cja Posted May 24, 2011 Posted May 24, 2011 Trip: Old Man - The Prize Date: 5/21/2011 Trip Report: Nestled 150 feet or so above the Umpqua River, a bit over 50 miles from Roseburg, Old Man, and his Old Woman, make for a pretty scene. I'd stopped at the gauge station with girlfriend back in the fall coming back from the Peregrine Traverse and Umpqua hotsprings (also quite nice) to stare up at the pillar and imagine a day to come... Saturday was supposed to be the rapture; the day had come so I wanted to try to get up on something high so God would be sure to see me. The Prize seemed appropriate. My girlfriend couldn't make it, so I pulled Matt in, since he had initially planted the seed in my mind. [img:left]http://cascadeclimbers.com/plab/data/517/medium/IMAG0295.jpg[/img] [img:right]http://cascadeclimbers.com/plab/data/517/medium/400x600xIMAG0303.jpg.pagespeed.ic.yFKj4TNpTv.jpg[/img] Approach took an hour on the way in and 55 minutes back--the thought of cold beer (and Matt's worried, waiting woman) put a little extra spring in our step on the exit. The four, all-bolted pitches of The Prize (10d-11c) are all quality. This route should be sought out more often. If the summit register is to be believed, we were the first on the route this year, and the second party on the pillar at all. Even if half the parties don't sign in, this route ought be climbed more often. [img:left]http://cascadeclimbers.com/plab/data/517/medium/IMAG0304.jpg[/img] I will say (i.e. I like to think) that the absence of chalk on the route adds significantly to the endurance required for any onsight attempt. All the moves went free on this first attempt, but disappointingly, two falls and several other takes were in the mix. The belay atop the second pitch was quite windy, but it's easy to imagine that we got off lucky as that was the worst of it for us. The crux for me was on the third pitch (as expected), but instead of being low, it was on a short slab section about halfway up the pitch--after trying variations (left, direct, and right)each more than once and retreating, I finally got it done by going up right and stepping back left to the next bolt. Going direct I got my head up at bolt level several times but could not move to clip from that position--this is where one of my two falls were. (Genuine) thoughts on whether I "cheated" here, from those who have been there before, are welcome. [img:right]http://cascadeclimbers.com/plab/data/517/medium/IMAG0306.jpg[/img] In hindsight, this scene had been foreshadowed: I'm a bit embarrassed to report my other fall was on TR at the top of the first (easiest) pitch where I found myself, similarly, trying to go straight up the final block while Matt told me it was easier to escape right. I tell other people all the time, "as long as you connect the dots (bolts)--you can go anywhere you want," but still I try to force a clean line myself... Speaking of clean lines, the route is pretty clean, but a brush to do a little spring cleaning wouldn't be a bad idea. That's about it. We didn't find any prize at the top--someone else might bring one to leave for the next party--but getting up the route was prize enough. I did find two Penthouse magazines (who knew they still PRINT porn?!) at the trailhead, so getting the campfire started was a bit of a prize too. [img:left]http://cascadeclimbers.com/plab/data/517/medium/IMAG0308.jpg[/img] Chris Gear Notes: Bring your guns and some nerve, and two cords to get down. Other than that just QDs (longest pitch is 12 bolts). The smart kid (not the one who left the second rope at the base of the route) thought to rap down to the notch on one line and have the other (yours truly) pull the second cord up to the top--voila': no one had to carry or pull the rope up through the strenuous route! Some prusiks/slings might be advisable in case of need of some assistance. Bring your Technu with you on this adventure and be prepared to deal with a fair amount of oak at the base of the climb. It's still worth doing the first pitch. Bring a tarp or a a light picnic cloth you can just fold up and throw in the washer later. A decent, capped pen or a pencil sharpener would be a nice addition to the summit register. There are a couple dull pencils, but I came down with the three rusty, garbage pens that were there. Approach Notes: Because of work on the Soda Springs dam, access is currently closed on the normal approach from the east...Approaching from the west adds 20-odd minutes each way--start at the parking area right at highway MP 50; cross back west over the bridge and walk 2ish miles to Eagle Creek, just east of gauge station; consult Greg Orton's Western Oregon, Umpqua guide. Quote
shapp Posted May 24, 2011 Posted May 24, 2011 Bad ass mo fo! We climed Dilley's Delight last year and had a hard look at the line you climbed. Very striking route! too bad the crux is a few letters above my free climbing ability. Quote
chris54 Posted May 25, 2011 Posted May 25, 2011 Looks sweet! Last time I was down south I got poison oak not fun! Quote
corvallisclimb Posted May 25, 2011 Posted May 25, 2011 hey thats cool, i hung on the route to when i did it too Quote
cja Posted May 25, 2011 Author Posted May 25, 2011 yeah, Shapp, I remember your TR...even Dilley's sounded like a tough line to me given being hungover from a bachelor party and floating the river the day prior. I went rafting (down the Deschutes) last year for a bachelor party too, and the second day would not have been a good time for climbing!...nice pics of the two pillars I remember as well. I should have lifted one of them for this TR. Quote
cja Posted May 27, 2011 Author Posted May 27, 2011 That's a humble thing to say Radek; I wish I had the nerve you do to get up all the routes you've done. I have your website bookmarked, I should say. Quote
cja Posted May 27, 2011 Author Posted May 27, 2011 Am I almost a Noob here or what? I'm hoping 25 is the magic number! Quote
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