking through the pix on my camera, i realized the safest aid option would be aiding below the purple line on the photo - it's more circuitious, and might screw you on the upper part of the pitch, but there's no death blocks there Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparverius Posted November 9, 2008 Share Posted November 9, 2008 a valiant effort and wise retreat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billcoe Posted November 9, 2008 Share Posted November 9, 2008 Another 5 star TR Ivan! BTW, the stuff just under the purple line looks like it may be loose as well from the picture. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JosephH Posted November 10, 2008 Share Posted November 10, 2008 Yeah, we put a tricam under the block just off the start from the Pipline anchor and no other pro until the #9 hex at the orange mark in the pic, as nothing is solid through there. The loose panel is not unlike the one that had to be trundled to open up 'Menopause', but in this case I'd very much like the one up to the traverse on this line to stay intact. I think this could be a rare case where it might very well be easier and safer to free climb that section then to try and aid it. And I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure 'Silver Crow' is the line you were attempting and that 'Axe of Karma' one line further to the left. Ivan, in either case, and as usual - way to get after it and good going. Bill, every year I look at the direct 'Sword of Damocles' start and every year I decide it isn't worth even trying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ivan Posted November 10, 2008 Author Share Posted November 10, 2008 hmm - you're there joe - silver crow's #126 in the book and depicted - silver crow's the one not shown, but maybe somewhere between crow and updraft to heaven? or maybe higher up? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JosephH Posted November 10, 2008 Share Posted November 10, 2008 Sorry - the blue '134' should read '124' in the photo. I always just assumed 127 (Axe of Karma) was the next one left, but as you say it could be up above as well. Hard to say. I've always interpret things this way though again I could have it entirely wrong... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wayne Posted November 10, 2008 Share Posted November 10, 2008 Jeez, I, take care out there. are you using 2 ropes ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
denalidave Posted November 10, 2008 Share Posted November 10, 2008 Jeez, I, take care out there. are you using 2 ropes ? Ivan uses ropes now? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JosephH Posted November 10, 2008 Share Posted November 10, 2008 ...not an inconceivably place to free across, but it'll be a very religious expereince, and not one i even contemplated in boots Missed this first time through. Once you are established on the headwall, with the #9 hex in, you can literally just walk left to under 'Silver Crow'. I remember being amazed that it was like a 5.2 exercise where you could hang out all day in a free rest stance directly under 'Silver Crow'. It doesn't look anything like that from the ground or even when you're first approaching getting up on the headwall, but that is what I recall. All the more reason to finally make another run at it some time next year myself. I still have the replacement #9 hex I bought for the repeat go and still haven't used. Yeah, I don't think Ivan would like it all much if he weren't in some sort of peril when he's out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ivan Posted November 10, 2008 Author Share Posted November 10, 2008 Jeez, I, take care out there. are you using 2 ropes ? we used one lead rope (which geoff, dude - throw away! - the kermantle shouldn't have 4 inches of missing core at the end! ) and a tag line - i was expecting i might need to convert the tag line over to another climbing line at some point so joe (nice pic for pipedream - man that took forever!), i'd heard about the amazing techni-color sidewalk and was suprised not to see something obvious like it below the roofs - is it in fact above them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JosephH Posted November 10, 2008 Share Posted November 10, 2008 so joe (nice pic for pipedream - man that took forever!), i'd heard about the amazing techni-color sidewalk and was suprised not to see something obvious like it below the roofs - is it in fact above them? It's not obvious until you are actually looking down on it and it's at the level of your feet. You can see a portion of it just above the purple traverse line in the technicolor pict, down and right from the yellow '126'... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ivan Posted November 10, 2008 Author Share Posted November 10, 2008 so joe (nice pic for pipedream - man that took forever!), i'd heard about the amazing techni-color sidewalk and was suprised not to see something obvious like it below the roofs - is it in fact above them? It's not obvious until you are actually looking down on it and it's at the level of your feet. You can see a portion of it just above the purple traverse line in the technicolor pict, down and right from the yellow '126'... okay, well, inspiration enough then to go back and have at it i reckon then - still feel a vague sensation of dread thinking about it though - it seems like all that rock going off in my face would spoil all my angelic beauty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JosephH Posted November 10, 2008 Share Posted November 10, 2008 Please, please be extra gentle with it as that panel really is the only way to free climb the line - if it goes I doubt it will go free again... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ivan Posted November 10, 2008 Author Share Posted November 10, 2008 Please, please be extra gentle with it as that panel really is the only way to free climb the line - if it goes I doubt it will go free again... well then i'll be sure to rename it "ivan's insult" - even in that potential disaster, it's unlikely to make many weep - overgrowth in both silver crow and axe would indicate it hasn't been loved in a long time few have ever described me as "extra gentle" i'm not even really sure what that means? i would be unlikely to start wailing on the rocks w/ my hammer, especially w/ the whole thing poised 2 feet above my noggin. at any rate, both the ratings of crow and axe have a3 in them, so to add extra aid to them is no great tragedy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JosephH Posted November 10, 2008 Share Posted November 10, 2008 at any rate, both the ratings of crow and axe have a3 in them, so to add extra aid to them is no great tragedy Who knows, it could go free. That lower section we already freed was likely at least part of the A3 rating, can't say what the line proper might yield up... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billcoe Posted November 10, 2008 Share Posted November 10, 2008 Ivan, one word, one word for the graduate: Plastics Screamers! Have Geoff buy some, he's rich:-) Or I can even loan a couple, I hauled them around a lot, it would be nice to finally see if they really do work! ______________________________________________________________ Screamers are shock absorbing slings designed to reduce peak loads in any climbing system. Multi-functional energy absorbing device. Screamers™ will provide added protection in climbing and rescue situations. Screamers not only absorb energy directly, because of the stitch ripping effect, they also allow your rope to absorb more energy from the fall by increasing the time interval of the fall. Screamers can reduce shock loading in any rescue system. The standard "Screamer" can effectively reduce peak loads by 3-4 kN in any climbing or rescue system. YATES original Screamers were first developed over ten years ago, Yates has since developed numerous variations on the "Screamer" design with use in Aerospace, Military and explosive testing to decelerate various objects. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevbone Posted November 10, 2008 Share Posted November 10, 2008 Ivan....try rapping in from the top and cleaning it with a hammer. If that "panel" is loose, it needs to come off so as to not kill someone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevbone Posted November 10, 2008 Share Posted November 10, 2008 Another 5 star TR Ivan! How do you figure? They are barely 100 off the ground Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ivan Posted November 10, 2008 Author Share Posted November 10, 2008 Another 5 star TR Ivan! How do you figure? They are barely 100 off the ground hate the game, not the playas! we could like, see the himalayas from our belay! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ivan Posted November 10, 2008 Author Share Posted November 10, 2008 Ivan....try rapping in from the top and cleaning it with a hammer. If that "panel" is loose, it needs to come off so as to not kill someone. the problems i see w/ that are: a) wading through hate-fuck poison oak to even try to find a place from above where you can drop down (i got riddled last fall going up through the top out on jensens ridge) b) there are no rap stations above the arena of terror c) everyone's gonna be mean to me if i defile the holy ram-ram beacon-wand by casting off some of its sacred stones Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ivan Posted November 10, 2008 Author Share Posted November 10, 2008 Who knows, it could go free. That lower section we already freed was likely at least part of the A3 rating, can't say what the line proper might yield up... from the ground it looks identical to pipedream and fresh squeeze, so i'm sure it'll be at least 11+ - too far out of my league to be concerned about - at any rate, the free-climbing monkey-boys won't touch it unless it gets cleaned first, so i can do the work for them and then, inshallah and the choss remaining, they can steal all the glory and write a TRUE 5 star tr! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ivan Posted November 10, 2008 Author Share Posted November 10, 2008 i got veterans day off and can't find a partner - anyone wanna go get some vengeneance w/ me (or anything else ) tuesday? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pink Posted November 10, 2008 Share Posted November 10, 2008 ivan, do you use an adjustable fifi or anything like that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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