Discussion Topic |
|
This thread has been locked |
ninjah
Big Wall climber
a van down by the river
|
|
|
Jan 23, 2009 - 04:41am PT
|
me on the top of the
sierras,[jpg][/url]
|
|
'Pass the Pitons' Pete
Big Wall climber
like Ontario, Canada, eh?
|
|
|
Jan 23, 2009 - 09:02am PT
|
I hope nobody gets too mad at me for posting pictures from a cave, when this is supposed to be a thread with pictures of yourself. But we have a Jen-You-Wine mystery going on in Roppel Cave right now.
Before Christmas, we returned to an area of the cave that was first explored and surveyed about 25 years ago, but hasn't seen much action since. There are obviously diminishing returns to scale in caving - she can only be a virgin once. After you explore and survey 'er, she's just another one on your tick list. I've gotten about a mile of virgins each year for the last three, but it takes a lot of work.
At any rate, back we went to this area of the cave, along with some technical aid climbing gear to get up some climbs to leads that had been noted on the original survey notes. We climbed up to what we thought to be a virgin ledge, and were amazed to find a couple of these Mystery Triangles scratched into the rock.
The triangles are manmade, carefully drawn with a knifeblade or the tip of a flint arrowhead. We have no idea who made them. We later learned that another caver had climbed to this ledge 25 years earlier, but this isn't the type of thing that a modern day caver would leave behind, so we really doubt he drew them. I put the nutshells on the block to use for scale in the photo. Also sharing the ledge are the remnants of a huge cave rat's nest - lots of walnuts and hickory nuts and organic debris brought in over the years by the critters.
The triangles are sitting on a block which lies on the floor of the ledge. It would be extremely difficult to draw a triangle on a block so close to the floor - it would make a lot more sense to leave a mark on the wall at face height. It's just too awkward to reach down so close to the ground.
What it looks like to us is that the block fell from above, and broke when it hit the ledge. One of the triangles is next to the carbide lamp, the other is on the busted half of the block barely visible under survey station CB1 which is an erasable smudge smoked on the rock by a carbide flame.
Accordingly we continued the climb, hoping to find the place from where this block fell, which we hope to be continuing cave passage. We believe the Mystery Triangles were drawn above, and that the block subsequently fell onto the ledge and broke. At the top of the climb, we found continuing canyon passage leading to some rooms filled with sandstone breakdown, but we never ended up directly above the blocks. The only ones who had been up there before us were the rats, as we found all sorts of scratches on the rock - a veritable highway between their long-abandoned nests, and some rat-sized entrance approximately 150 vertical feet higher. We think we need to keep climbing and moving higher but in the opposite direction to the canyon to find the "going" passage, because the stuff we found doesn't go anywhere, and we're not directly above the fallen block.
But who left the symbol, and what does it mean? Was it left by a prehistoric man, who came into the cave long ago by way of a now closed up entrance? Or was it a bored caver who accessed this upper level from another part of the cave by an unknown and unsurveyed passage? Or was it someone else? Maybe someone from the last century, who decided to leave his mark on a block which fell onto this ledge?
The only viable match we could find for the Mystery Triangles is this little symbol of latter day Americana:
Anyone recognize it? So we're returning next week - along with our white sheets and pointy hats - to finish the climb. What on earth will we find up there?
It's a *real* mystery, for sure!
|
|
troutboy
Trad climber
Newark, DE
|
|
|
Jan 23, 2009 - 10:16am PT
|
Pete.
Looks like you have it solved already. The symbol sure looks like the KKK triangle.
The sandstone rocks, debris, and cave rats nests indicate surface/sinkhole/entrance (or former entrance) nearby.
Rockfall would be more likely in the freeze-thaw zone of an entrance and cave rats generally prefer to live near entrances.
I would guess some 20th century visitor wandered into or dug open an entrance that has gone undiscovered or has since collapsed.
BTW, where in Roppel are you and/or what are you near on the surface (I know Roppel, be cryptic if you want to keep it unobvious).
Tim
|
|
'Pass the Pitons' Pete
Big Wall climber
like Ontario, Canada, eh?
|
|
|
Jan 23, 2009 - 10:42am PT
|
No biggie talking about the cave, as all of the entrances are gated which keeps everybody out. [However we're always looking for new caving crew, so let me know if you're interested] We're about three miles of travel from the nearest entrance, I'm guessing. Maybe a bit less, not sure. Took us seven hours one way the first time, we've got it down to about 4 1/2 hours now with more moderate packs.
The sandstone initially was a bit of a surprise, because this section of the cave has been pinpointed vis a vis the surface by way of a cave radio, so we know where we're at, which is under the edge of a ridge. Unfortunately I was trending south-west above the climb, heading right towards a giant sink below the edge of the ridge. We only poked around the newly discovered stuff for a bit - there is lots of airflow, but it might just be filtering through the sandstone blocks. But next time when we go back and survey it, we'll check every available lead. There is a waterfall that enters from what looks like walking passage, and maybe this passage could get us underneath the breakdown? It'll be a tricky, slippery and scary climb to get up it, though.
What I'm hoping is that the block might have fallen from passage that is coming from the north, or especially the east, which is heading under the main part of the ridge. If we could find something going that direction, it could go for a long way.
The Mystery Triangles ledge sits at an elevation of 620' above sea level. The surface directly above is about 830' asl, but sloping steeply downhill to the south. The sink is to the southwest in the direction I am guessing we are heading away from the top of the climb, with the bottom of the sink at an elevation of only about 750'. I'm guessing we climbed a total of at least eighty vertical feet, if not closer to a hundred feet, above the ledge, so the sandstone breakdown might be around 720'. We'll have an accurate number once we extend the survey up there.
It's possible there was an entrance in the area once which has since filled in. When the forests were cleared to make fields in the past century, they didn't make much point of practising any type of soil conservation, and lots of cave entrances were filled by mud and trees.
Can't wait to get back - we'll be underground Feb 1-4.
|
|
Thorgon
Big Wall climber
Sedro Woolley, WA
|
|
|
Jan 26, 2009 - 12:51am PT
|
BUMP!!!
Thor
|
|
Thorgon
Big Wall climber
Sedro Woolley, WA
|
|
|
Jan 27, 2009 - 12:31am PT
|
Jedi & Thor Yosemite 2006.
Great trip & weather.
Thor
|
|
Captain...or Skully
Social climber
North of the Owyhees
|
|
|
Jan 27, 2009 - 12:34am PT
|
Thor strikes a "mighty" pose, eh?
Yarrrrr.....
|
|
'Pass the Pitons' Pete
Big Wall climber
like Ontario, Canada, eh?
|
|
|
Jan 27, 2009 - 08:30am PT
|
You can even see the wings on his ankles.
|
|
tolman_paul
Trad climber
Anchorage, AK
|
|
|
Jan 27, 2009 - 12:10pm PT
|
Is that the top of the Nutcracker? I have a similar pic at home and the view looks the same. Though its been a few years.
|
|
Thorgon
Big Wall climber
Sedro Woolley, WA
|
|
|
Jan 27, 2009 - 12:33pm PT
|
Author:
tolman_paul
Trad climber
From: Anchorage, AK
"Is that the top of the Nutcracker? I have a similar pic at home and the view looks the same. Though its been a few years."
Yes, top of Nutcracker! Jedi weighs about 140 lbs, so I carry him around for training purposes! But on the wall he carries me through the A4 nightmare sh*t that Thor would zipper!!! There isn't a 0 head out there that will hold Thor, sadly! Wings on my ankles may help? I'll have to try that one!
Ha det bra!
P.S. We got there at 6:00am and a line was forming, Jedi lead the first pitch amazingly well because I couldn't feel my hands!
It was super-slick from years of humans clawing there way up it! But once we were in the sun things went smoother!
|
|
Thorgon
Big Wall climber
Sedro Woolley, WA
|
|
|
Jan 27, 2009 - 12:46pm PT
|
Early morning on Nutcracker 10/06.
climber: John "Jedi" Fitzgerald.
Photo by Thor
|
|
Captain...or Skully
Social climber
North of the Owyhees
|
|
|
Jan 27, 2009 - 12:49pm PT
|
I climbed it in July, Thor....shorter line, but a serious sweat fest!
Those were the days........
|
|
Thorgon
Big Wall climber
Sedro Woolley, WA
|
|
|
Jan 27, 2009 - 12:59pm PT
|
Those were the days, Skully!
Way back in 06...
Ha ha ha,
Thor
GOOD ONE! aaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrr
|
|
tolman_paul
Trad climber
Anchorage, AK
|
|
|
Jan 27, 2009 - 02:40pm PT
|
I've done the nutcracker twice. First time was 91 or 92. Four of us drove up from the bay area the night before and did a couple pitches on the base of el-cap, then slept under the captain for the night. I don't recall when we started the nutcracker the next day, but there were a couple of parties ahead us. Amazingly the party of two ahead of us was climbing slower than the four of us. The best part was topping out in the heat and the party ahead giving me the last of their lemonaide, man that tasted good. When the next guy topped out I told him about the lemonaide, and he was bummed that I drank it all. After we all got to the base I jumped in the merced. Somehow I'd forgotten a glaciel fed river is cold!
The next time was January of 94. It was one of those improteu things, my wife (then girlfriend) left early in the morning, and there was horendous fog going through the farm lands. We got to the valley around 9 am, and despite the snow on the ground, the rock was bathed in light and suprisingly warm. We had the rock to ourselves, and it was a great climb, couldn't have asked for a nicer day. I plopped the camera on a rock, set the timer and took a few pics of us.
I'm hoping to get down this summer so the kids can see the valley and do some climbing. I did a 4 pitch route with the 3 kids this summer, so it's doable. It wasn't nearly the cluster it could have been, they just need to learn to climb faster. My 9 y/o had a hard time on the first pitch as he had a sling that kept tangling around his feet. Then he started freeking about the exposure when he got to the first belay station. By the next pitch he had his head under control. On the final pitch the wind started to pick up, and that made for a challenge communicating. Good thing we're in the land of the midnight sun, as we topped out at 10pm, and still had plenty of light for the decent.
|
|
Thorgon
Big Wall climber
Sedro Woolley, WA
|
|
|
Jan 27, 2009 - 07:03pm PT
|
tolman~
Way to keep things rolling!
Sounds like your kids are doing
well actually!
I am hoping to teach mine the love
and respect I have for climbing!
Ian is 3 1/2, Sophie is 13 months.
They are both climbers of anything.
Lately it has been onsights into the
dishwasher for Sophie!
Thor
|
|
tolman_paul
Trad climber
Anchorage, AK
|
|
|
Jan 29, 2009 - 12:30pm PT
|
I had them do their first lead this summer as well, short 5.8 sport route. It was interesting to see how they dealt with being on the sharp end. They all made it up, a wee bit of tension here and there, but it was fun to see them pull it off.
They can even belay eachother.
|
|
Thorgon
Big Wall climber
Sedro Woolley, WA
|
|
|
Jan 30, 2009 - 01:58am PT
|
That is a great way to get them started leading! A bolted 5.8, still puts them out there, but without worrying about gear placement!
Way to go! Great pictures, kids having fun climbing, what could be better??
thanks,
Thor
|
|
'Pass the Pitons' Pete
Big Wall climber
like Ontario, Canada, eh?
|
|
|
Jan 30, 2009 - 09:56am PT
|
Too funny! I used to ski on Fischer C4's. Heading back to the cave today, so will let you know [perhaps on another thread, eh?]
|
|
Thorgon
Big Wall climber
Sedro Woolley, WA
|
|
|
Jan 30, 2009 - 12:21pm PT
|
eh, that sounds like a plan!
|
|
|
SuperTopo on the Web
|
Let us know!