[TR] Three O'Clock Rock - The Kone 6/4/2011

[Otto]

Trip: Three O'Clock Rock - The Kone

 

Date: 6/4/2011

 

Trip Report:

 

Over the last five years or so I had somehow become intimidated by the route at Three O'Clock Rock called The Kone. Maybe it was hearing the story of the FA grounding out and breaking his ankle. Or perhaps the close-up inspections from 'Til Broad Daylight made me think I couldn't do that. I got on it once last year with chucK, and it started to rain so we bailed. It all added up to a long time thinking about The Kone.

 

The first pitch has good pro

 

The crux has a good edge I didn't know about, back in the intimidated days

 

Angling sharply left on good knobs

 

The bicyle is now essential to the approach, for me. It's two miles to this washout, then two more to the trailhead. It took up 40 min. up to the trailhead, and 20 min. on the way down. The new stream crossing should get easier as summer comes along

 

It was a cloudless day and nobody else was there. A perfect start to another good year in Darrington. Photos by Clive.

 

 

Gear Notes:

Use Rattle & Slime

 

Approach Notes:

I tried it on my road bike, only damage was a flat front tube. Lusting after a cyclocross bike.

[dberdinka]

So...parking 4 miles from the trailhead these days? Any chance the roads going to get fixed?

[benmurphy]

nice dude, that's a fun route!

 

[curtveld]

So...parking 4 miles from the trailhead these days? Any chance the roads going to get fixed?

Linky

[stevetimetravlr]

The route named after Quinn Conehead I believe?

[Otto]

Yes, I believe it was called originally, "The Quin Conehead Pre-Memorial Route". I'm at work, without my old guidebooks, going by memory...

[Otto]

"The Quin Konehead Pre-Memorial Route", shown in Brooks and Whitelaw, "A Climbers Guide to Washington Rock", 1982

[stevetimetravlr]

 

actually his name was Quinn Coning. He quit climbing after taking a seriously huge fall ice climbing and walking away from it, I can't remember what peak, does anyone else remember? Sold all his gear and became a white supremist as I recall, back in 1978 or so. Quite a character.

[num1mc]

actually his name was Quinn Coning. He quit climbing after taking a seriously huge fall ice climbing and walking away from it, I can't remember what peak, does anyone else remember? Sold all his gear and became a white supremist as I recall, back in 1978 or so. Quite a character.

 

Quinn Koenig, he was about the same age as Dan Lepeska, Jim Yoder, Pat McNethney and Doug Klewin, and was also from Tacoma. I believe he started climbing in the same Explorer post as the others named (sans Jim). He fell on Monte Cristo, accompanied possibly with Eric Thixton and Dan Lepeska, in about 1978. He continued to climb to about 1980. He was involved in another potentially serious fall at the Peshastin Pinnacles when a women following (!!!!!) a route became frightened, and lunged onto the un-roped Quinn. They both took a large swing, but remained intertwined.

 

I understood that he became religious. Russ Erickson spoke of seeing Quinn again in the Valley in about 1982, when Quinn was living in LA.

 

I met his father in about 1989, when I was working at a job site at Simpson Tacoma Kraft. He had not seen or spoken to Quinn for a number of years, and believed he was at that time living and working in Italy.

 

It would be interesting to know what happened to him, I doubt the white supremist story though

[stevetimetravlr]

My friend Bob and I bought a bunch of his gear from him when he said he was quitting climbing and that's what he told us, maybe he was kidding. We were a little mystified.

[num1mc]

OK then. Nothing that I hear about Quinn Koenig would actually surprise or shock me. Russ said that Quinn was a member of a church, it could have been some weird church with lunatic thoughts about race - Ham and all that stuff.

 

I often wonder if he is still alive. I hope he is, it does seem like he had the potential to take his own at one time