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JFrimer
Trad climber
BC
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Topic Author's Original Post - Jun 28, 2011 - 03:33am PT
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Reports were coming in of a loose block on a classic 10b route on the Squaw in Squamish. A few of us took it upon ourselves to trundle it under safe conditions. With the trails flagged off and a sentry (myself) on the ground, this is how it all went down.
video of the trundle
Kris estimated the block to be about 2 tons. It was perched 70m off the deck.
Eebee Jeebees
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Mungeclimber
Trad climber
sorry, just posting out loud.
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Jun 28, 2011 - 03:47am PT
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woof!
bummer it took out the tree, but such are the effects of gravity and 2 ton blocks.
nice public service to take it down in a controlled setting.
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healyje
Trad climber
Portland, Oregon
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Jun 28, 2011 - 03:58am PT
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Not big by Valley standards, but here's one of Bill Coe (Couchmaster) applying the 'Slim Pickens' technique to a sizable one at Beacon last year with my off-to-the-side assistance. We had launched it moments before this, but it slid about ten feet and then somehow got hung up by the smaller flake Bill is vigorously jumping up and down on...
After we lost about 60' or the SE Corner ridge...
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Clint Cummins
Trad climber
SF Bay area, CA
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Jun 28, 2011 - 04:37am PT
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I smiled a bit at all the lumber they prepared and brought, but didn't need.
I can see bringing the crowbar, but I think most stuff that is loose enough will come off with a good layback move, and the lumber would just break.
Good work with the ground crew and trail closure; would be too risky without that, as with all the woods you probably can't get a clear view of the base.
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mcreel
climber
Barcelona
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Jun 28, 2011 - 08:23am PT
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I would go with "Come down hard on me baby" by Hendrix for the soundtrack. It seems that severe gardening goes on up there - that tree had been whittled on before the trundle.
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couchmaster
climber
pdx
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Jun 28, 2011 - 09:48am PT
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Nice video of Squamish! Good on you guys for getting it done.
What Dingus says is exactly what appeared to have happened with the one JH posted upthread. Fortunately when this occurred the rock had been closed for the annual Peregrine closure nesting, and Joseph spotted this ugly gash one day where there use to be a very large fir tree. The large mature Douglas Fir tree must have acted as a lever in some massive winter storm, and the hole is essentially where the roots of the former tree were. The tree had been the anchor for the top out on one of Josephs routes. We left plenty up there for future winters. All we concentrated on were the loosest ones ready to roll now. This winter and next winter are whole new freeze thaw cycles which may or may not loosen those.
Joseph had worked with the railroad (the railroad tracks seen right there in the picture is a very high usage one with multiple trains scheduled daily) and the park to coordinate a day of cleaning after the Peregrine had flown but before climbers and hikers came in. This scar is right over the 2 most popular climbing routes and the trail to get to the base. In fact, the 2 routes were filled with loose rocks from this occurrence and other winter rock fall. I've found that the rope protectors like the orange one seen in the pic are critical gear for this kind of duty. The rock is unbelievable sharp, and despite trying not to: at some point you invariably are fully weighting the rope and moving laterally at the same time.
Joseph co-ordinated multiple teams working various parts of the rock to get it all off at once so the railroad could get fired back up quickly. They were all annoyed to have to bring on extra people to watch the tracks and have the trains run slow for the time we are up there, but I'm sure they are highly appreciative of this work. The Columbia River is literally 20'-200'away from the tracks. You can see the river in the lower pic, and it pinches even closer together just out of sight of the photo. The economic hit from an accident are incalculable. The largest Salmon runs in the lower 48 run up that river, farmers pull water for crops etc, so there are massively huge economic and environmental issues if a large rock were to self trundle at the wrong time and take out a tank car of ammonia, benzine or Chlorine concentrate as it was heading down hill (the river gets closer to the tracks that way, and a derailed train could and would most likely slide right into the river). So although the climbers are of course naturally grateful, the real beneficiaries is the country and the train guys who might be getting a multi-million or billion dollar world class/front page environmental disaster averted by this job we do for free. That we can drop loose blocks in a controlled and timed fashion is a great thing we do for them. Just one of those monsters choosing to fall at the wrong time could rewrite history for the railroads, our country, and the river, in a very bad way.
This might be the 3rd or 4th pre-climb opening Joseph had organized, and it's certainly one of the most kick assed things he does which all climbers (and the railroad) there benefit from. Another view of this one looking up that Joesph had stitched together, the scar left from the departing tree might have been 65 feet tall and approx 30-40' across:
The block(s) above in caught in the air by Hanmi Meyer in the lower picture who was doing double duty as a ground spotter down on the railroad tracks. She was there with a radio to the park to warn of a track issue or an unknowing person wandering down the obviously closed trail.
Hamni has her photos here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hanmi/sets/72157624619923450/
I think JH went back later alone once or twice to rope solo and clean even more loose rock off the classic multi-pitch routes. Even then, there still seems that we wind up with a few peeling off early in the year.
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Ed Hartouni
Trad climber
Livermore, CA
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Jun 28, 2011 - 10:31am PT
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always like a good trundle...
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Loose Rocks
Trad climber
Santa Rosa, CA
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Jun 28, 2011 - 10:33am PT
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Two tons is probably on the heavy side but that's not a 500-750 lb block. Granite is about 170 lbs per cubic feet.
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mcreel
climber
Barcelona
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Jun 28, 2011 - 10:34am PT
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Hey Ed, I need to wash my dog this afternoon, could I get a quick feasibility study? Thx.
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nature
climber
WTF?
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Jun 28, 2011 - 10:36am PT
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good work. that was a nice way to sit down with morning brew and be entertained.
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blackbird
Trad climber
the flat water trails...
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Jun 28, 2011 - 10:45am PT
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Nice!
Having done my fair share of coordinating between entities, I fully appreciate and applaud the communication/bribery/begging/pleading/coercing that went into the organization of this effort. Not an easy task and one which few truly understand the scope.
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Ed Hartouni
Trad climber
Livermore, CA
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Jun 28, 2011 - 10:52am PT
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mcreel - you're on your own...
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Banquo
climber
Morgan Hill, CA (Mo' Hill)
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Jun 28, 2011 - 11:14am PT
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Ed-
Engineering Statics is an easier way to set the problem up.
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cleo
Social climber
Berkeley, CA
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Jun 28, 2011 - 11:21am PT
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Nice!
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GDavis
Social climber
SOL CAL
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Jun 28, 2011 - 12:16pm PT
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mmmm love trundles.
Hall and Oats? Srsly?
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bluering
Trad climber
Santa Clara, CA
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Jun 28, 2011 - 12:28pm PT
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Leave it to Greg to have the perfect .gif
Nice. Sweet trundle.
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JFrimer
Trad climber
BC
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Topic Author's Reply - Jun 28, 2011 - 12:37pm PT
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regarding its mass, Kris (the trundler) wrote this:
By my calculations based on the weight of granite per cubic foot, this thing weighed in the neighborhood of 5000 lb, give ot take a thousand. It was about 15' tall, averaged 4' wide and tapered from about 18" thick at the base to about 4" thick at the top.
I was on the ground, keeping people clear and filming so I can't comment further.
One bolt on a route below was sheered off by the falling rock. We replaced it.
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Brian
climber
California
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Jun 28, 2011 - 01:50pm PT
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Now someone go get that block out of the Monster Offwidth.
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hagerty
Social climber
A Sandy Area South of a Salty Lake
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Jun 28, 2011 - 01:50pm PT
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I like how you used the tree to brush all the dust off after the trundle.
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Oplopanax
Mountain climber
The Deep Woods
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Jun 28, 2011 - 02:44pm PT
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Chamaecyparis is no more, it's Callitropsis right now, but it might be Xanthocyparis in another couple months.
BIOLOGISTS, WHY U NO KEEP THE SAME NAMES I MEMORIZED??
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