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Mighty Hiker
Social climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Feb 25, 2007 - 08:41pm PT
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Steve: The scale of your photo is unclear, but with the number of links shown, I'd be concerned that in many rock types, the two bolts would be too close together. With anything less than solid and unfractured rock, it could get marginal.
The classic alpine dilemma - more gear facilitates climbing, but its weight may hinder it.
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Feb 25, 2007 - 10:11pm PT
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Kevin, I am trying to carve out a month to work on a couple of projects. Let me know your schedule and I'll make it work.
Anders, this is a single prototype with a chain link size that allows a neat 8" equilateral triangle. This particular chain is a little high in iron content but clearly shows the design intent. More readily available 1/2" stainless chain has a shorter link length and will result in a larger spread with five and five on either side of the master link. This system is extendable in either direction to increase the hole spread.
I was thinking of the Nose and a nice clean solid anchor that lasts for a long time and arrived at this one. Lots of tweaking is possible.
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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No worries about GBG Kevin, I have other plans for you..... Has anyone done Reefer Madness that crosses GBG. I don't think 5.10 slab climbing, even with the old crusty rusties, should be enough to load up my grampers just yet!
I can hopefully entice you to check the lovely slab climbing on the Captain's toe, my #2 project after SB!
Here is the Meyers guide for the area around GBG.
RM seems like a viable way to get at the upper pitches of GBG. I would like to finish the rest of the route above the end of pitch 3 anyway.
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Clint Cummins
Trad climber
SF Bay area, CA
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Steve,
I did Reefer Madness, about 20 years ago. It is not too bad. I led the 5.10c which has the runout on 5.8. My partner led the 5.10d, and ripped small flakes off several times, but never fell. My one attempt on Greasy But Groovy ended where p3 steepens and there was no bolt. I'm "fluff".
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Clint- thanks for the info on Reefer Madness. Is the climbing on that one high quality? Would you be interested in refitting GBG and/or Reefer Madness this spring? I would like to finish GBG above the third pitch and update the anchors with 3/8" SMC hangers on protection bolts and possibly Space Stations at the belay/rappel stations. Largo or Ricky, any interest, opinions or concerns with what I just proposed anchorwise?
Kevin- I think that you will appreciate the quality stone on the Toe. No worries, the free blast will get to most of the pitches fairly easily from above so no lead stress on old steel or otherwise required to check it out. First things first on SB and perhaps the Central Pillar Direct Start? Stoner's Highway to get in the groove first, of course.
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Clint Cummins
Trad climber
SF Bay area, CA
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Steve, I'm not sure how to rate the quality of Reefer Madness. I don't think it was dirty. Just unpopular due to the one runout. I'd be happy to help replace bolts on Reefer Madness and GBG.
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Largo
Sport climber
Venice, Ca
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I'm all for replacing the bolts on GBG. I suspect the route rarely if ever gets done these days, and considering how much water comes down that face and how old those bolts are (30 years??), as is the route is probably unclimbable (that is, if you want any pro). I wouldn't be surprised if some of the bolts came out under body-weight so if you go up there Steve I'd assume the worst. The route never gets real steep but because there are fall possibilities directly onto the belay (in a few places), I'd want to make sure you had some pretty burly anchors for those bits. I think most if not all of those anchors were off short quarter inch bolts, some of them drilled with a #14 instead of the regualar #12 drill -- that's all we had and so some of the bolts were loose to begin with. None of this is good. The only way that route will ever live again is to retrobolt the whole thing. With new bolts and sticky shoes I wouldn't be surprised if it's 5.11a, possibly even 10d. But exciting.
I remember being over there another time with Kevin W. who was way up there on one of those hideious John Edgar run outs on - what route was that? Man, that looked fatal up there and I was just glad it was Kevin and not me.
JL
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Largo
Sport climber
Venice, Ca
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KW, You were up too high for me to see what the holds were like but it appeared to be hard climbing looked like you were easily sixty feet out at one point. I can still see in my mind's eye yo uup there on the skyline, whimpering and moving slowly. Of course you made it because you were the man.
JL
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Hey Largo, while you are here. GBG pics bring back any more memories from the FA? Glad to hear that the bolts are shorties. Easy in, easy out! I think you will appreciate the beef that I plan on leaving behind!
Out of curiousity, did you do the Mouth to Perhaps way back when?
Clint, you're on for GBG. Let me know your availablility in May-June if you have constraints. Nice to get on this before the reflector oven gets going full tilt.
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Largo
Sport climber
Venice, Ca
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Hey Largo, while you are here. GBG pics bring back any more memories from the FA? Glad to hear that the bolts are shorties. Easy in, easy out! I think you will appreciate the beef that I plan on leaving behind!
Out of curiousity, did you do the Mouth to Perhaps way back when?
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I have a bunch of bolting gear I could probably send you if you're up for the job. That's no small job, either. There's probably at 30 some odd bolts on the GBG if you take it all the way to the "Tree of Leaves" at the top. Though easier, the upper pitches are very clean and very run out but you're so dialed into that kind of climbing by then 5.9 feels like 5.0.
And yes, Ricky Accomazzo, Fig (Mike Brittenback--sp??) and I did Mouth to Perhaps. Now that's got a king sized run out on the first hard pitch, very sketchy in the old shoes. Naturally, Ricky flashed it.
JL
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rmuir
Social climber
the Time Before the Rocks Cooled.
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Ricky and I did an early repeat of Reefer Madness, maybe the first year that thing was put up. My memories of that route are nearly non-existent, but Ricky too confirms (via e-mail) that we share a (vague) collective recollection of doing that thing.
My only surviving neuron from that era, when fired, reminds me of how remarkably sore both my tips and toes were during that last pitch. Too much edging, and the same little crimpers move after move, pitch after pitch...
Like they say, "If you remember the Sixties, you probably weren't there." ...same thing for the Seventies, too. (Maybe true, but I really can't recall.)
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Mighty Hiker
Social climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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So if Kevin and Steve do some climbs, will they automatically be worralled-class? Or will they be like gross, man?
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Largo- the yellow Meyers guide doesn't have you in the FA list for MTP. I had a feeling that you were involved somehow. I posted a description of that nasty runout on the Accomazzo Wall thread a while back. Did you see it? I was curious if my memory was accurate on the crux section.
Tree of Leaves here I come!
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Largo
Sport climber
Venice, Ca
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Nice write up of Mouth to Perhaps, Steve. That really was a route that downright dangerous. I vaguely remember the second pitch (after the crux friction bit) as also being hard. Man, that's way back there.
JL
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Clint Cummins
Trad climber
SF Bay area, CA
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Steve, I'm available all of May and for June up until the 13th at least.
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Cool, let me coordinate this whole show and I'll get back to you soon with some firm dates.
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ol one eye
Trad climber
south lake tahoe,ca
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Wow, people actually have climbed Reefer Madness? I thought that thing would be ignored, sitting next to more famous routes.
Fred and I only went up there with the promise of pipeloads. A day on the rock , no worries, honey oilers - what could be better. But somehow we got snookered into the lead. I guess those bolts might have been far apart. But, not having placed too many of those buggers, and figuring there was some so cal- suicide rock tradition to live up to, I just kept climbing.I do remember a lot of flakes popping. Still ,it was fun. I'll bet those bolts are mank now.
And hi kevin. How have you been?
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Raydog
Trad climber
Boulder
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Kevin is an Icon.
We need recent photos of you man!
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Kevin, you've got to get set up with a good scanner that has a slide attachment. The whole process is a little complicated but worth the thrashing about once the gold pours onto the screen! You have probably got a treasure trove of images just like I do all the way to the back of beyond, so break stash fella!
Besides, the really old images are starting to fade so burning them now is crucial before you lose too much color and clarity.
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Roger Breedlove
climber
Cleveland Heights, Ohio
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Topic Author's Reply - Mar 8, 2007 - 12:35pm PT
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Hey Kevin, the easiest was to digitize old pictures is to take some to a photo processing store and have them converted and loaded onto a disc. It gets you started and allows you to get a better idea of what you would want if you purchased a scanner and photo editing software.
On the other hand, you could just get some Crayons and draw old climbing scenes on you PC screen. It works best if you draw them backwards, so that we can see them properly from this side. That's what I have heard anyway.
This new technology is hard to master.
Best, Roger
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