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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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What a game! Way to go Gints! Not much but a really good laugh to take away from this photo!
There is one bolt in the frame but not a lot of position information to be gleaned from it.
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Mighty Hiker
Social climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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A classic photo - although, unlike every other photo I've seen from that golden age of Yosemite, it appears a bit steeper than it really is. Probably the perspective from which it was taken. It depends on exactly where it was taken - there are steeper bits on that slab, but it's mostly lower angle.
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Mighty Hiker
Social climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Here are some pictures of pitches 5 and 6 of the Salathe (Meyers guide), taken in September 1976. Perhaps they'll help. If not, I can remove them. They're Kodachrome slides, and some got cropped by the scanner.
The first is looking down on pitch 5
Leading pitch 6 (to base of corner leading up to Half Dollar)
Looking down on belayer, pitch 5/pitch 6 belay
And there was this long-haired Canadian we met en route
(Photos of the long hair taken by Brian Wyvill.)
We got to Hollow Flake, and were defeated by a combination of hot weather, lack of resolution (mine), and concern for a guy who was trying to solo Magic Mushroom and seemed in trouble. At that time, all belays in the Meyers guide, at least to Heart Ledge, had bolt belays.
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Clint Cummins
Trad climber
SF Bay area, CA
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Anders,
Thanks for posting your scanned slides - I put some cropped versions with bolt IDs up in my post above.
That guy with the long hair looks pretty relaxed up there!
Kevin,
I doubt your bolt was at 5-8, because it's dead easy above that. Probably it was at 5-5 or 5-6, and the Leeper hanger was replaced sometime later.
Steve + Kevin,
The classic TM photo Steve posted is from The Vertical World of Yosemite, and I agree with Kevin's ID of its position, and with Anders that it is tipped a bit. The photo I was referring to from "Spirit of the Age" (on Hollow Flake Ledge) is different (he's pretending to be hung from a sling around his chest).
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Clint Cummins
Trad climber
SF Bay area, CA
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Kevin + Mike,
> On Freeblast, Mike placed two bolts on the slab traverse we did from the top of the first pitch of the Nose to join the Salathe above the roof.
> That was some bold, thin slab climbing, right there.
I think the second of those bolts is easily visible from the belay on top of p3 of the Salathe':
It's at the left side of the photo, a little below the middle.
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Mighty Hiker
Social climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Clint should consider posting some of his work on the 'art' threads. It's quite interesting. Not that I know much about art. :-)
I only took the first and third photos that I posted - the others were by Blob. It's interesting - there's a faint green line across all four photos, that I hadn't noticed before. I wonder why?
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nick d
Trad climber
nm
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Mighty Hiker, if all those shots came out of the same camera, same roll of film, it is possible there was a very fine piece of grit trapped in the shutter area. The film gets dragged across the stationary grit and scratched. It would have to have cut only partly through the emulsion, otherwise the line would be a lot more distinct.
Since it is a weird color I think the more likely culprit is your scanner, some kind of digital artifact?
Check the slides with a loupe to see if they are damaged and you will have the answer. I hope it is just some scanning artifact and your slides are still perfect!
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Mighty Hiker
Social climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Thanks! The photos were taken with two different cameras, so I suspect it's an artefact. I'll fish out the slides and look, and check my scanner.
Edit: Checked, scanned some other slides. It must be the scanner.
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Feb 17, 2008 - 01:41pm PT
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So where does the last original bolt position end up folks? Top of the ladder on six or at a belay higher up?
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CF
climber
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Feb 17, 2008 - 07:10pm PT
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The original Meyers 8.5x11 top bound guide shows 14 bolts on the Salathe.
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Apr 27, 2008 - 02:09pm PT
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Well here it is folks and right now this one goes into the highest original hole on the sixth pitch. Unlikely that the last drilled anchor would have been a belay bolt above that point but the question remains open.
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Clint Cummins
Trad climber
SF Bay area, CA
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Apr 28, 2008 - 03:52am PT
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I went up the Free Blast a few weeks ago and took several photos of the bolts. It looked like the original bolts were 1/4" or 3/16" star dryvin or similar with a sheath and nail. I will try to get a few photos up.
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Apr 29, 2008 - 12:38am PT
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Do you agree that the last original bolt was at the top of the ladder on pitch six? I think all the original holes were shallow 3/8" and nail drive filled. Tom Frost still had some and they weren't Stardrives. Ken has a few tucked away along with the rest of Tom's little used bolt kit.
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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May 15, 2008 - 10:50am PT
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How does the belay station at the end of pitch six look with respect to a boltless anchor? That would be the highest logical spot for the thirteenth bolt.
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Clint Cummins
Trad climber
SF Bay area, CA
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May 15, 2008 - 08:03pm PT
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Steve,
Nice hanger #13! Excellent idea to start with that.
> Do you agree that the last original bolt was at the top of the ladder on pitch six?
Yes, I think it was 6-6 as labelled in the various photos.
The bolt ladder on p6 is in 2 parts - 5 bolts (6-1 to 6-5), a broken bolt, then a pin and 2 more bolts (6-6 and 6-7). I think there used to be a big bashie instead of the bolt which is currently at 6-7.
> I think all the original holes were shallow 3/8" and nail drive filled. Tom Frost still had some and they weren't Stardrives. Ken has a few tucked away along with the rest of Tom's little used bolt kit.
Judging from the remnants still in place (see photos in my next post), I think they were 1/4" and nail drive filled.
> How does the belay station at the end of pitch six look with respect to a boltless anchor? That would be the highest logical spot for the thirteenth bolt.
I think the p6 anchor was originally boltless. Pins can be placed in that corner. There is one old bolt with a bent, drilled piton hanger next to the crack, but I don't think it is original. The current station has 2 big Todd & Paul bolts:
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Clint Cummins
Trad climber
SF Bay area, CA
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May 15, 2008 - 08:08pm PT
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Here are more bolt photos from a trip up the Free Blast on March 17, using the same labels as before.
my attempt to recreate Frost photo of RR which Steve posted above, but I think I needed to be higher, at the bolt 5-B.
Also, I think RR was lower than Jared, probably with his feet on the stance where bolt 5-7 is now:
I wonder how Royal freed the section above the lowest visible bolt?
Up and right, or down right from the bolt (that would put him over near where the Free Blast version goes).
And, is the visible bolt the one labelled 5-C in other photos? Or was the visible bolt removed by Mike and not replaced?
Note: by "original" rawldrive, I mean prior to replacement. It was not placed on the FA, since it is over on the free variation.
Most likely, the bolt Kevin Worrall placed on the FFA of the Free Blast was 5-5 or maybe 5-6.
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Aug 10, 2008 - 07:49pm PT
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Thanks to Ken I have it on good authority that all of the original thirteen bolts are located on pitches 5 and 6. The museum exhibit features Roper and Steck narrating a color film of the third ascent of the Salathe.
Anybody have a shot of the crack at the sixth belay?
How many bolts total below the belay at six at present?
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Aug 11, 2008 - 12:21am PT
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My interest is in replacing the original FA bolt positions so that folks might appreciate Tom, Royal and Chuck's extraordinary efforts and skill in crafting such a magnificent line.
I have floated the concept of a "spotless" ascent which is to say original holes only and no fixed gear allowed otherwise. The Rowell-Robinson-Henneck ascent of Half Dome was one fixed pin shy and so was Bruce Carson on the West Face of Sentinel. It is potentially another layer of challenge and accomplishment through better style with no downside. For classic, low bolt count routes, a worthy game.
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john hansen
climber
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Topic Author's Reply - Aug 11, 2008 - 12:26am PT
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"A worthy game", indeed.
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Aug 12, 2008 - 12:48am PT
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Glad that you agree. I just read in Rawlings' and Denny's superb history of the Stanford Alpine Club that your father flew P-38's in WW2 and was fond of proclaiming "no guts, no glory!" before tucking and bombing downhill on skiis. Bring back any memories?
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