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leinosaur
Trad climber
burns flat, ok
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Or better yet, build a SMALL FIRE if you need one! A big one's a lame waste of resources up there. The right-sized fire will be out on its own, before bedtime.
There's a pair of boulders up there with a sandy base that make a perfect hearth - the boulders reflect the heat and just a COUPLE OF STICKS make a toasty little fire.
(it was a year ago, OK? It wasn't us, I swear!)
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bluering
Trad climber
Santa Clara, Ca.
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Maybe somebody intentionally set the fire in that particular location to create a Firefall effect.
Could someone be that selfish and stupid?
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Domingo
Trad climber
El Portal, CA
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I overheard about the bus at the post office..."12 kids with back injuries" was what people were saying. I kept hoping it was all hearsay and things weren't that bad. Well, at least no one was seriously hurt or killed, as you said.
"No other vehicles were involved in the collision, the cause of which is under investigation."
Lines backed up way farther than anyone would expect. Getting out of the park yesterday, I got stopped by the line before hitting Fern Spring.
Bluering: Maybe, but the firefall bonfires weren't started at 3pm on 8:30 pm sunset days. And they were pushed off, not left on top, of Glacier Point.
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Double D
climber
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Great photos...wish I were there.
Warner, didn't the "rotton log" fall off long ago? I noticed it was missing in the picture.
Bummer about the kids and school buses. Glad it wasn't more serious.
Dave
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Forest
Trad climber
Tucson, AZ
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There is a huge stream in the springtime about 200' west of the Royal Arches topout - plenty of water.
Ah. Wasn't sure it was still running. Bummer that someone apparently failed to use it properly.
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Nefarius
Big Wall climber
Fresno, CA
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"Maybe somebody intentionally set the fire in that particular location to create a Firefall effect.
Could someone be that selfish and stupid?"
Apparently you've never heard of Mike Fatali? They guy who set Delicate Arch on fire?
http://web.ksl.com/dump/news/cc/special/enviro/archfrx.htm
What an egotistical dickhead, that guy.
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bluering
Trad climber
Santa Clara, Ca.
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I understand that, Domingo, but consider the location on the Arches where this went down. The burnt embers wouldn't need to be pushed as evidenced in the photos, they would naturally fall down the slabs.
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Domingo
Trad climber
El Portal, CA
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Yeah, given how much crap is falling off the top right now... it is kind of like the firefall.
I was on the Rambler yesterday when I saw the chopper. Damn.
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johnboy
Trad climber
Can't get here from there
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I've seen many fires started by lightning hitting a tree. The fire burns on the inside and works its way out after a few days. Gawd knows how, but they do. Some of the wood is so green a person could hardly get it to burn even trying their best to do so. Haystack fires are the same, they can take a week to burn their way to the outside and then take off. A lot of hardwood trees get hollow spots in the middle, you can drown them with water till you swear the fire couldn't come back to life, but they will unless you cut them into sections and get to every inch of it.
Ain't saying it was by lightning, but I wouldn't rule it out.
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Karl Baba
Trad climber
Yosemite, Ca
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Mark posted this on it's own thread. I'll repost it here incase that thread goes off the main page
Area below the fire now closed to climbing.
Peace
Karl
+++++++
Jesse is apparently stuck in the bus accident traffic jam, so I'll make it official: All routes from Devil's Bathtubs to The Rambler are temporarily closed to climbing. A fair amount of debris is falling down from the jungle, with a lot of it being funneled west along the ramp systems lower down. We will post updates as conditions change.
Cheers,
Mark
NPS Wilderness
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WBraun
climber
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Topic Author's Reply - May 8, 2008 - 07:40pm PT
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Yeah all those scenarios are so called possible.
Except, there was no lightning strike up there.
And Yosemite Fire says it was a campfire that started it.
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rockermike
Mountain climber
Berkeley
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I'll confess. I started a fire at the top of RA one bitter cold spring night. It must of been smoldering underground for a while. That was 1977. :) My first day and first route in Yosemite. We took a little longer then we expected and were only wearing T-shirts. But I promise, we pissed on the fire real good in the morning.
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scooter
climber
fist clamp
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Yo, Werner I was just sayin' there was lightning here, in Fish Camp.
Forest, the spring at the top of arches PUMPS water so they definetly had enough to make black paste if they had cared to.
I wonder if there will be fewer pine needles on the last slab now?
P
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TradIsGood
Chalkless climber
the Gunks end of the country
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I actually saw a fire started by rockfall on the side of the Wasatch mountains when I was a kid. Just happened to be looking at them through the binoculars 4 blocks from the base. Saw sparks from the rocks. Seemed pretty cool. About 3 hours later, there was a range fire up there. Totally dry. CAVU.
It ended up being acres by the time the fire crew was able to contain it. That was sage brush and tumbleweeds. Maybe dry pine needles would work?
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philo
Trad climber
boulder, co.
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The fire starters are so lame, lazy and pathetic. I can't believe they could not properly handle their situation.
It is a bit ironic that so many climbers have their panties in a bunch over Sean's route on SFHD and so few are outraged by this blatently inconsiderate act.
And I hope those school kids are alright.
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rockermike
Mountain climber
Berkeley
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Hey, Re the slabs traverse on last pitch; I climbed the route back in the day with my complete newbee girl friend and she freaked out on that traverse pitch with no pro. Since then I've always done the rap and never repeated the traverse to the forest. Now I'm thinking of taking two young boys up the route (also outdoor newbees) and don't really want to do the 10 rap thing with them. But I'm trying to remember how the traverse is (its been some 25 years). Is it reasonably secure and safe for a couple of 15 year olds who have never been more than 45' off the ground before? ha
Any advice appreciated.
Of course, now there is the question of the condition of the burned forest too. Hopefully its still scramble-able to the rim?
(mind you, these boys are pulling V5s in the gym. Way stronger than me for sure. But as you all know, outdoor trad climbing is a different beast. They are also dirt poor, have no gear, and keep asking me when I'm going to retire and gift my rack to them. ha)
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