2 ton trundle in Squamish

Discussion Topic

Return to Forum List

This thread has been locked

Messages 21 - 40 of total 90 in this topic

<< First | < Previous | Show All | Next > | Last >>

Mark Hudon

Trad climber

Hood River, OR

Jun 28, 2011 - 03:08pm PT

That looked like fun!

bhilden

Trad climber

Mountain View, CA

Jun 28, 2011 - 05:18pm PT

Did you see the big tree root behind the block after it was trundled? Could that root have been enough to break the block loose and cause the problem in the first place?

HighTraverse

Trad climber

Bay Area

Jun 28, 2011 - 05:33pm PT

^^^^ that was my first thought. Awesome root.
I'm still not sure why it was necessary to trundle it. Obviously had been there a long time according to the narrator. I'm sure many parties had climbed past it.
Anyone climbing up to it should have the sense not to pull on it.
Let nature bring it down in the winter.

It's a little different with the Monster Block which is apparently only being held in place with slings.

JFrimer

Trad climber

Topic Author's Reply - Jun 28, 2011 - 06:58pm PT

The tree appeared to be straining under the load of the flake. There's reason to suspect that it might have fallen down any time spontaneously, perhaps with people below.

Also, a large amount of loose rock remained on the face, caught in cracks and on ledges after the trundle. If this happened spontaneously, all that rock would have remained precariously perched. In my view, control is key when it comes to matters like this. Letting it go under controlled conditions seemed and seems like the best option.

Mighty Hiker

climber

Vancouver, B.C.

Jun 28, 2011 - 07:12pm PT

Some people have all the fun... (pout).

An interesting question, the causes of these events. It always depends on the site, but I suspect that in many cases the causes are a mixture of expansion/contraction caused by ice (in Yosemite, by heat also), simple internal lubrication, the slowly increasing mass of the vegetation, wind stress, and in some cases root heaving. Overall, repetitive and/or cumulative stress, often combined.

The result - often the unstable remnants of the roots, soil, gravel, and rocks - does need to be tidied up. It tends to make it look as though the proximate cause is the vegetation, but that seems much too simplistic.

I suspect that the main causes of mass wasting on cliffs like those at Squamish are thermal expansion/contraction, and of course earthquakes. It would be interesting to date the boulders below the various walls, match the rock types of the boulders to the cliffs, and see how it all fits together. (As done in Yosemite by Greg Stock.) For example, perhaps a lot of rockfall dates to the big quake in 1700, or other identified events.

johntp

Trad climber

socal

Jun 28, 2011 - 08:40pm PT

I love a good trundle. Thanks.

There was a wee bit too much sackage video in the beginning though.

phylp

Trad climber

Millbrae, CA

Jun 28, 2011 - 09:22pm PT

Totally awesome video. Excellent work on the death block!

bmacd

Social climber

100% Canadian

Jun 28, 2011 - 11:26pm PT

Awesome Job guys, now how about killing that tree thats levering out the split pillar ? We'd rather see the tree go than the pillar …

Love the Camera 2 shot from the impact zone

No 720p version ??

Mighty Hiker

climber

Vancouver, B.C.

Jun 29, 2011 - 12:12am PT

how about killing that tree thats levering out the split pillar

Really? Why do you think that? The Pillar more or less hangs from the curtain above, with its base wedged in a niche at the bottom. It expands, if encouraged. The shrub (a lovely, sturdy, slow-growing cedar) is well below and to the side, in what appears a separate crack/flake system.

The Pillar is a rather temporary feature. It's at risk from earthquakes, and (very much) from frost heaving - water collecting behind it, and freezing and expanding. The shrub is of little significance in comparison, even if (possibly) a few of its roots extend up and behind the Pillar.

The whole "Split Pillar is being pushed off by a small tree" line seems another suburban legend, promoted by the tiresome tree vandals. The tree does not in any way interfere with the climb, provides a nice bit of shade, and is not a threat to the Pillar. Sooner or later it will be taken out by ice or possibly rock fall. In the meantime, leave it be - it has a hard existence, and has earned it.

Oplopanax

Mountain climber

The Deep Woods

Jun 29, 2011 - 12:54am PT

Anytime there's a local earthquake it's fun to get the "OMG Split Pillar just fell off the grand !!!111" rumors going thru Twitter and the like. I had people from Ontario calling up Squamish climbers in a frenzy after the 2001 quake }:)

Mighty Hiker

climber

Vancouver, B.C.

Jun 29, 2011 - 12:59am PT

Here is a more worthy public improvement project than half-witted proposals to murder an iconic, innocent and highly visible tree - something about which BC Parks surely has its own views, and which might get someone arrested.
A block in a high-traffic area, although not actually on a route. Reckon it's a couple of tonnes. (There is a tree loitering in the vicinity, but not with intent.) Another is the triangular block on what is now the last pitch of Banana Peel - formerly the second-last pitch of Slab Alley. Although the Ministry of Highways may have its own thoughts on the fate of both blocks.

(Prediction: Within the next five years, a Squamish climber will be charged with breaching the Park Act, either for endangering the public, or for vandalizing vegetation, or for building a half-baked ladder system.)

Mighty Hiker

climber

Vancouver, B.C.

Jun 29, 2011 - 01:21am PT

All my clients are innocent.

Ghost

climber

A long way from where I started

Jun 29, 2011 - 01:36am PT

Good trundle. Keeps a good climb safe.

Here's a shot of Eric and I leg pressing a substantially bigger block on a route we put up on Zeke's a couple of years ago. You can only see the top edge here, but it was several times the size of the one in the video. We'd hoped that it would stop at the base and provide a nice big belay patio, but it toboganed off down the trail. (And no, there was nobody within a hundred miles. Only vegetable were hurt.)

OlympicMtnBoy

climber

Seattle

Jun 29, 2011 - 02:39am PT

Nice trundle and video, thanks for sharing!

Maybe someone can go and clean up that stump now too. It kind of detracts from the feeling when you feel like you're climbing through a clearcut with stumps lining a route. I recall one other obvious lame stump a bit higher up on that route too. Not that I'm up there to do that nasty work though so take that with a grain of salt. ;-)

Ksolem

Trad climber

Monrovia, California

Jun 29, 2011 - 02:58am PT

This is good work y'all did so don't get me wrong, but what ever happenned to the idea of keeping this sort of thing under the radar? Why is this on the web?