Rad Posted July 17, 2012 Posted July 17, 2012 Trip: A day in the life - at the crag Date: 7/13/2012 Trip Report: Up at 5:30 and off to the crag for a little triathalon. Apologies for the blurry pics. Most were taken with my phone. First leg 1: Abdominal and deltoid isometrics during route development Carry the drill, battery, and other toys up the hill, up another hill, up a third hill, and then up a rocky slope laced with wildflowers. The stashed ropes were covered in little brown pellets because...the Snaffle King ate my Christmas rope! So I tied off the damaged sections and had to pass ten knots on the way to the target anchor. I went up and down finalizing the project protection plan, and then drilled and placed four bolts on a way-hard-for-me project. It's tough to drill when the route is overhanging and the features are sidepulls (no cracks here). The ab workout was complete, and a name for the line emerged: Bladerunner. Now I just need to unlock the crux...but that's a story for another day. I dashed down to the trailhead to meet DavidY for the next event: Leg 2: Leg presses and assorted strenuous oddities during log wrangling. We planned to remove a large tree that's been blocking the trail for two years. Climbers have been making a mess going around this thing for some time. The crux of the biscuit was a 40ft span of 17 to 22 inch trunk. Many limbs were removed before this shot. David played with power tools. I did the grunt work. Cutting under tension was difficult. Wrestling 4-6ft sections of trunk out of the trail wasn't much easier. But now the trail is back where it should be. A better trail is needed, and that will take a lot of work, but first we need to figure out what's up with the mysterious optical fiber. Urban duties called, but I persuaded David to push on to the next stage: Leg 3: Climb two routes at Shangri-La. Free Radical is the **** 11a arete right of Guillotine, which Ian is shown climbing in a pic from last summer. Bladerunner is on the overhanging face to the right. Above that is a 30m 10a called Hangman. It has a very alpine feel. We rapped, David retrieved his stashed saws, and he dashed for Seattle. I gathered my rodent-eaten ropes, lead rope, and other gear and ambled down the trail at a slower pace. No summer outing at Shangri-La is complete without a dip in the SnoQ, and this is the perfect swimming hole to do it. Gear Notes: Power tools and climbing gear. Approach Notes: X38 Far Side. Quote
mountainmatt Posted July 17, 2012 Posted July 17, 2012 Nice one Rad! Looks like a nice day out (minus the ). Thanks for clearing out that tree! I definitely need to take another trip up to Shangri-La . Quote
el jefe Posted July 18, 2012 Posted July 18, 2012 definitely looks like you had a fine day out. got to love the northwest in the summer! Quote
boadman Posted July 18, 2012 Posted July 18, 2012 Rock looks good up there, I still need to check it out! Quote
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