fixed line cut by psycho; i coulda died

[summitchaserCJB]

Glad to hear it worked out...mostly.

[crimper]

well..i still don't know who cut my rope...and i have been told i don't have permission to climb there anymore...but at least i can retrieve the "stolen" ropes. i'd say i'm 1 for 3 so far.

[kevbone]

What do you mean you can retrieve the stolen ropes? Did the land owner take them?

[eldiente]

Sucks about your rope and the close-call, but based on what you described it doesn't sound like this was malicious. The survey group may have used your line to tow their truck out of the mud, or maybe some dumb kids tried to use it for a rope swing before coiling it back up at the top. Either way, if this an urban crag with sketchy access issues, there is a probably 100 possible ways for a rope to become damaged without the person doing the damage knowing what the rope was used for.

 

How's this for scary? Somehow I doubt it was East County Meth heads that stole his anchor.

http://davemacleod.blogspot.com/2008/08/near-miss.html

 

 

 

[hemp22]

Good on ya for talking to them.

At least there's a shred of good news about the ropes.

I wonder if the metro survey work would be related to the preparations for the new park. And did the owner mention which conservation group it is?

It might be a good idea to talk to the MWPC folks - they probably know all the exact property boundaries, and who owns & manages what.

 

And I'd also like to hold out hope for the possibility that this wasn't a malicious act - possibly some kid without any knowledge of the consequences of cutting the rope.

Either way, a sliced rope is scary.

I've had people attempt to steal top anchors before, when the rope wasn't up - but at least that's just rude/selfish, and not *normally* life-threatening.

 

[crimper]

i'll be providing updates if any of my conversations go anywhere.

i intend to talk to the owner, the conservation group and metro and see what the options are. the owner also mentioned that he has had homeless/squatter types back there, one of who once started a fire that became a problem.

 

so, i'll be pointing out that one of the 'pros" of allowing climbing is that it would keep away the riff-raff and deter someone froms etting up camp on the land. for example, now that ozone has been outed, it seems like it's no longer attractive to sketchy hermit/loner/squatter types.

 

[LostCamKenny]

jesus, bry... good thing you have keen observational skillz!

[kevbone]

I was climbing at Madrone in 97 just before it closed one day. Some dude walked up with a gun over his shoulder......he was a local hunter/crazy person walkin through the woods.

[Jens]

I was climbing at Madrone in 97 just before it closed one day. Some dude walked up with a gun over his shoulder......he was a local hunter/crazy person walkin through the woods.

Ever clip a hanger that his been hit with a round or two- it ain't fun.

[cbcbd]

crimper, glad to have you with us, man.

 

Truly screwed up.

[fenderfour]

All safety issues aside, don't you guys have your own forum now?

[crimper]

yesterday the owner went up with me (he was packing heat, which made me feel better) and we saw that my rope (in its segments) was as i left it.

in fact, it was in 3 pieces, confirming that there were 2 cuts, not 1.

 

(earlier i had left this part out of my story, but when i snapped the line, a 10 foot section fell to the ground at my feet, meaning there must have been 2 cuts to create 3 pieces. i could not figure out how my one "snap" caused both partial cuts to tear at the exact same moment, which is why i didn't address that confusing fact in my original post - but now that i went back and the owner and i saw all3 pieces, we agreed that beyond a doubt, there were 2 cuts and 3 pieces)

 

the cuts were at the 20 foot mark, and again at the 30 foot mark.

 

anyway, he's pretty concerned that someone - homeless, pot grower, who knows - has gotten territorial about his property. metro knows all of the above and i will be in touch with them. so, beyond a doubt, someone cut the rope twice and this was no accident.

 

i feel like i have more closure now that i have my rope (ropes?) back and confirmed the cuts.

[crimper]

and this didn't happen in the columbia gorge, but the clackamas river drainage, so i picked this forum for it.

[Off_White]

I think you picked the right forum, it's good to have this information widely disseminated. Thanks for all the follow up on this, pretty creepy incident.

[Lord_Albert_Winchester]

We ran into this kind of nasty business all the time in the wilds of Borneo during my stint in the SAS. Those little native buggers were fond of all kind of dirty tricks and a careful eye on your surroundings kept you alive( our fondness for the SLR did as well). The birds would usually signal trouble afoot to our headhunter guides. Perhaps setting up some form of recce basha might reveal your antagognist?

[crimper]

that or a web cam

[billcoe]

On 6/7/2010 at 4:33 PM, ivan said:

jeebus. not much of a warning however if you don't name the place. not that i'm thinking of expanding my horizons anytime soon

feel free to kill the first stranger you see there in retribution!

 

Remembering this tale was causing my palms to start sweating again, in revisiting it I see that I'd totally missed or forgotten Ivans comment 8 years back.

Edited March 7, 2018 by billcoe

[Eric T]

One could hang another rope then wait for them to come back and finish said discussion on the top of the cliff....

I wonder if a video of them doing it would be attempted murder? 

[JosephH]

Had it happen three times on one rope down to an anchor - last time enough slack was left in the line that the cut end was out of sight over the edge, managed to see it, stop, and climb back up.