[TR] Three O'Clock Rock - Revolver 6/13/2010

[Otto]

Trip: Three O'Clock Rock - Revolver

 

Date: 6/13/2010

 

Trip Report:

Climb: Revolver, first two pitches

 

Date of Climb: 6/13/2010

 

Trip Report: I'm in love with Revolver

 

Prologue:

 

In his excellent guide book to Darrington Rock, DavidW calls this route a "rusting relic climb that seemed forgotten". When chucK and I traversed under it to do Penny Lane last month, looking up Revolver gave us the same impression. The first thing we saw looking up was a rusty quarter-incher with a Leeper hanger, then three more above that! The visiting climber might never know the upper pitches had been modernized.

 

The only clue for the climber at the base would be that ONE of the bolts at the first belay anchor, the bottom of pitch 1, was a modern stainless steel fatty. But there were still the other rusty old bolts and chain, and a single rolled aluminum rap ring! It all didn't inspire confidence, and we gladly cruised past...

 

But it got me thinking. Here's a nice looking line, straight up the same beautiful slab of Silent Running and Total Soul, for five pitches. DavidW and Chris G. did some good work to modernize the hardware higher up. If it were modernized all the way down, it could take the population pressure off of those routes on busy summer weekends. This climb needed some (more) Love!

 

So when my partners for Sunday all bailed, for various good reasons, I moved up to do something I've been daydreaming about since falling in love with Revolver. I'd go on up there by myself and make a pass at rebolting the bottom two pitches of the route. Before you laugh and call me a fool, ask yourself: have you never been in love with a rock climb?

 

Climbers on Total Soul. I had no worries about my route being taken... It's forgotten!

 

The gear assembled, almost ready to go up.

 

First up, the base anchor at the top of the "approach pitch".

 

The existing chain didn't even them out, so decided to drill a new hole even with the existing fatty.

 

Next, after climbing up to the first pitch anchor, considering the options. Plenty of chain to work with.

 

Removing the middle bolt. Prybar with custom milled 5/16" slot by Serious Gear, Seattle. Thanks, Charlie, it worked great.

 

Drilled out one, removed one, and left one for history (off photo to the right).

 

Fixed the ropes and rapped down to the first old pro bolt. Interesting line under the bolt hole in the hanger.

 

The new first pro bolt of pitch 1. Should encourage nervous suitors.

 

Moved up to the second old pro bolt.

 

For some reason this one didn't want to pull out. Had to use all the wedge power available.

 

Success at last. The new second pro bolt, with powder-coated Metolius stainless hanger.

 

Jugged up to the third pro bolt.

 

These quarter inch holes were drilling out in about 15 minutes. This hanger is stainless steel, spray painted to take the shine off, which won't last.

 

Finally, the fourth pro bolt on pitch 1.

 

Drilling its replacement. Or taking a break from it...

 

The new fourth bolt on pitch 1. Another spray painted Metolius hanger.

 

The first pitch was complete. Then a more interesting solo up the second pitch, which is a little more run out where there are fewer knobs. This is the anchor that DavidW pointed out needs replacement: a classic Engineers "three in a row". Apparently, this was the anchor of choice for the Ladder Maker Culture.

 

Drilled out two and left the other one for history.

 

Towards the end of the day, around 7:00, with the wind freshening and the temps dropping, I decided to get the two pro bolts on this pitch. The higher one looked to be a 5/16" buttonhead.

 

The thicker bolt got stuck in the quarter-inch slot in my piton "tuning fork", confirming my estimate of the bolt diameter. The new stainless.

 

Now it was about 7:45 and the clouds had gathered completely, no more sun, no blue spots in the sky. I really wanted to go down. Even more, I wanted to finish this. What hangers did I have left? Not a one, I had miscalculated. With the relief of having no decision to make, I jugged back up for the gear. In the enthusiasm of going to meet my paramour, I'd neglected to bring up any food or water up the rope. Aching, thirsty and exhausted, I was glad to rappel. Got down to the pack at 8:00 as a light rain began falling.

 

Epilogue:

As there is violence in the final pull with the prybar, there is also sweet devotion to a favorite climb. When I return, I may replace that one last bolt on pitch 2, the next-to-last one. Or, it may be left for history!

 

 

 

Gear Notes:

Static rope for nice jugging.

Soloist.

[genepires]

nice job.

[Otto]

Here's a closeup of the original first bolt on the first pitch. I had forgotten to take a snap of it before I pulled it out, so I tapped it back in the hole, without bending it, and shot it. In this photo, the nut sits about an eighth inch above the hanger, but it was tight in situ. Lucky I did this, as we can see more of the crack in this shot than we would have, otherwise. Anyway, it was quite a spooky little potato chip to clip first thing after pulling the initial overlap.

By cascadeotto at 2010-06-16

[zeroforhire]

Thanks for cleaning that up.

[Pilchuck71]

Thanks for the hard work Otto!

 

[fgw]

thank you for the hard work!

got up 4 or 5 pitches of it this past march before dampness sent us running. A great route - as good as its neighbors.

[mountainsloth]

you are my hero Otto!

I have been up that climb twice and I too love that climb. The last time I got sleeted off it!

 

 

Those bolts sketched me out the first time I climbed it, but for some reason they did not stop me from making a second run on it.

Maybe it was.... love?

either way, thanks for the hard work.

Edited June 16, 2010 by mountainsloth

[tomtom]

Thanks for posting and doing the work.

[mountainmatt]

Awesome! Thanks for taking the time to clean Revolver up!

 

A few more bolts and some scrubbing should make a nice alternative to silent running.

 

 

.

[Otto]

Scrubbing? Do tell! I haven't done the final, fifth pitch yet. Is that where it needs scrubbing, would you say?

[Otto]

fgw, thanks for the reply. Very cool picture - that must be on the fifth (final) pitch, right? I've only been up through pitch 4. Hopefully, pitch 5 gets dry!

[Otto]

mountainsloth, great comments, thanks! Good picture - I remember staying off that wet streak on pitch 4, I believe.

 

...did not stop me from making a second run on it.

Maybe it was.... love?

Revolver, like many a beauty with an even temperment, has many suitors.

[mountainmatt]

 

This image sure does look mossy. Maybe I am missing something?

 

[BirdDog]

Otto;

 

Thanks you much for your hard work making the climb safer and more enjoyable. Great photos.

[fgw]

This image sure does look mossy. Maybe I am missing something?

 

it's clean granite, just wet.

[slaphappy]

Most importantly, your hard work updating outdated/unsafe hardware is greatly appreciated by all.

 

However I can't help but notice the odd angles and lack of equalization on the three replaced anchors. Would it not be better to either patch the old holes and start from scratch using longer chains (at least on one of the bolts) greatly reducing the force that is nearly doubled when pulling sideways, or reuse only one hole and drill one new one. (using 3 chain links on one and 7 on the other achieves this nicely) Two part epoxy putty works great for filling old or botched holes, comes in a grey granite like color, is available at Lowe's/Home Depot, and is cheap. Bringing both 3/8 and 1/2 in. quicklinks also helps making small adjustments. The aluminum Omega rings although strong will wear out rather quickly, why not just use cheaper burlier steel chain links?

 

Once again your efforts are appreciated it just seems it could be done cleaner and better. Please don't take this as negative feedback just an observation on how to possibly improve on an already great thing.

[mountainsloth]

the entire route is pretty clean, no need for scrubbing.

it follows a fairly natural watercourse so it is usually the wettest route on the butt.

 

Otto, I don't mind sharing her, maybe we can double-team her sometime?

 

[Climb X]

Thanks for all your hard work on that Otto. How are your fore arms feeling?

[dberdinka]

Thats a lot of hand drilling for one day! Nice work.

[Off_White]

Do I understand correctly, you're rope soloing up to replace the bolts on this route? Otto, you're my hero of the season,.damned fine work!

 

I can see slaphappy's point, it would be a good thing to change the angle on the anchor bolts by adding a little more chain so they v down together. With the new bolts in place, this would be easy enough for another party to do, since I'm guessing the traffic on this route is bound to increase this summer. I'll bring some links & such with me when I get on it, looks like a great alternative.

[Otto]

Off_White, yes that's right, I'd wanted to try that for a long time. The trick is to always pull through enough slack, while on a good stance, to get you up to the next good stance. I was a little disappointed at how much force it took to pull the rope through the Soloist. But on easy friction pitches, there is always a knob or wave to stand on and pull rope with one hand.

 

And yes, it would have been good to leave two chain sections on that anchor. I have them; I'll bring them to Marmot tonight to DavidW's slide show. If you're there, Off, I'll give them to you to send back up! Thanks, hope to see you (all) there!

Darrington Rock slide show, Marmot in Bellevue, 7:00 tonight!

[Off_White]

Gah, how I wish I could make it, but the whole high school graduation hullabaloo for my daughter has eaten up all my time for the next week. Have fun at the show, wish I was there.

[Otto]

A goofy camera angle, an amused afterthought in the midst of a day of constant activity...

 

[video:youtube]

[Otto]

To finish my Revolver rebolting blog, I offer this tableau

[Otto]

I went back up with partner Yale and added some chain to the second pitch belay anchor. Previously, had a fun conversation with my physicist buddy Steve Z. from Albuquerque. In which I was reminded of the trig function by which you can calculate the force on a bolt in a two-bolt anchor.

 

 

X = a bolt

Y = the other bolt, horizontal with X

w = the weight of the climber plus rope, etc.

F = the force on the bolt X

t = the angle between XY and force vector F

 

w and XY form a right triangle. So, from trig: Fsin(t) = w

 

...switching it around: F = w / sin(t)

 

Remembering that the sin of 0 is zero, as t gets smaller the denominator approaches zero - infinity! = big bad force on the bolts. Conversely, the longer the chains, the denominator approaches 1 and the force on the bolt is just the weight of the climber. So, we brought up some chain for the second pitch anchor.