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The Guy
Trad climber
Portland, OR
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Topic Author's Original Post - Sep 7, 2014 - 09:29pm PT
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I climbed Infinite Bliss on 9/6. As I clipped the last bolt on pitch 12, I looked back after hearing what I thought was thunder and saw the lower 5 pitches get completely pummeled. From he top of pitch 4 me and my buddy saw the lower slabs riddled with rock scars. If we had started climbing an hour later, I wouldn't be writing this forum post. The culprit was a flake the size of a car that let lose 1/4 of the way up the route on climber's right. The anchor at the top of pitch 2 took a direct hit. The left bolt got smashed and the mallion broke open. A couple of bolts were also rendered useless. FYI...
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ß Î Ø T Ç H
Boulder climber
extraordinaire
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Go directly to the closest indian casino and bet the farm.
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Studly
Trad climber
WA
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You think thats scary, try climbing the other side. Its a real mountain. A hazardous enigma is what I believe Fred Beckey called it.
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Rhodo-Router
Gym climber
sawatch choss
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Proof there is a god!
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NutAgain!
Trad climber
South Pasadena, CA
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Dude. That would be pretty mind bending.
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JustThatEasy
climber
South Lake Tahoe, CA
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I had a similar experience on Mary's Tears a couple years ago in Yosemite. My friend and I had climbed the route with the intention of linking it into the Crucifix. We were starting the second pitch of the Crucifix when we heard all hell break loose below us. We witnessed huge blocks tumbling down the pitches we had just climbed an hour or so earlier. It was made all the more terrifying with the loud reverberating crashing sounds echoing of the walls formed between Higher Cathedral Rock and the Cathedral Spires. Needless to say, if we had started climbing an hour or two later we would've been toast. I try not to dwell on that sort of thing too much, but it did give me pause at the time.
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Darwin
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Man o' man. I'm glad you made it. How did you descend? Oh and thanks for the beta, not that I'm likely to do that route.
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Ghost
climber
A long way from where I started
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When we're on snow, we can at least pretend we know when it's safe and when it might avalanche. On rock, except where it's obviously sh#t, we never think about that kind of thing happening.
But all those amazing boulder problems below the Squamish Chief started out as part of the wall. Ditto for most everywhere else.
I don't remember anything that looked very dangerous on the lower half of Infinite Bliss, but...
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crankster
Trad climber
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Yikes! Glad you're OK!
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Magic Ed
Trad climber
Nuevo Leon, Mexico
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Gravity never sleeps.
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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When I went up on that thang waaay BITD, armed solely with pitons,
I got a heavy buzz of bad juju. I never went back.
And Studly is right, only a passed Thrashmaster would mess with the other side.
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Mtnfreak
Trad climber
Lost on the West Coast
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Its a good idea to stay away from this route for a few days after rain or early in the summer when snow still lingers up high. The bottom half of the route is an obvious funnel for any debris coming down. Another great example of why IB isn't a sport route.
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The Guy
Trad climber
Portland, OR
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Topic Author's Reply - Sep 9, 2014 - 08:19pm PT
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Not a sport route. We were able to rappel from the busted mallion. The other bolt was good. This route has flakes on the right side in the trees. It was one of those that let lose. The route is a funnel. No way to get out of the way if rockfall occurs.
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Branscomb
Trad climber
Lander, WY
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Sep 10, 2014 - 09:15am PT
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Man, I'd go drink a very very tall one after that.
Glad it missed you.
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The Guy
Trad climber
Portland, OR
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Topic Author's Reply - Sep 11, 2014 - 11:04am PT
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I just read the fatal news. My condolences to the family, friends, and community. If anybody needs more info on what we saw, message me.
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Ezra Ellis
Trad climber
North wet, and Da souf
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Sep 11, 2014 - 03:33pm PT
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Very sad, especially if he took the big fall due to missing bolts.
My condolences to his family and friends.
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Climberdude
Trad climber
Fresno, CA
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Sep 11, 2014 - 04:14pm PT
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This is very sad. Does anyone have any information on the search and rescue operation that was going on in Blodgett Canyon, Montana on September 2 which could have been referred to by a poster in the Cascade Climbers forum? I was climbing in the canyon that day and the helicopters and search and rescue personnel were quite active. The campground host told me that they were looking for a long missing hiker, but this did not make sense since the helicopter seemed to be looking carefully high on the cliffs. Also, the Cascade Climbers forum mentioned that a climber was killed in the area, which would make more sense if the helicopter was searching the cliffs instead of the canyon floor.
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The Guy
Trad climber
Portland, OR
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Topic Author's Reply - Sep 16, 2014 - 12:14pm PT
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Any word on the cause of the fatality?
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Kenygl
Trad climber
Salt Lake City
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Don't be on the track when the train comes.
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