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That Windy Day At Beacon Rock


Plaidman

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That Windy Day at Beacon Rock

1/18/2009

 

Ben and I decided that we needed to get at least one more accent of Beacon Rock done before the mandatory closure for falcon nesting. This really means the end of our rock climbing season for at least 5 months or maybe as long as 6 months depending on the birds.

 

Ben and I chose Dod’s Jam as our route up Beacon Rock. It is a fairly easy route. That was well within our abilities. The first pitch goes at 5.7 which would be my lead to start off. It would be a good warm up for the harder sections above.

We did not even consider that it was January and that it could be cold and windy.

We felt up to the challenge. Besides if not now, we asked when we will have another chance.

 

I got up at 4:00 a.m. All my gear had been packed the night before. Upon awaking I realized that my toe nails needed to be trimmed as long toe nails can be felt when jamming your feet into cracks. It can be a bit distracting. I searched for the toe nail clippers and could only find a pair of scissors. While trimming a particularly thick nail I slipped and nipped the end of my ring finger on my left hand. Blood dripping I grabbed a towel and stanched the flow. It may have not been a good idea to trim my toe nails when half asleep. I grabbed a Band-Aid and the Neosporin and climbers tape. I thought that I had successfully bandaged my ailing finger. I thought I don’t really use that finger anyway and put the ailing finger out of my mind.

 

We headed up the road on our way to Beacon Rock on the Oregon side of the Columbia River Gorge. We noticed that it was a bit windy and we had a difficult time keeping the car on the road. Never mind that we had important things to discuss. Like the route, who would lead first, the hardest move and other details. Never mind that we had hashed these topics into the dirt several times. We arrived at the parking lot at Beacon Rock, Washington. We were greeted by howling winds that reminded us of a freight train. The trees were dancing and waving their branches to the wind thrashing them with extreme malice. We were shocked at the violence we were witnessing. But not enough deter us. We grabbed our gear and started down the trail. When on the trail we were sheltered from the wind and were able to talk to each other with out having to yell at the top of our lungs.

 

We got to the base of the route and started gearing up. I was leading first and Ben suggested that I not take all of the gear I was racking up to take with me. I thought well he is more experience and he may be right. I always take too much gear. So I conceded to his suggestions. Upon starting up the route he told me to make sure that I sewed up the route as it traverses a bit. In the case of traversing routes it is important to make sure that enough gear is placed so that the climber following does not swing in a pendulum swing.

Now considering that I had less gear on me to place it would be difficult. I started off up the route and noticed right away that the wind was really pushing me around. I had to make hand jams in the cracks just to stay on the rock. I started placing lots of gear just for myself as I felt like I was going to blown right off the rock. I had no idea how strong the winds were but they were definitely a factor in how I was going to proceed up the rock.

While making one of my hand jams I pulled my hand out of the crack and watched my bandage pull off my damaged finger and fly away with the wind. Immediately there was a gush of blood that ran down my arm and onto the gear. Blood on the rope ,on me, on the rock. It was everywhere. There was so much blood it caused my hand to be slippery when making the next hand jam. I could not lose focus so I continued to climb trying not to rely on my left hand. Eventually it ceased to flow and I continued to look for gear placements and worked at maintaining my balance against the battering wind.

I was about 2/3rds up the route when I looked at my dwindling rack of gear and cursed Ben and then myself for listening to his advice. I climbed higher and started clipping directly into ring laden pitons of an ancient vintage that may have been placed a decade before I was born. I used my gear sling for girth hitching a hollow flake and came up with some very inventive ways of securing the rope to the rock. I was not very confident about running out the route with out gear. The wind was starting to blow even harder. I looked over my shoulder and saw in horror that the Columbia River resembled the tempest tossed Pacific Ocean more than an inland river. Back to climbing. I need to figure out what to do. Go up with out gear or go down. I had my cell phone as communication with Ben by yelling was useless. Ben answered. I screamed I am out of gear and I’m not sure I can get to the anchor. He told me that there was another option that we could get to a rappel station just to the left at the top of the Wind Surfer route. He asked can you get over there. Yes I replied with more confidence than I believed I had. With a direction to go and an escape I rallied my inner reserve of courage and moved up and through the gap and onto the shelf at the rappel station. When I clipped into the bolts I was elated. I called Ben to let him know I was off belay so that I could build the anchor and take in the rest of the rope to put him on belay. He started climbing and I took in the rope. I looked at the river in terror as the wind tore at me. The Columbia River had swells the size I had never seen before. The mist off the tops of the waves had rainbows whirling above them. The wind was so full of mist it made me feel cold to the bones. I was determined that we were going down. I was willing to fight if need be. I was almost in a state of panic. Finally I looked over and saw a puff of smoke. But it wasn’t smoke it was chalk from Ben’s open chalk bag. As his head came over the lip I yelled close your chalk bag. It was a welcome site to have him get up to the shelf I was sitting on. I felt hypothermic and yelled to him we are going down. He was in agreement. We set up the rappel. Ben told me I could go first since I had been sitting the longest. Instead of trying to throw the rope down the route, we knew that was useless, Ben gave me just enough rope to rappel with. Then at about 50 feet he had to let go of the rope. When he did the rope snapped out at a 90 degree angle from me. It did not even flutter in the wind. It stood straight out to the side. There was a fixed line on another route to the left of me and the rope seemed to grab it and whipped around it several times. I gingerly pulled it back to me as a rope sometimes will cross itself and tie itself in a knot. I was able to get the rope back and continue my decent. I made it to the ground and waited for Ben to rappel off. I held the end of the rope so it did not repeat it’s rope knot tying trick. We made it down safely and headed to the car.

As we were moving down the trail there was another group of climbers starting up the Southeast Corner. I thought at the top going around the corner it is windy on a calm day.

Boy they are in for a real treat.

I felt very lucky to have successfully gotten off the route with out too much of a problem.

Ben and I found out later that the wind had been measured at 105 mph at Crown Point Oregon 20 miles South of Beacon Rock. Here is a YouTube video documenting the event.

 

 

Many people may wonder why we climbed in such a wind storm. I count it as training.

I can now say in future climbs “Well it is not as windy as it was that day on Beacon Rock.”

 

Edited by Plaidman
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The windiest spot is at the base and first half of the final SE corner ridge ramp - I've been up there with it blowing a steady 60kts with higher gusts and been blown completely out of braced belay stances. So windy it makes what's usually a casual free solo into an utterly desperate three-points-on-the-rock, hug-and-wait-for-it, one-move-per-lull exercise. If you rope for it then you have to pro like mad or the rope will blow over the edge; but then when you belay, your second is almost being winched up by windpower on the rope, and you're hauling in the rope with about 120 lbs of wind pressure over its length. Pretty exciting either way.

 

In those winter conditions, on FFA/Dods/Dastardly, I don't mind the wind, but the jams are just too damn frigid and painful for my digits after about half a pitch, even with the heater packs on my wrists and palms, but then I'm old.

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That Windy Day at Beacon Rock 10/18/2009

It is a fairly easy route.

I always thought for 5.10bish that is was not super easy, that little spot above the tree is a bad for big hands, #1 size always feels like work for me.

That is because it is 10.c

It's like 5.6-7 on the lower Dods proper p1 which starts around the corner to the right from FFA and above or to the right of the third tunnel. I believe they intended to aid the upper pitch.

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That Windy Day at Beacon Rock 10/18/2009

It is a fairly easy route.

I always thought for 5.10bish that is was not super easy, that little spot above the tree is a bad for big hands, #1 size always feels like work for me.

That is because it is 10.c

It's like 5.6-7 on the lower Dods proper p1 which starts around the corner to the right from FFA and above or to the right of the third tunnel. I believe they intended to aid the upper pitch.

 

No. I was just going to have Ben lead the upper pitches. It is easy for him. On top rope I can follow it I am sure.

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