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| Messages 1 - 18 of total 18 in this topic |
Zander
Trad climber
Berkeley
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Topic Author's Original Post - Dec 14, 2006 - 12:17am PT
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I’ve been interested reading about Crack-n-Ups in threads over the last month. I had always wondered what they were because I had read about them in George Steck's book Hiking Grand Canyon Loops (Falcon). George did a lot of hikes with his brother Al, a known Yosemite gentleman. Here’s the excerpt from the book that piqued my curiosity.
A little further on...
Here are some photos that show some of the chockstones and other parts of the canyon. The first one has an old time boulderer. You can tell by the wide shoulders.
See ya on the rock,
Zander
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Chicken Skinner
Trad climber
Yosemite
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Dec 14, 2006 - 12:21am PT
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Awesome TR Zander!
Thanks and Happy Holidays,
Ken
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Zander
Trad climber
Berkeley
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Topic Author's Reply - Dec 14, 2006 - 12:34am PT
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Ken,
I hope you have a good holiday too.
Zander
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healyje
Trad climber
Portland, Oregon
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Dec 14, 2006 - 12:43am PT
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Good one - wild looking trip. 'Canyoneering' before it had such an upscale moniker...
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Zander
Trad climber
Berkeley
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Topic Author's Reply - Dec 15, 2006 - 03:33pm PT
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Hi Healyje,
I took these photos in 2004. These guys consider this stuff just backpacking. Two of the guys spend four to six weeks in the GC backcountry every year. I feel lucky to be able to join then for an adventure every now and then. There is nothing better than being off trail a couple of days out from your car. see ya,
Zander
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couchmaster
climber
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Jan 15, 2007 - 10:48pm PT
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Hi Zander:
Love those desert pictures dude!
Concerning your Crack-N-Up question.
Joseph still not only hauls that stuff around, but uses it. Here is a FA write up with Crack-N-Up pictures, both long range and close up, which Joseph Healy (2 posts up there) did last July.
The crimped wire you see is added by Joseph to facilitate carrying the nasty little beasts.
http://www.mountainproject.com/v/washington/beacon_rock/105908780#a_105908788
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David Nelson
climber
San Francisco
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Jan 15, 2007 - 10:56pm PT
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Really beautiful pictures. Have not been there, but I can see I need to visit.
How about a little narrative to go along with them?
Don't get too confident in those Crack-n-ups. I have used them. They are not meant for holding a fall, and if the rock is weak (few places have such hard rock as Yosemite), they can tear out without much force. If you are going canyoneering and want to keep a light rack, think of carrying a few of the smaller nuts that have multiple widths for multiple placements, in a range of sizes. Heavier, but have a better chance to catch you if you fall a few feet with a high fall factor.
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healyje
Trad climber
Portland, Oregon
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Jan 15, 2007 - 11:31pm PT
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David, I've taken a thirty footer on a #3 in Eldo long ago, but you have to rig them a bit different for free climbing if you don't want them cutting the slings in a fall...
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hill_hiker
climber
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Great Pics Zander. Thanks for continuing to share.
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Zander
Trad climber
Berkeley
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Topic Author's Reply - Feb 9, 2007 - 10:48am PT
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Somehow I missed that this thread was contining.
couchmaster,
Thanks for the link to Joe's first ascent pictures. Joe, you are lookin' good! Nice first placement.
David,
I'll put together some narrative. We need some more trip reports on the taco right now. The first part of the trip we climbed/explored Wotan's Throne. I've got those pics around somwhere.
Zander
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healyje
Trad climber
Portland, Oregon
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I definitely come from the "better-than-nothing" school of pro and fell in love with Crack 'N Ups when they first hit the market. Still love them for that same reason. I can see why they never caught on, but I'm glad they made enough of them so they still come around on ebay (ditto for HB Alloy Offests now that they're history too).
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Zander
Trad climber
Berkeley
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Topic Author's Reply - Feb 13, 2007 - 02:10am PT
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David Nelson,
Here is a little more to go with the photo TR.
It was a week long trip, which the guys had planned in two parts. The second part was 150 mile canyon, where the photos above were taken. The first part was to explore Wotan’s Throne. I had wanted to do Wotan’s Throne. 150 Mile Canyon turned out to be an unexpected bonus. I can’t find my notes but most of the following is true.
Rich from El Cerrito and I rented a car at the Las Vegas airport. We drove to Grand Canyon’s North Rim to meet our fellow hikers, Guy and Dave. The meeting place was a picnic area about two miles from the Angels Window / Wotans Throne overlook. They weren’t there yet so we drove to the overlook where I took this picture.
Wotan’s Throne is kind of an island with a long curving arm connecting it to the rim. The route starts two miles back. It drops through the upper cliff bands and then traverses along the base on the left side of the arm. It then crosses over through a narrow slot to the right side and goes along the base of Wotan’s until it climbs up through the cliff bands to the top. The bay is somewhere around the right skyline in the photo.
We met up with our friends and by six the next morning were climbing down through the cliffs. I took these snapshots. The light was pretty good.
We passed the rusty remains of a car and some ancient rock art. There was a bit of climbing where we lowered our packs. We passed a small spring as we started the traverse, which would take the rest of the day.
We got to our chosen camping area in late afternoon. I was pretty beat. (a friend of mine asked me, “How come you are always tired in all your trip reports?”. Hey, I have a delicate constitution! I’m a good sleeper, though.) We were on a fairly steep slope and I couldn’t find a flat area. There was a bit of sand with ants under a low overhang. There was a rounded bouldertop. I was getting pretty frustrated. Seeing my plight, Guy found and leveled this place for me.
The next day before dawn we started up the class three slope to the notch, which led to the other side of the arm. There was one boulder move with exposure. I took this picture of it on the way back.
We crossed through the notch and traversed for a mile(?) to the area where the ascent was reportedly located. The trip descriptions were contradictory. We took the last bay, which was just steep scrambling until just below the top. There was a very exposed thirty foot 5.5 climb at the far side of the bay. We declined. We found a harder but short boulder move with no exposure that got us to the top. The views were spectacular in all directions as we wandered around the Throne. Here’s a sample. Heaven’s Gate on the left and Zoroaster Temple through the branches.
We explored for a few hours. We found a few 900 year old bivys.
Instead of returning by the last bay we took the one next to it. We quickly found a mellow class three route. We had some time left when we got back to our packs so we moved camp a few miles to a big flat ledge. We made it out by early afternoon the next day.
We spent the next day climbing down to Hartman(?) bridge and back. It’s a forty foot natural arch. We then drove around to the head of 150 Mile Canyon. This took the rest of that day and part of the next.
Here is a photo taken near the top of the descent.
The Colorado is the big gash in the distance. That was where we ended up in Mini photo TR in the first message above. We hiked down to the beginning of the narrows that first day. We decided to explore a little farther before dark. We dropped into the narrows about two hundred yards from the start. It’s about 80 feet or so of class four. We left a hand line in place to facilitate getting back up that afternoon and down again in the morning. The first of the four chockstones is not very far down canyon. We had brought some short ropes which we tied loops into every foot. The plan was to leave one at each chockstone. The bolts were in pretty good shape.
We started before dawn. After that there isn’t that much to say. The pictures say it all. We passed the chockstones without much problem. We had to wade up to our chests a couple(?) of times. You can just make this out in this photo.
It is just beautiful in there! And never ending. Just around every corner is another amazing view or place, hour after hour. We found the bypasses OK. Places where you must climb out onto the canyon sides for a while to get around big drops. There is some steep climbing right at the end getting down to the Colorado River. I tied myself to a bush and belayed Dave down with a seventy foot piece of 9/16 webbing. He got about twenty feet from the beach when it got too difficult. He offered me a go but I declined figuring we had come this far as a team and it was far enough. Plus I’m pretty serious about turn around times and it was getting close. We relaxed and ate lunch. We had a great walk out and then back to the rim the next day. Just a pretty good week in the canyon.
See ya.
Zander
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healyje
Trad climber
Portland, Oregon
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Feb 13, 2007 - 02:16am PT
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F#ck, that's totally amazing Zander.
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Zander
Trad climber
Berkeley
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Topic Author's Reply - Feb 14, 2007 - 10:40am PT
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Bump. 'cuz the CG has got to be more fun than another Bush vs Gore thing.
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Ed Hartouni
Trad climber
Livermore, CA
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Feb 18, 2007 - 12:14am PT
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The Grand Canyon is an amazing place indeed. Thanks for the TR Zander.
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spyork
Social climber
Land of Green Stretchy People
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Feb 18, 2007 - 12:08pm PT
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Great TR Zander. Cools pics.
I went into the GC from the north rim down to Thunder River many many moons ago. Stayed in canyon for nine days, hiking around. Saw one soul who had some whiskey, we had some odd substances and we traded. Fun for all. Saw no one else other than the boat people.
Steve
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J. Werlin
climber
Cedaredge
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May 12, 2007 - 11:25pm PT
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Bumping a cool TR (and maybe some stoke for Zander).
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