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Roger Brown
climber
Oceano, California
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Topic Author's Original Post - Jul 14, 2007 - 03:29pm PT
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With Clint's fine footwork we have 1600 ft of rope fixed and we're drilling like a couple of crazy men.
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Ed Hartouni
Trad climber
Livermore, CA
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Jul 14, 2007 - 04:22pm PT
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good on you guys!
keep on tapping!!
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pyro
Big Wall climber
Ventura
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Jul 14, 2007 - 06:12pm PT
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nice work roger! hope to help out soon.
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Karl Baba
Trad climber
Yosemite, Ca
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Jul 14, 2007 - 08:07pm PT
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great Job!
Thanks!
The skin you save might be mine!
Peace
Karl
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Clint Cummins
Trad climber
SF Bay area, CA
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Jul 15, 2007 - 03:35am PT
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Just back from 3 days of rebolting adventures with Roger!
I have photos to post, but gotta pack for a trip tomorrow, so in the meantime here's a brief summary of the recent efforts:
 Tues. or Wed. - Ryan (pyro on the mountain) led up Surf Nazi, which they had originally mistaken for p1 of Midlife Crisis. The rope is fixed and Roger replaces the bolts on it and/or the unnamed route to its left.
Thurs. - I met Roger at 6:30am at Camp 4 and after breakfast we were at the wall before the sun hit it. Our goal was to get to the top of Midlife Crisis / Friday the 13th, so we would have ropes fixed to the higest point(s) on the wall and be able to access everything for rebolting. I led up p1 of Hershey Highway 5.8 since it looked a lot faster than p1 of Midlife Crisis, plus I wanted a warmup. There was no existing route connecting over right to Midlife Crisis, so we made a variation by climbing up easy rock and placing a bolt, then traversing right at about 5.8 to intersect the second pitch of Midlife Crisis. One spot was a little sketchy for my mediocre slab skills, so I brandished Roger's 18' cheater stick and it worked great (hey, I'm an aid cilmber when necessary!). We backed up the 1/4" belay with a cam. On p3 I was stopped by a rather committing rounded lieback corner, so I brandished the stick again. We backed up the 1/4" belay by including the first bolt on p4. On p4 it looked scary but the runout was too long for the stick so I freed the moves in between bolts by necessity! We simulreplaced at this point, with me fixing the top of p4 anchor (USE 1/4" x 1.25" taperbolts) and Roger the anchor where he was belaying. Left 4 ropes fixed and down for the night.
Fri. - I slept in a little and met Roger after 7am. After another nice breakfast at the Curry buffet, we hit the wall with several more ropes for fixing. Roger grabbed 2 ropes from Surf Nazi as well. So we tied' em all together and had a hauling party to the high point. Midlife Crisis joins Friday the 13th for p5, which has a single bolt and a long runout on 5.10a above. I tested the bolt by jerking on it, and climbed up about 10', but it was too scary to get past a glassy section, so I downclimbed and lowered way down and right onto the belay atop p5 of Reefer Madness. I was a little confused at first with the topo, but eventually realized there is a route not shown on the topo which is essentially a direct finish to Reefer Madness that stays separate from Greasy But Groovy - it looks fairly hard and goes up a streak that was wet in the morning but dried out in the afternoon. The topo promised a 5.8/5.9 path up Reefer Madness and Greasy But Groovy and then back left to rejoin Friday the 13th. p6 of Reefer Madness is a rising traverse along a faint dike, rated 5.8 with no pro and a ramp far below to hit. After some moves that were at least 5.9, I was pleased to discover an original bolt that was not shown on the topo! I clipped it and continued to the belay - 2 fixed pins with a new sling and 2 TCUs. p7 of Reefer/Greasy but Groovy is 5.9 with no pro - I tensioned off the anchor to get started and managed to survive the runout, reaching a healthy 6" diameter pine tree below the big pine tree. Here we rejoined p7 of Friday the 13th, which was rated 5.9+ with no pro - more like 5.9 and I survived it to replace the anchor while Roger worked on bolts below. p8 looked way too scary, though - rated 5.9 but very glassy and long. It was about dark and we headed down with our ropes fixed high.
Sat. - 6:45am at Camp 4 again, cruised the buffet, and onto the wall. Roger was first up the fixed lines, and worked on replacing the p5 anchor of Reefer Madness, a bolt on the direct finish, and several bolts below. I replaced the single bolt on p5 of Friday the 13th, and the belay anchor at the end of the pitch. This belay anchor was three 1/4" taperbolts in a waterstreak running with water, and the sling had a fat growth of moss on it! So after consulting with Roger I decided to place the new anchor bolts 18" left, out of the water and above the main belay stance. Next I rapped from our high point anchor atop p7 with 2 ropes tied together and tensioned way left in an attempt to intersect with Shakey Flakes, which was so far left (80'?) that we could not see any of its bolts. This actually worked, and I clipped the first bolt on p6 and rapped to the anchor atop p5. The ASCA notes said bolts were missing on pitches 4-6. p6 had both bolts visible. Looking down at p5, I could see the (top) protection bolt was missing for the crux 5.11c traverse across the smooth wall. So I fixed Roger's static line over to that p5 anchor, so he can access that. I cleaned my 2 ropes and gear from the wall and we headed out.
This leaves Roger in good shape for replacing up to 100 bolts in the area over the next week or so. After that he will need more assistance in getting ropes fixed on other climbs which need replacement, such as the Middle Cathedral North Face Apron (shady, as Kelly noted). To contact Roger, just do what I did and send his wife Carol an email at wallstridr@sbcglobal.net ; she can pass along plans to Roger when talks to her on most evenings.
Roger holds a record of 263 bolts replaced in the summer of 2005, but it was not done singlehandedly - Greg Barnes and crew were very busy moving fixed ropes around to try to keep with with Roger's drilling pace! So help make it happen this year; Roger is ready to rebolt for the next 6 weeks if people can assist with setting up fixed lines on the many routes in need of repair.
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Clint Cummins
Trad climber
SF Bay area, CA
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Jul 15, 2007 - 05:44am PT
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A few photos from 3 days at the Arches Terrace area:
starting Midlife Crisis p3
Roger jugging
1/4" x 1" bolt extracted
enlarging and deepening the hole for a new stainless steel 3/8" x 2.25" bolt
replacing taperbolt anchor for p7 of Friday the 13th
kneepads help when replacing on slabs
Friday the 13th p5 anchor in wet streak, slings growing moss
p5 anchor moved 18" left (and up to chest height) into dry area
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Ed Hartouni
Trad climber
Livermore, CA
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Jul 15, 2007 - 08:22am PT
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you guys really do Rock!
and what a sense of timing! Friday the 13th on Friday the 13th,
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MikeL
climber
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Jul 15, 2007 - 09:43am PT
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Fantastic. You guys are heroes. Wonderful.
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Karl Baba
Trad climber
Yosemite, Ca
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Jul 15, 2007 - 09:44am PT
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Roger is the man! Thanks for your critical role Clint.
Now all those 5.9 pitches with no pro can get sent by the next generation of corn-fed Gym muntants, trying to find dime edges to mono off, safe in the knowledge that after the 300 foot fall, the consequences might be no worse than a motorcycle accident.
"Dude, cool slab leathers! You gonna go send Friday the 13th now that the bolts are replaced?"
"Wurd!"
Just making fun of the climbs, not the effort
Peace
Karl
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hossjulia
Trad climber
Eastside
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Jul 15, 2007 - 11:23am PT
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ran into Roger this morning and did he look hammered! The guy is working his rear off, and perhaps some of the front too!
I got to tell him this in person, GOOD JOB ROGER!
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426
Sport climber
Buzzard Point, TN
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Jul 15, 2007 - 12:03pm PT
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Great job gents.
I'm worried about your eyes, will you were some I-pro next time?
Thanks, Mom
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MikeL
climber
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Jul 15, 2007 - 12:55pm PT
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You sound a little sad about it, Karl.
I guess in the end everything out of the ordinary is brought down to the masses.
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spyork
Social climber
A prison of my own creation
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Jul 15, 2007 - 01:03pm PT
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LOL, even with decent bolts, those climbs are not for the masses.
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Russ Walling
Social climber
Out on the sand.... man.....
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Jul 15, 2007 - 01:18pm PT
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excellent work guys! (and I mean *work*!)
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Jerry Dodrill
climber
Bodega, CA
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Jul 15, 2007 - 05:10pm PT
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Wow! Great work! What kind of shape were those taper bolts in?
This is a work of art...
Thanks for sharing.
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Karl Baba
Trad climber
Yosemite, Ca
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Jul 16, 2007 - 01:42pm PT
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"You sound a little sad about it, Karl.
I guess in the end everything out of the ordinary is brought down to the masses."
I am a little sad. I've done a few of those climbs to their tops, Shakey Flakes, Rambler, mid-life crisis and led the "Hole" pitch of Greasy but Groovy.
It's not a matter of bringing the climbs down to the masses, It just sad that there's not one "moderate" climb in that slab that a 5.10 climber can do without risking a 150 foot fall. The rock quality is not pristine in places so even a competent climber could break an edge and skate and slid or tumble forever. Sh#t, even Clint, about as qualified a face climber as they get didn't want to lead any of those climbs.
I know a 5.14 climber (whose done 5.13++ trad who backed off the Rambler. (bad bolts were part of it)
So, personally, I've done the climbs and I think they are something of a waste. Anybody who wants to disgree with me, go up there and lead one to the top and then tell me it's great that they all include x or serious, serious R rated pitches.
I'm getting too old to roll dice. I've done the first 3 of Mid-Life Crisis a dozen times or more. I might go back for that, but I don't know about some of those other ones.
Peace
Karl
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pyro
Big Wall climber
Ventura
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Jul 17, 2007 - 11:27pm PT
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what an awsome climbing area for the face climbers.
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Raydog
Trad climber
Boulder Colorado
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Jul 17, 2007 - 11:37pm PT
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great job guys - brings back memories - hand drilling! Ugh!
you deserve a medal for that!
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k-man
Gym climber
SCruz
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Jul 18, 2007 - 11:41am PT
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Karl, you say "I've done the climbs and I think they are something of a waste."
I guess this freshens up the retrobolting debate.
Rodger, Clint, EXCELLENT Work! Especially considering the heat wave we were having.
I've come across some old tat before, but that Friday the 13th belay is Classic!
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Clint Cummins
Trad climber
SF Bay area, CA
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Jul 18, 2007 - 02:58pm PT
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Jerry,
The 1/4" taperbolts (at the belays for Friday the 13th) were in pretty good shape. I unscrewed each one with Roger's 6" Crescent wrench, using a fair amount of torque to get them started. The taperbolts at that belay with the living/mossy slings were rustier than the others, but still solid. They all had the thicker SMC hangers which held up fine to the wetness. It might have been scary to belay off of them with a partner doing a "factor 2" runout directly above, though!
Karl's point that most of the long routes in the area are rather runout is probably valid, but I wouldn't go so far as to say they are a waste or out of reach of 5.10 climbers.
To start with, I am not really a very good slab climber - not really even solid on 5.10 slabs. I have a mostly numb and weak left foot due to a spinal cord injury - I can't run across the street or do offwidths, and high steps onto my left foot are pretty scary. I've been totally stopped by some slick 5.10 slab moves like on Hogwash (5.10c), and I used Roger's cheater stick several times on pitches 2 and 3 of Midlife Crisis. The relatively abundant small positive flakes for crimping are what makes it possible for me to get up the harder moves on the 5.10s at the Arches Terrace.
Most of the 5.10 slab routes I've done (back in the 80s) were "Morris routes" - first ascents by Bruce Morris and crew, who took the time to place more than just minimal bolts. A few examples are Cryin' Time Again, Needle Spoon, Great Circle, and Sailin' Shoes (I've done the first 3 of these 4). Bruce did plenty of these routes, so they are an option for people who want more protection. Midlife Crisis is a Morris route. I am comfortable with my mediocre slab skills, which prevents me from attempting certain slab pitches, but I can still pull off a long 5.8 or 5.9 runout if I think it has enough features.
Also, the longer runouts on slabs are (in theory) reducible by pulling in lots of rope while the leader is sliding downwards (witness Steve Grossman's story on Greasy But Groovy, for example).
Will Roger's rebolting at Arches Terrace make routes instantly popular? Well, no, because there are relatively few slab climbers due to Apron rockfalls which have scared people away from the best moderate slab training routes. Also, few gyms have slabs, so the footwork and body position are unfamiliar for many people. However, the rebolting will enable a few more people (who like slabs) to do the routes there, especially those people who were scared of 1/4" bolts (I am not one of those people, perhaps because I am used to them from the 70s/80s and I'm very lightweight). We know of one person in particular who did not want to lead the second pitch of Midlife Crisis because it had 1/4" bolts, even though they are relatively abundant. Roger is also fixing the missing bolt on p1 of The Rambler and the p5 crux of Shakey Flakes - those routes were previously mostly rebolted and are fairly well protected by slab standards, but the missing bolts were hardly encouraging to potential climbers.
Routes like Greasy But Groovy and Friday the 13th will never be popular. They are testpieces, put up in the minimal bolting style their creators enjoyed. Accessible to few climbers, but probably enjoyed by those who can succeed on them (slab versions of the Bachar-Yerian, if you will). I've climbed on each of them, and gotten to stances where I've said "I would have placed a bolt here, and without a bolt here, I'm not leading any higher", but I'm OK with that. Not every route needs to be accessible to me. And I am always free to create my own routes if I want to protect something in a particular way (like we did to create a variation to join p2 of Midlife Crisis from Hershey Highway).
There is scope to add more routes to the Arches Terrace area. As I mentioned in my mini report, there is a relatively new route (probably done in the 90s - 1/4" bolts but less rusty than others and one 3/8" belay bolt) which goes straight up from the p5 belay of Reefer Madness (where p6 of Reefer Madness is the "5.8" rising traverse). It goes up 2 pitches to the big pine tree (3x on p1, 2x on p2), and then continues directly above the pine tree (2x visible, and probably many more above that).
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