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Posted

Saturday

9:00am until 12:00pm

Beacon Rock State Park, North Bonneville, Washington 98639

The Beacon Rock Climbing Association is happy to announce that it will be hosting a Trail Maintenance Day at Beacon Rock State Park on Saturday, October 27th, 2012 starting at 9 a.m.

 

This is a great opportunity for volunteers to give back to the park and to meet new and old school climbers!

 

If you are interested in becoming a Beacon Rock volunteer on Trail Maintenance Day, please feel free to join one of 3 Teams dedicated to 3 Projects lasting (approximately) 3 Hours:

 

3 PROJECTS:

 

1. SW Face Climbers' Trail - this area is in need of some attention as years of blanket closures due to Peregrine Falcon nesting have left it a bit neglected. This old climbers' trail leads to the SW Face where a handful of established routes wait to see climbers again ... someday. We plan to attack poison oak (without the use of herbicide) and move some stone & dirt to prevent erosion.

 

2. Hikers' Trail - the superhighway to the top of Beacon Rock is in need of attention as well. Some loose boards and nails pose a slight hazard to hikers, runners and so forth. We'll also be picking up trash which accumulates throughout the busy summer season.

 

3. South Face Climbers' Trail (Free For All to Jensen's Ridge) - this area near the "Arena of Terror" is over grown and erosion has taken its toll. Poison oak eradication and moving stone.

 

Join any team and afterwards we'll get together for climbing and a BBQ. Rain or shine, we are hoping to have a positive event to support such an amazing state park!

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Posted

WOW! That's all there is to say! Great day working out at the rock. Many thanks to all who took on the weather. In case you missed it, here's what went on and where we are going:

 

Over 30 volunteers arrived at 9 a.m. and divided into three teams and worked until after 12 p.m., on three projects.

 

Team One, which had the most volunteers, created a series of steps off the main hikers' trail onto the SW Face Climbers' trail, leveled large rocks through vegetated areas and continued into the boulder field before traversing the small scree area toward the rock to old and overgrown belay stations. (Look for cairns if you hike down) This maintenance work will help prevent erosion off the main trail and increase safety for climbers who use the approach trail to access climbs on the SW Face.

Below: Karen Natzel and Steve Altergott helping on the SW Face trail building effort

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Team Two worked on the South Side or River Side of the rock constructing a new belay platform at the base of Free For All. They also helped improve the trail up to the Arena of Terror and Jensen's Ridge (South Ridge).

Below: Building the belay platform at Free For All

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Team Three, which was led by the BRSP Head Ranger Karl Hinze, made their way to the top of the hikers' trail to prune trees and cut underbrush. This bit of work will not only help improve the view from the top but will help control icing that can knock down trees onto the trail during the harsh winter months.

 

In the wake of a great work day where we saw an incredible turnout despite the falling sky, a little hard work woke up an old idea in my head.

 

In addition to doing something physical to help the park in some way, trail-building helped me to realize the incredible value of teamwork to create an end result. This teamwork is the only way that trails get built and this same kind of teamwork is the only way to see our cause to the desired end result - that being more access to the best-quality climbing at Beacon Rock.

 

The group of people who turned out for the work day represents many generations of climbers. As we forge ahead into the next stage of the process it is important to remember that we must work together as a team. Together we can lift huge rocks and build a path where before there existed little or none. Similarly, our many voices make a much louder singular voice when we speak the same lines. If we make it our collective goal of climbing on the SW face of Beacon Rock year-round, then to accomplish that goal we must ALL be speaking the line to the authorities: "Open the Southwest Face!"

 

Our cause is all about teamwork and the better we work together as a team the better the result will be. If you worked for one of the trail crews on this past work day, then you have already started the hard, physical work in the process. Speaking the words is the easy part - speaking them repetitively! When the time comes to be heard we need the same physical turnout as we had for the manual labor: our teamwork being transformed into a community voice!

 

Remember that no goal is achieved without hard work, but nothing worth having is easy to achieve. And just think: We'd all get to climb at Beacon a little more!

 

In addition, here are some other points that the Beacon Rock Climbing Association has on its agenda:

 

• Forming a Friends Group that can support the park with volunteers and fundraising

 

• Need for better climbing information signs

 

• Support for the revised Climbing Management Plan and implementing a Buffer Zone

 

• Guest bloggers and Facebook admins

 

• Create and fund a federal research project on continued protection of peregrine falcons

 

• Camera in the nest

 

• Upcoming Trail Maintenance Projects such as SE Corner belay platform

 

• Joining established climbing organizations such as the Mazamas, Access Fund, AAC, WCC

 

• Joining the Beacon Rock Climbing Association

 

•University-led studies at Beacon to examine climber impact and peregrine habituation

 

• Future Adopt a Crag events - Ozone and Far Side crags

 

Join us in maintaining the rich traditional climbing history at Beacon Rock State Park! Show your support and keep in touch via our Facebook page or comment here on the blog!

 

Thanks to all who helped! Still got a lot of work to do!

 

Climb on!

 

 

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Posted

Did I mention that I have a old oil painting from 1860 thereabouts of Beacon Rock, and it shows a giant pinnacle laying against Beacon Rock right beneath where the Arena of Terror is. My interpretation is that when the railroad was being put in they blasted the detached pinnacle for railroad fill, and then started on Beacon Rock by drilling the 3 tunnels in anticipation of blasting it for fill, but it was saved by being purchased by the climber/philanthropist Henry Biddle, who then built the trail. Who knows what incredible routes are now rubble, and how cool the Arena of Terror/Jensens Ridge area could have been..

 

Posted
Did I mention that I have a old oil painting from 1860 thereabouts of Beacon Rock, and it shows a giant pinnacle laying against Beacon Rock right beneath where the Arena of Terror is. My interpretation is that when the railroad was being put in they blasted the detached pinnacle for railroad fill, and then started on Beacon Rock by drilling the 3 tunnels in anticipation of blasting it for fill, but it was saved by being purchased by the climber/philanthropist Henry Biddle, who then built the trail. Who knows what incredible routes are now rubble, and how cool the Arena of Terror/Jensens Ridge area could have been..

 

HOLY SMOKES, THAT'S SIGNIFICANT! Love to see this one Steve.....




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