[TR] Clackamas River Watershed - Coethedral 7/30/2011

[Lodestone]

Trip: Clackamas River Watershed - Coethedral

 

Date: 7/30/2011

 

Trip Report:

The somewhat adventurous nature of Coethedral and what seems to be an annual pilgrimage seems to warrant a trip report.

 

 

The approach is not too rigorous although there are several newly fallen trees over the trail. Where’s the Beacon Rock tree cutter when you need him? I marked the trail with flagging tape as finding it at the slash pile can be a bit tricky.

 

I had high hopes of creating a new climb that I narrowly missed working on last fall. Sometimes though, things don’t work out as planned. Climbing up the first one-and-a-half pitches of Bewitched allowed me to rappel into a suitable location for a new anchor. Rappelled in, cleaned a little, coughed from breathing some vaporized yellow lichen and started TR soloing. Holly crap, this thing is flaking off like an onion. Disappointingly, I could barely make it through this exfoliation to the sweet grapefruit section that reminded me of Lake Tahoe’s Candyland. I ended up working my way to the top but my performance was quite ugly.

 

Rightfully so, I think that Josh was getting tired of my dangling around on a fixed line. We moved over to Excalibur. This thing is excellent!

Above this, we ended up climbing the second(?) pitch of Trench Warfare before rappelling to terra firma.

 

In an effort to maximize our time we moved over to the right side of the Coethedral formation to sample some of the (shaded) half-pitch climbs. I didn’t take any pictures but we climbed Rad Plaid and Glad and finally Runaway Weasel. Both mellow, fun climbs.

 

 

Chad

[JosephH]

Where’s the Beacon Rock tree cutter when you need him?

If you're referring to the South Face tree cutter, then they need to stow the saw and not make a mistake like that again. If it was the person with the loppers who whacked all the small trees at the base, but left them standing, they also need to get a clue and knock it the fuck off. Both fall under the heading of real WTF moves and the one has not gone unnoticed.

[Drederek]

Now I'm interested, this pic looks like Fossil Rock!

[stevetimetravlr]

Nice photos, looks cool.

[JosephH]

Ya gotta know to know. No 'route maintenance' was done, but rather a lapse in judgment occurred.

[billcoe]

Now I'm interested, this pic looks like Fossil Rock!

 

Hi Drederek: more info here: http://www.mountainproject.com/v/coethedral/106865073 Some sweet climbing. Routes go up to @400 feet high. All routes currently anywhere-anypitch you can get down with a single 60 meter rope. I had heard from someone I don't know that there are some new long routes behind the pinnacles on the main walls, but forgot to ask Chad about this. It climbs nicer than it looks. From the pictures it looks like shit...LOL!

 

Here's Adam Winslow (CC.com sprayer name King Beatard) on the FA of the route Chad mentions "Excalibur". He's @ 100' up here, with another 100' to go to finish the pitch. Above this pitch there are 2 or 3 ways to keep going if one chooses although there may be more now. Kyle Silverman snapped this photo from the rappel point Chad mentions.

 

I think that there are some better pictures. Search CC.com for Cathedral or Coethedral.

 

CHAD! DUDE, AWESOME TRIP REPORT. (more pics needed LOL) THANKS. Chad's other community service was he also flagged the trail for folks so it's easier to find and stay on to get to the base. Sounds like a lot of downfall over the winter though. Sounds like it might need some sportin' wood hot chain saw action.

[Drederek]

So thats down toward Olallie lake, one of my grandfathers favorites. Guess I'll have to make the drive one of these days. Any guidebooks out there to be had?

[billcoe]

Any guidebooks out there to be had?

 

Not as far as Ollie lake, (which is awesome) much closer to PDX. In fact, the drive to Bagby hot springs is maybe another 20 some odd miles further down the road from the Coethedral turnoff. Lots of Portland folks day trip to Bagby as it's so awesome and unique, great spot to finish out a day after climbing yer ass off here as you can get a free hot springs soak in an old growth tree about the time everyone is clearing out of Bagby at the end of the day.

 

As far as a guidebook, Mountain Project is it for now. It needs @ 150 more routes, and they'll come. Tim will put them in his next book, so please let him know if you do one or more. Tims site: http://www.portlandrockclimbs.com/portland-rock-climbs. The standard pro as Chad mentions is the longer 1/2" stainless steel wedge anchors, and I can sell anyone those for $3.00 each and you can get hangers from Fixe for about the same $ although right now they are having a special where you can buy 100 of the 1/2" - 13mm) hangers for $240. Stainless! Woot! Everything up there is stainless. http://www.fixeusa.com/sale.htm If anyone wants to add bolts to existing routes, that's cool but you might as well go with the cheaper 3/8" if you are just filling a spot between 2 of the existing 1/2 inchers.

 

Right now it looks like this:

Getting There (just printing these off and following them will easily get you there, it's easy)

 

From Portland, take I-205 to highway 224 towards Estacada. Go 22 miles past Estacada's only traffic signal, past mile marker 45 and make a right turn just BEFORE the road crosses a green bridge. From this turn, parking for the crag is just over 10 miles. After turning, in a city block or 2 you will immediately pass two turn-offs for Indian Henry state park; camping on the left and hiker parking on the right. They're well marked with Forest Service signage, currently the campground is closed. Keep straight. Go past milepost 2.5 where you will see an old beaver pond on the right. Good place to stop and pee, let the dog get soaking wet:-) From here you are about a mile, as the crow flies, from the cliff. By car, you still have another 7.5 miles to go. The paved road will turn to gravel, stay right at all forks in the road staying on the better/more obvious road. This will keep you following National Highway development road #4620 (also called The Sandstone road) until it turns into road # 4622. If you prepared you've printed out the google map for this area, but it's easy anyway. After 10 miles you will see a "road closed" sign on on a gate the right. If you miss this, the road ends within a mile, so you won't miss it for long LOL. The Forest service created a berm by the gate. Park and hike down the closed forest road until you come to a slash-pile and a view of the crag to the north. Chad has flagged it with orange tape, so follow that, but the directions, in the event someone pulls the tape, are hike into the woods towards the crag. Follow the crest of the ridge until the trail turns left and downhill continuing to the base. Go to this site, http://mapper.acme.com/ and copy and paste this into the find box in the lower right corner, N 45.07791 W 122.09965 you'll be right at the base. (upper right corner gives you buttons to switch from topo, satellite photo, road map etc etc. Left side zooms.

Close up overview sketch:

 

 

 

We seem to be lacking in any big cliffs in Oregon that resemble anything worth climbing on. Well, the Matterhorn still hasn't seen a 2nd ascent, longest rock route in the state, but I mean generally. Love to see folks get stoked on this spot. It's really pretty amazing.

 

Close up of Adam (bit of a badass and totally fun to be with cause of his go for it attitude) seen here on the 2nd ascent of "The Salathe Highway". Same route Ben Priestly and Scott Peterson are on below but different spot.

 

This is the only gear route out there, we all think that a big bro should fit in between the 2 pinnacles, but it just can't seem to find a good spot to stick. You don't really need it, in fact, it's nice to have it weight that runner and keep the runner fixed on the pinnacle as it's a great piece: that's why it's hanging there for Adam. I had 2 others and just dropped them via hanging them off a knob on the main wall thinking that the route would be going to the right (of Adam in this pic). (it surprisingly went left, very classic climbing and significantly easier than it appeared)

 

ps, I think that the note in Chads pic "extra weight stuff in friends pack" might be one of my tricks (bad habits)...heh heh!

[LostCamKenny]

uggg... close-ups of the rock make me want to climb there less and less... but as long as someone is having fun out there then that is all that matters i guess. silverboy does take some cool pics, though, especially when he isn't trying to shoot the shot with the camera in his ass.

[crimper]

i'm glad bill and crew found a fun and gorgeous spot to drill exciting sport routes, and in 10 years when the faces have cleaned up you'll see this dad of 3 climbing the "classics' that have developed.

 

but, like kenny, i've seen the chossy photos that have been posted on this site, and i know just how sketchy this climbing can be for the second ascentionist. the FA party generally topropes the route, decides which knobs might not blow, then sticks to them while those who come after get the fun of having them break off. and i love how the guide explains that some bolts seem unclippable, or random - until you realize that massive knobs and ledges have already broken off after just a few ascents. it doesn't have to be "fun" to be fun.

 

 

[billcoe]

i'm glad bill and crew found a fun and gorgeous spot to drill exciting sport routes, and in 10 years when the faces have cleaned up you'll see this dad of 3 climbing the "classics' that have developed.

 

but, like kenny, i've seen the chossy photos that have been posted on this site, and i know just how sketchy this climbing can be for the second ascentionist. the FA party generally topropes the route, decides which knobs might not blow, then sticks to them while those who come after get the fun of having them break off. and i love how the guide explains that some bolts seem unclippable, or random - until you realize that massive knobs and ledges have already broken off after just a few ascents. it doesn't have to be "fun" to be fun.

I suspect your kids will drag you out there sooner than that Bryan LOL. I climbed out there with my boy: good times. He was the one who named the route "Runaway Weasel". I suggested doing the excruciatingly easy looking slab to the right of Runaway Weasel and he suggested a name of "Prancing Unicorn". Everytime he'd say it it, which was a lot, it would crack him up in a spasm of laughter for a couple of solid min. I'm like, dude, PLEASE! So we never did it, but it would be a great line for lil kids to get on. The words you note in the guide were put down as we were putting up new lines, and might not be applicable today.

 

I think 4-5 ascents should get these mostly cleared off and most of the routes have seen that already or are close I'd bet. I have not been there this year though. We generally tried to get the loose crap off first go round, usually on rappel as you say, and feel that we succeeded in getting most of it. Certainly bruised my heel so bad from slamming it onto knobs that I had to take some time off. Of course you can't get it all. The other problem is that I weight @ 158 now, most of the folks I know are in that range someplace too, and when someone like big Ben Priestly or Scott show up later to climb, they go over 200 lbs somewhere...and rocks come off that held for us lightweights. Scott Peterson got off route on the 3rd ascent of the Salathe Highway heading over to a bolt on the Bewitched route and popped off a toaster sized rock, but he went right back up not long after for another lap with Ben for the 4th ascent as seen in the pic I took of them below, and I don't think they had any issues. So that route must have had a handful more ascents and should be plenty good to go by now I'd suspect. (it's the only gear route out here)

You can see both Mt Hood peeking over the hill and Timber Lake CCC (the bald spot just up and left of Ben who is in the orange shirt there).

 

Sooner or later all the marginal rocks will be gone, a process which is probably far along by now, and what will be left is some great and unusual climbing in a spectacular setting. Some routes are dirtier than others as a result of being in predominant gullies where winter water will bring down dirt. I left some wisk brooms at the bases for folks to haul up and help clean dust off if needed.

 

A couple of the routes were done ground up, and about as worthy of climbing as anything in the state. However, I was asked nicely by a great guy who turned me onto the place to not to do that kind of long natural gear routes which although would have possibly been some masterful tricky and interesting (to a minority of us) pro, would result in screwing over those who followed. He further asked me not to not get hung up on bolts at all (unlike some other places - I did apologize to you for that- So some of these routes have way too much bolting already by my standards: but it's everyones place and if anyone wants to add any, just talk it over with the active climbers out there and do it. The routes done later in time had more bolts. One of Oregons old masters, known for no bolts and badassed high standard free crack climbs back in the day, suggested that more bolts were needed. So it was noted and done that way. That's just the way it shook out. I tried to do the right thing for those who follow and make no apologies. Again, if anyone wants to add any for any reason, talk it over with whomever the current monkeys are and do it. Simple. No confrontations or stress.

 

I pulled this recent post from Mt Project and think it's about right on the money.

 

Jul 24, 2011

 

Just went out there this weekend. This place has some of the most surreal and adventurous sport climbing I've ever seen. Absolutely incredible.

 

Watch out for loose rock though. It's everywhere up there, and easily the most dangerous part of climbing here.

[JosephH]

It doesn't look like a place where there would be much point in quibbling over the presence of bolts

beyond their length and spacing. Glue looks like it could become more of an issue over time.

[corvallisclimb]

Hey Bill, I'm curious wich of the routes where done ground up there? So I can put them at the top of my list if I make it there sometime.

[billcoe]

IMO The best routes out there are the pinnacles and Excalibur Tyler. There are a few ways to skin a cat and get to the top of either, but the easiest might be the Salathe Highway, which is only the tip of the Witch and is also the only gear route out there. It's both absurdly easy and breathtakingly scary at the same time. Think panic point on Monkey with gear and no bolts kind of feeling. You've done a lot of those kinds of routes yourself so I'm sure you know what I'm talking about.

 

That pic above is Ben and Scott on that route. There's a couple ways to work your way up to that. You can sus it out from the pic up above.

 

Have fun!

[corvallisclimb]

Thanks dude. Looking forward to checking it out and ripping off some holds!

[crimper]

attaboy tyler, go get some! in 5 years i probably will be out there sketching out between bolts but motivated by the awesome setting and huge clif-face. i can't imagine the crag could ever see "too much traffic" based on its location and overall size, so i hope it becomes more and more popular (and bolted and cleaned over the years...

 

i love how ozone has made the other crags seem less crowded. the more the merrier!

[Corduroy Man]

I got to spend a couple days up here this summer! Very cool stuff! Some very scary stuff as well. But luckily there are LOTS of bolts =) Great job on the crag Mr. Bill Coe and all!!!

 

Rock on!