ydpl8s, That photo takes me back to my Central Oregon days; TFJ, West ridge of Mt Washington, Jeff Park Glacier on Mt Jefferson. Gotta say I don't miss the volcanoes.
Yea, Mhay, when you're young and foolish you'll try just about anything to get the buzz.
Rotwand, ahhhhh, been there, done that, you should talk to SicMic on here. I think he holds the speed record and the number of ascents record for that wall.
We know more about the Moon and the Bottom of the Sea than we know about the choss. The next Golden Age of Exploration will be a race to the center of the Chossverse. I, along with my fellow choss loving bretheren, will be first in line to try and beat James Cameron in this last great race...
Roughster... yes, until they pop out and smack you in the head. Definitely not a solo, padless bouldering area :-) You definitely see a lot of soap dishes in those closeups, and there is a disconcerting number of solid jugs laying on the ground at the base of every crag. Some cleaning might be in order.
The formation is a series of conglomerates and sandstone of great thickness and dipping southwest at a low angle.
Believed to be part of the Tejon/Chico formations, not all that old, and contemporaneous to the sandstones on the southern flank of Mt Diablo.
And not next to a road, either. Its a bit of a walk (but not outlandish). And yes... I've been wanting to go back every since I laid eyes on the place.
Btw glad to see you still in the game, though you kayaked out of here a long time ago ;-)
I wanna tell you a little secret, being a chosser, is a lot like being in love. No one needs to tell you, you are in love, you just know it, through and through. Cobbles to brains.
What's even better than choss? Offwidth and squeeze chimney choss!
There's a great place up to the left of Upper Yosemite Falls that has a chimney slightly wider than heel-toe, full-on granite ball bearings spraying off everything and granite plates filling up your underwear.
If you climb in Eldo long enough you'll perhaps realize you've negotiated quite a bit of choss in outstanding locations mixed in with mostly stellar rock. That's when the Rotwand begins to feel approachable, desirable, COMPELLING even. Having navigated four routes on that gem I can say it's a little bit like climbing FROM position of relative safety TO position of relative safety (mix/match & repeat), without much reliable protection along the way. Not that there's anything wrong with that ... See, the choss, BE ... the choss ... Just don't let it "set you free".
Gal, yep that's Camelback right in the middle of Phoenix. I only had an afternoon after a training class in Phoenix a few years ago, and Manny gave me a gracious tour of fun stuff including his own creations. Or are they simply revelations of what hath been created already?
that looks chosstastic, JTM. (...be there or be smart-love it!)
Nutjob-well you definitely got out with the right person to show you around, yes he was showing you his creations... those climbs are great for a half day in town when you can't get away for too long-great routes and ever shifting/crumbling rock ;-)
Tarbuster-haha, good to keep in mind-don't let it "set you free", words of wisdom...
There is the other side of the coin too - where the rock is so slick and dense, that nobody wants a part of it. At least with choss, you figure to have good grip and alot of surface contact.
If you live on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington you learn to love choss, because it keeps you in shape for everywhere else, increases your overall climbing mileage, plus it only takes 30 minutes or less to get there from the homestead and it is fun to climb once scrubbed and suitably sanitized.
10b hands and fingers on water laid tuff
Credit: Hardly Visible
here's a corner in water laid tuff that can be done as a 5.8 layback, a 5.9 right side in offwidth squeeze, a 10a/b stem with fingers and some steep hands or a straight up 11a fingers/hands splitter
Ulf's Arete, Mt Constance. It's a sad commentary that it hasn't been repeated, as far as I know, since it went up in '79. It ain't exactly hard and it has some quality choss!
Credit: Reilly
I know it isn't much of a line...
And that steep face to the left could be verrrry interesting.
I'd tell ya but I'd hafta kill ya. Sandstone just downstream of lower Elwha dam site the tuff is west of Pt. Angeles along the straits.
P.S. I'd like to repeat yer line on Constance just can't walk that far anymore. Even tho it's only 5.9 I do not think any harder alpine free line has gone up in the Olympics since you did it.
Who has the goods on Peshastin Pinnacles? They are pretty saucy-chossy.
Lemme see, 'been across the Martian Ridge, also done crawled up Dr. Leakey. Didn't have the jeans if you know what I mean, for Bomb Shelter, an overhanging sand romp free climbed by Henry Barber.
Or how about that stuff outside of Grand Junction that Duane Raleigh and Pete Takeda climbed with ice tools ... Suggested in crunch's earlier post.
All hail the BOSS CHOSS!
Peshastin pshtt... why climb on that sh#t when it is mostly bolted sandy slab climbin and there's all that nice granite nearby. However if its a rainy day up near Leavenworth both Vertigo and Empire State are worthy slightly overhanging cracks very out of the norm for Peshastin.
The tuff is probably dry 200+ days a year (forms a sharp ridge line in the forest so no dirt on top to hold water) so it dries within 2-3 days after a heavy storm and stays dry in showery periods. The sandstone April to late Ocrober good to go in any weather due to overhang.
Yer partner might be too much of a distraction for me, prolly too much time on the boobs thread... But I'll see your choss and raise you by a couple of alpine seafloor scrapings.
Mount Morrison. A partner of mine wanted to climb the Northeast Buttress. It looks beautiful from a distance but everyone I talked to who's climbed it (and they are few) said it's the scariest death climb they've ever been on. My friend Mark Wagner got on it and said it was one of the worst experiences of his life but that I needed to do it because the suffering would be an experience unequaled in all of climbing. He said leading it was like climbing hundreds of feet of giant broken dishes. But leading it was the safest way up because the belayer was the one risking life and limb as rockfall was a certainty. He climbed the crux and refused to go further as it looked grim above so he and his partner down climbed the route and bailed. Rapping was not an option.
hi quality choss just a 15 minute stroll from the parking lot.
Some of my most satisfying and some of my most terrifying moments were on choss, with the former being in the Snowies of Wyo (above) and Norwegian choss and the latter being on that chimney approach to Broadway on Long's (uggh, falling rocks = bad).
Mount Morrison!
No doubt the poster child of the whole thread.
Quote by Vern Clevenger: "Mount Morrison, [all it would take is] ... one well-placed cherry bomb ..."
The San Juans, oh yeah, been there, done lots of that, at least 2 or 3 in that last picture.
Here's another choss meister from that general area.
Courtesy Richard M. Wright
Credit: ydpl8s
The infamous Chossmaster Bob Dickerson (of Gunnison fame) once told me (paraphrasing) "you just need to keep moving, if the hold falls off right after you leave it, well you were just helping Mother Nature's physical erosion a little bit"
I've been by that thing YDS, on the "shortcut" from Ouray to Gunnison. It has a history as you know.
There is even more venerable choss to be ogled along the way. (See below).
I think that chunky tower is called Chimney Rock? (Or is that the thing near Pagosa Springs) or both ...
Further along the dirt road heading toward Gunnison from Ouray one comes to Silver Jack Reservoir to encounter these magnificent conglomerate towers:
Similar stuff visible from Highway 50 bordering the northern shores of Curecanti reservoir.
Where ground-up (in both senses of the phrase) kitty litter lovin' hard mens and wymins go to die!
Yeah, that's Chimney Rock, we got there driving up the road from Cimmaron after directions from Jimmy Newberry. It's right near Turret Ridge and not too far from Coxcomb.
Here's another pic from that general area looking towards the giant choss Uncompahgre, from the top of Wetterhorn (which actually has some good rock on it). This pic was taken in the Fall of 72, the guy in the orange wind breaker is co-author of one of the Colorado mountain guides (can't remember the name of it) Gary Kocsis.
Tarbuster, I found the rotwand compelling for the same reason, its seems a route is "more trad" if its got loose rock on it. Well if you want to get gripped in Eldo there are lots of ways to do it. For some reason I was attracted by the idea that there's a big part of Eldo where no one climbs, didn't really think about why.
Once I was in the Adirondaks on a route, I dont remember the name but it was a kind of pillar made of detached broken blocks, probably 5.7 climbing but every single move and every gear placement was on disconnected blocks just stacked on each other. Definitely adds to the excitement of a route.
Yes, we begin to perceive the hazards differently. The mind becomes enriched through that process of penetrating through the outer layer of puzzle pieces and peeling them away, discrediting the unwanted holds and stances. Intuiting the safe passage: that's the name of the game and the fun of it! Choss is boss. User experience may vary.
Think about it: even the Bachar Yerian is ... uh ... Choss. It's well-known, (not that I'd know), that you must be keenly selective with the fragile knobs or the big ride is yours for the taking.
Gal, yep that's Camelback right in the middle of Phoenix. I only had an afternoon after a training class in Phoenix a few years ago, and Manny gave me a gracious tour of fun stuff including his own creations. Or are they simply revelations of what hath been created already?
I recognized the area, especially in conjunction with Manny's name.
The rock there varies for sure. I did some very low grade soloing there and felt safe. I also did a climb of Manny's called Dr. Demento and did not! Let's just say it has a highly evolving grade.
I found all manner of variants tooling around off piste in Eldorado Canyon. Concocted a direct variation of Yellow Spur requiring sling protection around a torso sized wing of rock hinging out of the crack. Sling it, check it and commit full body weight to it, hanging straight off the arms to reach a higher jam. Straightened the route out really nicely with two independent pitches mid-route. Did it a couple of times; once with Rob Slater. I told him I didn't think it should go in the guidebook. He disagreed.
Lots of other more insignificant straightening out of routes to be had on not so consolidated ground. Or just without protection. At the top of Outer Space, a variation which I believe is listed, you can just cut straight up and slightly right, without protection in shallow pockets. Being able to handle weird ground is the key to that kind of meandering activity. Creative freedom!
One day I heard the siren song and on-site soloed Roof Wall on Hotspur. Including the Erickson 5.10 undercling start. But that's not where the spice was. There be a fair amount of loose/flexi but navigable 5.8 rock in the midsection, topped by a semi-crunchy 5.9+ overhanging finger crack. Hotspur has got a few other B-list jewels. Like Northumberland crack, a semi-crunchy OW, no real wide gear necessary for the lead but probably seldom climbed. Or SunStar, an independent route with mixed quality just right of Hotspur, also sans cord for me on just another day out under the sun; I think it would protect okay, but not great. Either way it's pure adventure and the Choss somewhat defines it.
"Go where you want to go and do what you want to do." Nothing like mastery to keep the soul ticking along in the groove. Man that is good living when you are fully tuned and up for it!
[Disclaimer: soloing Choss is kind of doing it on the cheap. Wiggling in sporadic protection while passing over uncelebrated ground is a big part of the kick.]
An excellent trip report about a big day out in The Pinnacles bagging summits, loaded with wonderful panoramic photographs.
Must click on the independent link provided to see the Full Monty and well worth it in ambience alone.
Outstanding cardboard rock you've been tinkering with Munge Man!
There there Munge ... Why don't you come inside for a little while so we can get you the help you need! Ha ha. Here Kitty Kitty.
East Buttress, Lower Middle Cathedral.
We've had some good discussions about the route; Fissure Beck, Bachar's on-site solo and so forth. The upper third of that route, and bits and pieces of it along the way are pretty darn Chossy. Nonetheless, it's near the top of my list for B grade classics.
Kastraki Tower Meteora, Greece.
The rock is a conglomerate, so it can vary from Pinnacles-like quality to occasionally rival that of Tuolumne.
Developed under a strict ground-up ethic by Dieter Hasse.
This route was something like five or six pitches. Bigger than it looks in the picture for sure! The first pitch, 5.10 stemming and chimney against walls with nearly the consistency of dirt, but more like frozen dirt, so not quite that bad.
At the 5.10 OW crux, the rock is a bit flakey and littered with pokey crystalline shaped knobs.
Still, one of the more novel climbs of memory!
A bit on the Chossy side and also a powerful line to be sure.
Gotta throw a vote for Monte Paterno in the Dolomites. Pretty ugly. The Lions Head formation in Eagle is vertical dirt maintaining a disquise. I'll load up a few shots of the craptasm that is the Rotwand.
The "belayer slayer" pitch on Der Dihedral FA - a variation on Dragontail Peak in the North Cascades (Leavenworth area)...I was the belayer, Mike is the delicate leader. The loose tooth is below him.
Munge!
You must admit Fritz' be taking the cake with that one. (That is some hideous Choss Fritz!).
Door prize?
Does he get first pick out of the box of Krispy Kreme's or what?
In the late 80s I was scoping out potential south of dreamers (pocketopia etc) on Sherwin Plateau. I found a new grotto down there, and got half way up this nice line when the hold comes off and hits me in the face. I was kinda worried about how much it was gonna bleed, but safely rode my bike back home to Sunny Slopes.
Here is the latest issue.
I have lots of issues for sure.
Luckily I have faithful belay slaves. Sometimes I call them climbing partners. I did offer to give one of the leads to my partner last time we were on a chossy project. He declined.
Without this guy I wouldn't get up half the stuff I get to climb.
Munge get me a photo and I will get you in the next issue.
Maybe we can get on something really loose and crappy and scare the bjesus out of ourselves. I have a few projects in mind.
Plaidman! I am impressed with your obvious mastery of
Choss & Moss.
However----back to the Choss-state, Idaho.
The ROTTEN MONOLITH is composed entirely of granite that is easily confused with sand.
The well-known authority of choss, F. Beckey mentions his 1961 ascent, in the list of ascents, in his first bio-book "Challenge of The North Cascades."
Clutched up edge of very scary rotten flake.
In the era of pitons, nervous leaders on the Rotten Monolith could beat pitons directly into the decomposing granite whenever they needed psychological assurance.
Rotten Monolith at left, Heyburn at center right from the flat summit of Braxton Chosspile.
Fritz with all due respect I think we in Oregon can out Choss you there in Idaho. At least you guys have City of Rocks and some other awesome granite. So I regrettably have to inform you that because Idaho is in possession of some stellar granite that it is disqualified from being the Choss State.
Oregon on the other hand has no granite to speak of, and we are uniquely qualified and maybe over qualified to be known (or branded) the consummate State of Choss.
I don't have any pics of the bad stuff on Plinth because rockfall smashed my camera while I was trying to take a photo of the choss. F*#king paparazzi!
sorry- it was the only pic I could find on short notice. Pay no attention to the stellar-quality rock in the background...
it was just a fling.. I swear.
A movie about the blood guts and glory of choss. And the revenge of a Chossist over coming snooty elitist climbers and mountaineers that only climb good rock.
Elitist defined: The belief that certain persons or members of certain classes or groups deserve favored treatment by virtue of their perceived superiority, as in intellect, social status, or financial resources.
I know Reilly, I know. I …um, Well … please don't report the infraction.
I assure you I'm in good standing with professional organizations such as CRAP & BARFA.
C.R.A.P.
Consortium of Rockclimbers Asking for Problems
B.A.R.F.A.
Bogus And Rotten Fells Association
Tar, rest assured that I wasn't impugning your knowledge of the subject.
That stuff did look fair to licheny which can provide a worthy experience
on its own merits. I can recall being nearly blinded and rendered
instantly asthmatic on a few occasions. :-/
Munge, you kinda look like John Cleese atop the castle wall shouting obscenities regarding mothers in boots and elderberries.
Next thing he'll do is fling cows at you!!
you guys need to see some videos from the culm coast in the uk. that stuff is sh#t. rotten shale covered with dirt and guano and vegetation. makes oregon look like cirque of the unclimbables
"Hellloooo! We are from Chossalot and are on a holy mission seeking the Chossy Grail.
If you will allow us access to your crumbling tower, we will let you join us on our quest!"
"Some call me 'Tim' and I am guardian of the Choss - just look at that manky tower behind me that you will never reach! Ha! That is, unless..."
This choss is in New Zealand. You can't see it but Andrew in the pic is actually toe hooking to prevent falling into space, what with being upside down and all.
The angle says 5.3 but the loose dirt screams 5.9R. Literally EVERYTHING you touch on that pitch will be on the ground soon enough. We still give him a hard time about this route. When he talked me into going up there we topped out in the dark and could hear all this buzzing by our asses (we were sitting down). Turned out to be a den of baby rattlesnakes...good times!
Yikes there Backclip.. I wouldn't categorize that as a "pitch".. I think choss of that caliber needs a whole new term.. I'll think on it.
You've raised the bar. Now that the gauntlet has been thrown down.. I'm forced me to dig up my Willard Island pics for my next thread bump.
We had a typical chosstastic weekend at Echo Cliffs. Climbed a few routes we hadn't done before. The best thing about Echo... even though these quality routes (for some strange reason) were completely devoid of chalk , you could easily tell which holds to use by looking for the glue. Thanks Louis!
Behold, Willard Island. So chossy the vertical faces are literally unclimbable. You'd be dead in minutes under a pile of jagged rubble.. that is if the primordial choss-monsters roaming the scree field don't get you first.
1000 foot elevation gain off the Sea of Cortez. You walk the spine and pray the entire time it doesn't disintegrate beneath your feet.
Sweet! I win! What do I get? hahaha...seriously though, some of the pix posted as choss look like dreamy stone.
I stared to bolt a line at Echo above what we dubbed "the Fire Swamp". Got 4 bolts in (willy stick style) and called it after hitting shite stone/dirt. I don't know whats worse, the train going by or the Highway noise. Echo just plain sucks IMO.
That piece of crap called Ship Rock at Smith Rock has a few routes on it. I wouldn't waste my time on it though unless you have a death wish and don't care about the welfare of others. The main hiking trail is at the bottom of it and I am sure that if anything came off it would take out a hiker or two. That thing is beyond choss.
@ Backclip.. that picture is Echo Cliffs in Malibu. No highway or noise pollution anywhere in sight.
@ Plaidman.. er.. yeah.. Shiprock.. I don't have a death wish and wanted to get home in my car.. not in a body bag, so we never actually did the "route". Just thought the guide description was hilarious.
Edit to add: Choss really does need it's own grading system.
Do we grade on the hardest move on the pitch, or on the feeling you are going to pitch, and that the pro is crap and you have not a chance in hell of making it out alive?
Extra points for spiceyness and how bad it looks. Although I have had some say that's choss, and I respond. It's really not that bad.
Grading is all in your mind. And I don't mind choss in the right place.
I just got my TR of the St. Peter's Dome climb published in the new Mazama Annual.
Chances of killing your belayer with loose rock must be incorporated into the grade, devalued if there is an overhang/cave that said victim can huddle in.
We had a good cave on St. Peter's Dome. Totally protected the belayer. I really did think about how not to kill my best friend on that endeavor.
My partner did how ever pulled off a rock bigger than a softball when he started jugging the rope without making sure that he was directly below the anchor. So when he finally weighted the rope it was dragged across the rock and pulled off a chunk. The damn thing whacked him in the thigh.
That was on him though... literally. He won't do that again.
I tried to tell him..... sometimes they just got to hose it up for themselves to learn.
Off White, that is some serious choss. The last one reminds me of a quarry where all the rock is shattered by dynamite but still holding together somehow.
Crown Point.. yee haw. Good candidate for the next issue of Moss and Choss. You know it's the good stuff when you're wishing you'd brought along your battery-powered weed-wacker.
Yeah justthemaid Crown Point could have it's own issue featuring it in Moss and Choss. Some of the ledges are only made up of moss. A little scary the first time I did the West Chimney. Some would wonder why I have climbed it 3x. Cause it's fun.
Bouldering on Thumb Rock, Liberty Ridge, Mt. Rainier. I forget the name of this intrepid climber, but he was the founder of Pipestone Mountaineering in Missoula, MT.
I forget the name of this intrepid climber, but he was the founder of Pipestone Mountaineering in Missoula, MT.
Is that the near-legendary Jim Wilson?
Speaking of Thumb-Rock on Liberty Ridge. By the time I finally got around to climbing the route in the early 1980's, every other turkey in the NW had figured out they could do the route in June.
We barely had room to camp at the flat-bivy under Thumb-Rock. We were forced to bivy right-up against the thumb and 15' above us was a huge detached flake, just hanging there like an axe-head. It stayed put, but I had nightmares.
We had the total ridge to ourselves in 1995! It was approximately June. We camped on the summit for 2 days in a storm and saw nobody, then descended the Emmons to the Emmons ranger hut and saw nobody - and used the radio there to let everyone know we were OK. I guess that was pretty weird looking back on it - shows you how bad the weather was!
I climbed the Emmons Glacier route with Dave Gotlieb about the same time and we snowboarded off the summit. Again, the weather was bad, but it was also Memorial Weekend and the road had just opened. We hiked in while it rained and snowed and climbed the mountain with not another soul there. Had to plow through waste deep snow almost all the way up - and got there just before sunset with just enough time to fly down!
You mean the Stoney Point Jim Wilson? That's not him and his name was not Jim Wilson. I mean Jim Wilson's name was Jim Wilson, but not this guy. I forget this guy's name, but it wasn't Jim Wilson. If it was Jim Wilson he would have recognized me as a Stoney Point guy but he didn't.
This shows the true power of the choss - let the choss be with you. 2nd video is better, plus there are more links when it's over;
This shows the true power of the choss - let the choss be with you.
That second video was wild!
WOW! Revenge of the CHOSS! That was is certainly an eye opener. Don't get in the way of the CHOSS! Let the CHOSS have it's way. Cause it will make a way where there was none before.
As several other folks have pointed out - the Northwest is truly the land of choss, and the voluminous basalt flows of eastern Washington are truly choss-Mecca. If you're climbing without the knowledge that any (or every) handhold, foothold, or "fixed" anchor could suddenly fail under body weight at any moment, where's the thrill?
If you're climbing without the knowledge that any (or every) handhold, foothold, or "fixed" anchor could suddenly fail under body weight at any moment, where's the thrill?
That's what I say. It adds to the fun as long as you don't hurt anyone else. Belayer's beware! Always wear a helmet...and shoulder pads and a shield may not be a bad idea.
That's what I say. It adds to the fun as long as you don't hurt anyone else. Belayer's beware! Always wear a helmet...and shoulder pads and a shield may not be a bad idea.
I agree. You know you've encountered authentic choss when the belayer is at greater risk of injury than the climber. Someone should come up with a line of protective gear for the choss belayer - as suggested above. Choss climbing might really take off if belayers resembled gladiators....
McHales! Re your mention:
I forget the name of this intrepid climber, but he was the founder of Pipestone Mountaineering in Missoula, MT.
From Fritz!
Is that the near-legendary Jim Wilson?
Then your confused answer? (I did not answer your first question clearly)
You mean the Stoney Point Jim Wilson? That's not him and his name was not Jim Wilson. I mean Jim Wilson's name was Jim Wilson, but not this guy. I forget this guy's name, but it wasn't Jim Wilson. If it was Jim Wilson he would have recognized me as a Stoney Point guy but he didn't.
I doubt if the Jim Wilson that started Pipestone was the Stoney Point Jim Wilson, since the Pipestone founder (who is another Jim Wilson) grew up north of Butte and first started a climbing shop there, before expanding to Missoula. I'm sure of his name, since I worked with him as a outdoor gear sales-rep from day one. He sold the store a few years back to a Bozeman-based Nabob, who closed it in the 2008 recession.
Back to Choss. Much less confusing!
South side of Mt. Heyburn Sawtooth Range Idaho. All decomposing granite, or sand lightly covering decomposing granite.
Credit: Fritz
Makes for quick descents!
Heidi glissading sand. Only tricky places were when the sand was too-light a covering over rock.
I doubt if the Jim Wilson that started Pipestone was the Stoney Point Jim Wilson, since the Pipestone founder (who is another Jim Wilson) grew up north of Butte and first started a climbing shop there, before expanding to Missoula. I'm sure of his name, since I worked with him as a outdoor gear sales-rep from day one. He sold the store a few years back to a Bozeman-based Nabob, who closed it in the 2008 recession.
Fritz, Wow! That would be a coincidence. It sure doesn't ring the bells it should, but I look for first signs of dementia, in myself and others! HaHa! That is challenging for climbers since there is already a high background level of the stuff.
I'm looking at a lot of the photos on this thread, and to me, many of them feature rock that falls far below my standard for choss. But just how does one quantify "chossiness"? I'd suggest using the average density, as measured by combined length of cracks (fractures) per area of rock. So if you took a square meter of rock surface and measured the length of all of the cracks in that square meter and got 1 meter of fractures, that would not be so chossy as compared to say 5 or 6 meters of fractures. By this criteria, the rock in the photo below blows away most anything I've seen on here. Basically any piece of rock will move if a bit of force is applied to it - truly world class choss...
Gotta love Columbia River basalt entablature - that columnar stuff is for choss-avoiding wimps. You're lucky over there on the west side, you have all that moss to hold it in place... Here's a shot of some REAL climbers braving the über-chossy basalt entablature of Wallula Gap.
We introduced Briham to some excellent Pinnacles choss on Saturday (after he did some of it's better routes on Friday). The only problem is - he's got the photos.
Get on FB already Brad. lol I saw some already. He actually sounded like he's warming up to the place, which makes no sense if you put him on The Snail. really?
We introduced Briham to some excellent Pinnacles choss on Saturday (after he did some of it's better routes on Friday). The only problem is - he's got the photos.
Post up a few Brian.
Chossville
Credit: briham89
The Snail 5.7R
Credit: briham89
The "I didn't die" look
Credit: briham89
I have to say, after this trip I am more excited to come back...the power of choss has compelled me after all.
He actually sounded like he's warming up to the place, which makes no sense if you put him on The Snail. really?
The snail was definitely not the driving force behind this paradigm shift haha
good deal. that's how the cults pull you in. first the good climbs, then the crappy ones with stories of stance and drilling, bravery and boldness, but in the end you're drinking light beer in the shade of some oatmeal pasted adobe mud brick piece of a climb. It's not too late to turn back. ;)
There should be a book about choss climbing. A guide to the fractured areas. Chapter 1: techniques for cranking on loose blocks. (a) always prepare to shift weight since any hold could blow. (b) if you do pull off a big hold, try not to throw it at your belayer as you fall. (I did this once) Chapter 2. The use of ice climbing gear in soft sandstone. Chapter 3. The ethics of removing loose rock in traditional choss areas. It just needs an expert and a book and it becomes a legitimate part of climbing.
It just needs an expert and a book and it becomes a legitimate part of climbing.
LOL! O.K. who is going to step up to the plate and become the expert? Where are we going to find someone to publish such a book? Not that it should not be written..... I'm just say'in
"The Mud Volcano rises a breathtaking 15 meters
above it's surroundings on the coast between Cartegena
and Santa Marta. At an estimated 30 meters above sea level
it is the country's highest mud volcano. As a climber it was a must do.
After acclimatizing by climbing the "Via Madera", I attempted to open a
new route on its muddy and treacherous seaward face."
"With a sharp stick and a butterfly knife I attacked the technical dirt
and successfully climbed half the route before my photographer reported
"I think they want you to come down from there"..."
I have been chuckling over this genius thread title since you started it. It is like the one-liner headlines you read in "The Onion."
Personally the closest I get to choss is my cat's litter box - I am sticking with nice solid, dependable Gunks conglomerate for now ;)
To be honest, I was thinking of the movie the Exorcist, where the priest is trying to expell the demon. "The power of christ compels you..." repeated like three or four times.
Anxious, OMG, I threw up in my mouth a little. Loooooose and BIG!
Reilly that look usually gets me a ride in the squad car back to the state hospital.
It is really hard to pick out the best line when you are doin' 70+ mph up and down I-84. I always have to remind myself that I could probably get a better look if I just pulled over.
Hell I can see the WHOLE Columbia River Gorge if I just close my eyes. Got the image burned into the back of my brain.
Munge, talk about a catch in the throat, Tom was breaking off flakes here and there, clipped this old 1/4 incher, (just above where the picture was taken) then ran it out a ways. He paused a bit, tried to finagle some wireds, then committed. About a dozen feet further his right foot popped off a crumbling flake and he was left hanging from looseness.
Wow I thought we just made this up but people already have a choss boss competition and everything. Maybe SLIGHTLY more interesting than your average rock gym comp?
Thanks Mic! Now THAT"S some quality choss. Here's more choss porn - we got miles of this stuff in eastern WA, and to make things even more interesting, the grass below is full of rattlesnakes.
He wishes...We have a big band of that stuff just down from the good stuff, local. I'll go take a couple pics of this bolted line through it. I doubt it's been climbed since it was put up. Much, anyway. Looks like you could pull blocks at those bolts.
ATTN. Choss Lovers.
Coming to a Loews Hardward Store near you soon.
Ivan Green's Deluxe
Gardening Tool Set.
The KIT includes everything
needed to spruce up your local Choss crop.
Some friends climbed the Crooked Dick Spire (left of the climber) a couple weeks ago and had some incidental toaster-sized footholds crumble out from under them on lead. Gotta keep those lazy belayers on their feet ya know.
Crooked Dick and Hidden Tower
Credit: justthemaid
I never quite realized the "quality" of choss there until we did some 'splorin' off the well beaten routes. It's amazing the whole place doesn't just fall down BTW.
We TR'd this unclimbed 5.9 with high hopes of new chossaneering, but scuttled the proj. when no solid rock was found and we decided putting up a noob death-route was a waste of time. The dark-colored shell is basically adhered by a talc#m-mustard plaster underlayment. Kinda like climbing your kid's sand and macaroni project.
Credit: justthemaid
Did some hiking on the outer rim. Choss, choss and more choss.
We clean off all the stuff that pulls off easily and then try to find a chunk that sounds reasonably solid when you beat on it with a hammer - but there are no guarantees...
On one of the many dirt roads NE of (395) Mammoth there is a hillside of tall crumbly towers, and actually white like chalk-board chalk. I had scoped it out once, but got lost when I went back later. My car is a little more reliable now, so I'm hoping to go out there again if the weather holds.
Yup^^^Plaidman does seem to have cornered the market on the really scary stuff. I'm thinking of sending him some of those Polish grass screws for his birthday.
It rarely rains here, so us desert rats don't really get the opportunity to hone our moss-skills.
Edit to add.. it will be interesting to see how well those screws hold in a tuft of grass anchored only in mud and gravel. Those Pollacks are totally nuts BTW.
That red screw is what you're going to use for gear? Cool this is a whole area of climbing I don't know much about. I was half joking before, about using ice climbing gear in soft rock. I haven't climbed on the same kind of choss as you guys do. I thought of it in terms of 4th class climbing never did a hard choss route. In fact its hard to imagine climbing harder than 5.8 on holds that might break under body weight.
Don the above photo is of volcanic tuff similar to Smith Rock. The first time I did a trad route there I almost freaked cause it looked like mud.....
Well it is just PETRIFIED mud!
Then there is the basalt choss in the Columbia River Gorge. Here is another shot of Plaidman's Fally
Lots of cool FA's there, man. Serious bidness.
I'm game. Oh there's choss. Oh yes.
Bring yer armor, too.
Call me (BK Bland) in boise & leave a message or pm
skullyambroATgmailDOTcom, dig it.
It's just a couple hours from my secret world headquarters. Leslie is.
HaHaHaHa! OK, that's all that matters! :-)
Ya know, the last time I drove by Beacon Rock there was this volcanoe
spewing crap over 6 states. That was an epic drive. I got two speeding
tickets that day - fooking tools had no sense of reality.
Trivia note: I've a FA on the erstwhile Mt St Helens that will never be repeated!
Ya know I took some of that ash back to Colorado with me after Mt. St. Helens blew up and sold it for money......fools. They didn't know that they were shoveling it up with front end loaders in places like Yakima and Spokane WA.
It sounds like maybe a couple monkeys can go get scared in the weirdest places.
Woot! We may need more beer. or appropriate malt liquors.
And band aids. Lotsa those.
Mungie, Post Falls is like 600 miles away. That's the long way. It's the only way, too. :-(
I'll be in CDA in couple weeks. Mostly visiting fam, but if either of you guys are up that way, I can sneak over to Post Falls for half a day. Need to know whether to bring shoes and stuff, so ping on FB or here.
Club de Deportes Antofagasta, is a Chilean football club based in the city of Antofagasta.
Chinese Daoist Association
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Conservative Democratic Alliance, a United Kingdom pressure group
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Caran d'Ache (company), a famous Swiss fine arts products company.
[edit]Computing
".cda", a filename extension for a Compact Disc Audio track
Cellular Digital Accessory, a means to identify the software version of a mobile phone
Clinical Document Architecture, an HL7 authored health care documentation standard
Compress Da Audio, one of the earliest MP3 warez groups
Red Book (audio CD standard), Compact Disc Audio, the standard format for a CD
[edit]Education
Central Delta Academy, a private school in Mississippi
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Capital Development Authority, Islamabad, Pakistan
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Crime and Disorder Act 1998 (c.37)
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Cda, the abbreviation for the orchid genus Cochlioda
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Chiral derivatizing agent, a type of chemical designed to react with enantiomers to indicate the enantiopurity
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[edit]Other
That's a long road away, man. Choss can be found Much closer to home, though invites are always a good groove. 'Gracias.
Leslie Gulch calls you, man. Plaidman. That place needs some color.
I'm thinking DaBrim needs to come out with an armored option for deflecting rocks off the belayer.
@Don:
That red screw is what you're going to use for gear? Cool this is a whole area of climbing I don't know much about...
That's a whole area of climbing you should be happy you don't know anything about. Poles drive those screws into frozen clumps of grass growing out of cliffs for protection... of course the real adventure starts once the cliff thaws out. We'll let Plaidman get back to us on that experiment.
...In fact its hard to imagine climbing harder than 5.8 on holds that might break under body weight.
Plaidman's Fally looks awesome - the work of a true chossmeister! Here's some more great Columbia Valley Basalt choss - but these are dikes, not flows, so the small irregular columns are oriented horizontally, not vertically. The dikes are somewhat more resistant to weathering than the flows they intrude, so after millions of years of erosion, they end up sticking out of the mountainside like huge fins. To bolt them, we use a 12 ft. long bit and drill all they way through the fin and place a 12" diameter washer and nut on that side so it won't pull through the choss ;-).
To bolt them, we use a 12 ft. long bit and drill all they way through the fin and place a 12" diameter washer and nut on that side so it won't pull through the choss ;-).
Nobody asked for the back story on Plaidman's Fally.
So here it is anyway.....
I started to hike up to the saddle on St. Peter’s Dome on Oct. 12th 2012. The previous time I hiked in this area I ended up on the wrong side of the ravine and was unable to cross over to the east side. I knew this was an obstacle that I needed to avoid. I had my ice ax and a load of gear to stash up on top today. My pack was heavy with pitons and other necessary items that would be needed for the climb.
I ambled my way through the knee deep ferns and other brush. It was now fall so the leaves had started to drop off the trees and the thinning forest was easier to navigate. One of the difficult things in navigation here in the western gorge is the thickness of the undergrowth and the overgrowth; simply just all things growing. This area of the Columbia river Gorge gets any where from 90 to 120 of inches of rain per year and is a temperate rain forest.
I haven’t seen my feet in over an hour and I am worried about feral anacondas. There aren’t any here but there are frogs in abundance and snakes. Mostly garter snakes, which I have seen a few. But there are other varieties that I was unaware of. Rattlesnakes I knew were in the eastern Gorge. What we call a bull snake is more properly called a gopher snake. Here in the rain forest we don’t have to worry about them. There are scorpions though. I have only seen one dead scorpion, on a ledge at Beacon Rock while climbing, but they are here and hide mostly under the rocks and moss.
I had a general idea of where to go, but the forest would obscure the view of the dome and the perspective would change as I moved up. There are several buttresses and the cliff faces would blend together. I wondered if I was going the right way. Moving up the right side of the ravine I got as high as I could above the alder grove that covered the slide that had happened 10 years ago. The alder is thick and I was trying to find the thinnest section to get from one side to the other. I pushed my way through the tangled mass of alder growth and found the deep ravine that needed to be crossed. The bank was 30 feet tall, under cut by the course of the steam and way too steep to get down. Turning left I moved 300 feet downhill and found an acceptable crossing. After making the crossing of the stream I moved up the opposite bank.
The hiking wasn’t too steep here and the forest was thick again with moss and old growth fir. I moved toward the dome and found the talus slope. This slope of discarded rock that has sloughed off the dome was loose but not overly to cause much concern. Moving as quickly as I could I moved up through the talus and gained the saddle and dumped my pack of supplies. I found a niche near the base of Little St. Peter’s Dome. This feature is a spire on the saddle that I had hoped to climb. After placing moss and leaves and sticks to mask my deposit of gear I turned to return from whence I came. I was fastly running out of daylight. I would return tomorrow with the crew to start the assault on St. Peter’s Dome.
I had my wife, The Adventure Queen, and my climbing partner, Rick McDonald, the next day. We were loaded down with water and the rest of the supplies, which consisted of ropes and bivy gear. We planned on spending the night and starting the climb the next day. We moved fairly quickly and as we proceeded I fixed ropes on the steeper sections. I had given Ronda and Rick rope ascenders to assist with the trudge up the approach. Upon arriving at the top of the talus slope we set up camp at the south end of the saddle and slept well in our moss covered sleeping area.
We awoke to fog and had some trouble deciding where to start up to get into Furrers Cave. I finally decided to start up and was pleasantly surprised to see that I picked the right spot. I couldn’t believe that the old timers used to solo unroped up to the cave. I found it a bit unnerving not knowing what was loose and what would hold. I mixed up the climbing with a little aid and some free climbing. When I got to the cave I built and anchor and fixed the rope for Rick to ascend.
We realized that the bolted anchor would probably need to be replaced, so had the correct gear to replace it. What we found were two old rusty bolts. One was ¼ inch with a home made hanger on it and the other bolt wasn’t much better. It was a ⅜ inch bolt with the same kind of home made steel hanger. It didn’t give us much confidence. The hardware we ended up replacing the bolts was ½ inch by 4 ½ inch stainless bolts with stainless steel hangers. It took us about 4 hours to hand drill these bolts. But now we could climb with confidence knowing the belay was in good rock with quality gear.
Rick and Ronda had to leave because they were working the next day. I stayed and slept at the bivy on the saddle, woke up the next day and tried to solo aid up the first pitch. I only made it up to the first fixed piton before I realized that I was not willing to go much higher alone. Intimidated and unhappy about the lack of progress I left to come back with my partner and try again next weekend.
Rick and I started up on Friday evening the next week, slept at the saddle bivy and made it up to our high point from the weekend before the next morning. I was ready now to tackle the 96 foot band. I planned on replacing a bolt and hanger that I could see above my high point. It was another of those terrible rusty ¼ inch bolts. We had a secret weapon this trip though. A power drill. We had had enough of hand drilling. So upon getting to the accursed rusty blob I found a good spot a bit above it and put in a good ½ inch by 4 ½ inch bolt with a shiny stainless steel hanger. This one would hold a fall and keep me from hitting the ledge below.
I proceeded to nail pitons one after another. The route I was following had been climbed several times now by previous parties. There was little loose rock but the nailing was tricky. Mostly A2 I thought. I used mostly bird beaks, peckers, and another secret weapon, Toucan pitons. The Toucan pitons were the right tool. These pitons have long beaks and are down angled so they lodge deep into the cracks. They were the most solid piece of gear on the pitch.
I finally made it up about 80 feet when I came to an anchor that was just below the grassy ledge at the top of the 96 foot band. I saw that these bolts needed to be replace also so I put in two of ½ inch by 4 ½ hardware that I had been using and fixed the rope to this anchor and retreated into the cave with Rick. I had taken me hours to do the pitch and I cleaned all the gear on rappel. We hunkered down for a nights rest to get going again in the morning.
We got up early and jugged the ropes to my high point. I had a lead up to the grassy ledge of about 16 feet. This was about 5.8 free climbing in a weird chimney kind of thing then after getting to the ledge the wall was rotten so I was unable to get any gear in until I traversed to the left. I got to a nice slab of rock and built a bomb proof anchor with pitons and nuts, brought up Rick and got ready for the next pitch.
I traversed left further along the ledge till I got to a bent piton and looked up. It was not really the feature I was looking for as the guide said this was a 5.8 chimney. It didn’t look like a chimney to me but I was not willing to go any further to the left as the ledge ended and I could not see around the corner. So up I decided was the best choice. I started nailing a pencil thin crack with #1 bird beak pitons. When the crack was just about ended I had no choice but nail it one more time just above the last placement. To the left were hanging plates of chandelier looking like rock, just ready to come raining down upon me. There were no cracks to the right. So I nailed another piton above my last placement. I had a bad feeling about it, and low and behold I was right. As I pounded one more time the crack I was nailing expanded and the piton that my aiders were hung on, that I was standing in exploded and I was instantly airborne falling backwards through the air. I ended up, well not really up but upside down, hanging by one of the small #1 birds beak pitons.
Normally if I am not hurt, falling just makes me mad. So I checked myself out and let Rick know I was fine and got backup to my high point. Out came the hooks and I found small features to hook my way up and right then traversing left until I could get in a solid piece of gear. It was a Long Dong Lost Arrow piton and I was never so grateful to get that one in. I had a few free moves to make. Made a mistake by not un-clipping the last piece of gear I was aiding on, so in the middle of a free move I was stuck. I untangled the mess I had made without falling again and got to a stance just below the grassy slope above. Here I knew that the hardest move would be pulling myself up on this steep slope of moss, dirt and loose rock. I had another trick in my bag. Before I left the grassy ledge at the bent piton I had tied my moss ax to a tag line. This was my ace in the hole. I quickly brought up the tool and with it in my hand sunk it deep into the loamy moss covered incline. Up I went and practically ran up to the tree nearly 25 feet above me kicking steps as I proceeded.
Fixing the rope for Rick after attaching myself to the tree, I yelled “OFF BELAY”. Now Rick followed up as the last rays of the sun disappeared from the sky. It hadn’t seemed like it took that long but aid climbing can be tricky when it comes to time. It seems that time is standing still for the climber and is really racing by at screaming speed. As I sat there I thought that the name of the pitch I just had led should be called Plaidman’s Fally. Folly because I was off route and I fell while leading the pitch. So the spelling should be FALLY. I love playing with words.
We set up our bivy after Rick arrived at the tree. I had yelled down to him to leave the gear and we would clean it later. He said he was fine cleaning in the dark by headlamp. “Besides” he said “What are we going to do with all the time we have on our hands.” I had hauled up our bivy gear and food. Now all we needed was a flat place to sleep. We dug out ledges with the moss ax and lined them with moss. After eating we settled down to sleep. He gave me his down vest and I gave him my wool socks. I didn’t want my belayer to get cold feet.
I slept fairly well but Rick said he didn’t sleep much. The sleep he did get was filled with sounds of me banging pitons. When he wasn’t sleeping he was counting the 17 trains that blew their whistle at the railroad crossing nearly a mile away below us. The cliffs above and around St. Peter’s Dome act as a natural amphitheater. I think it was really an eerie wild sound and filled the night.
We got up early and got started again. The slope above was peppered with loose blocks and moss covered ledges. There was nothing solid to place any protection. So this was a 200 foot runout scary loose lead. This was some of the loosest rock I had ever seen. I called it alpine choss at sub-alpine elevation.
I was unable to make it to the summit so I built an anchor on a tree and brought Rick up and let him get the last 50 foot lead to the summit. After he got there he brought me up. I was elated to gain this summit and to do it with my best friend was a real bonus. We signed the summit register and proceeded to rappel. This climb was the first objective in my 100 Days, 100 Miles, 100 Climbs project. I figured that I would get the hardest one out of the way and the others would be a cakewalk. I was almost right.
Edit to add: Figured you'd post up about the Fally when you were darn well ready.. Great story.
PS: TRAPPED! I've got some major feline paralysis going on here. The Mewster normally hates everyone so I'm loath to disturb any lap-time bone she throws me.
Thanks for the trip report Plaidman! That's the real deal. Here's a shot of Cordwood Tower at The Dikes, so named because the columns are stacked like a wood pile - and fall apart almost as easily.
I think the cliff with the curved columns would almost certainly qualify as choss in most folk's view. The columns are narrow (less than 12" across) and not really connected to one another, so the outer layer can be dislodged with minimal effort.
Scott after reading some of your stories it makes me think you should go to South America. There's tons of mountain/jungle areas, big canyons with moss dripping off the rocks and rain every single afternoon for a couple of hours. Salto Angel in Venezuela is an example, just tons of crumbly rock and moss, leeches snakes and whatnot. There must be tons and tons of this kind of climbing, but people down there are just getting into the sport and this would not be their first idea.
Where I am in Colombia (note spelling please) is like that but flat. Here's a video of a mudslide on a road I've taken dozens and dozens of times. Its the only road to the uraba region, and 10 hours drive through the mountains from the nearest city, Medellin.
@Don - I may be crazy but I don't like to get dirty. No mud for me. At least in those portions. Me like no snakes either. I hear you got BAD snakes and other nasty stuff down there....You should come up here....it's safer.
Fire Spire climbed in my 100 Days project.
Credit: Plaidman
The Bump also climbed on the same day on day 40 or so in the 100 days project.
So Plaidman, where are those cool choss towers? Looks like the stuff I see in the cliffs above I-84 while driving down the gorge towards PDX. Always wondered if anyone had scrambled up there to check them out. Also wondered whether you could actually climb them without trundling something the size of a washing machine onto the interstate below...
Reilly I'm crazy, not stupid. I gave up on polotics a long time ago. Even if your winning, at what cost to you and your family.. Besides I have a sorted past. Just look what I turned into. A climber.
So Plaidman, where are those cool choss towers? Looks like the stuff I see in the cliffs above I-84 while driving down the gorge towards PDX.
Yep these be the ones...Just 6 miles east of The Dalles. They are fairly well away from I-84. No real chance of any one of the blocks making it that far...now one landing on your belayer may be another story.
Here is my story from Day 47 of the 100 Days saga:
Silverman sent me a message that he wanted to climb. I was going to take a rest day but I couldn't turn down a solid climbing partner. I called him right away and told him it was on. He didn't even know where we were going.
We met up for the drive out and I told him our objective. He was pleased as he had wanted to climb the spires we were headed toward. The Apocalypse Needles have at least 6 or more spires that I have had my eye on for a while. The Adventure Queen and I looked at doing Fire Spire but the approach was above her pay grade. She opted out.
Now Silverman was available and the weather looked reasonable. We arrived at the west end of the Apocalypse Needles at the railroad access road turn off, got on the game trails and headed up. I didn't know that the game trails were made by bighorn sheep until the Adventure Queen and I saw some on these trails a week ago.
Silverman and I arrived at The Bump and I racked up to lead the climb. There are 3 routes on this spire. I chose the easy 5.6 as I didn't know what the quality of the rock would be. It didn't look good but after climbing St. Peter's Dome I think I have been recalibrated. Most rock looks a lot better now.
I had to run it out a bit to get in some solid protection. My foot slipped a bit before I got high enough to get my piece of gear in. I held it together and got a #2 Camalot in and then a red 1.5 Totem Cam to back that up. Place early and often is the credo when lead climbing.
Now that those pieces were in I could really climb. I worked my way up past some dubious looking hanging blocks. I gingerly worked my feet up and got some really solid hand holds and continued up. I placed two pieces of gear, a blue offset nut and a blue .65 Totem Cam. Then I moved up to the bolt at the crux of the route. I moved up and clipped the bolt and now knew I was home free.
One more move and I was at the anchor. There were two bolts with hangers on either side of the summit block with a nest of webbing and cord wrapped around them and the summit block. The summit block was solid and on top there was a pile of fish and small rodent bones. This must be a feeding station for raptors. So climbers are not the only ones that like these places.
I brought up Silverman and we enjoyed the summit and he gave me a high five for the good lead. He was probably just glad I didn't pitch off before I got my first piece in. That was really the hardest part of the climb. The rock wasn't that great so we decided not to do any of the other routes. We rappelled off and packed up for the next spire.
We got to Fire Spire after making some sketchy moves on the approach. Silverman was worried that we would have to down climb this section. I told him we would build an anchor and rap off. Upon getting up to the headwall we were greeted by a welcome sight. Someone had placed a bolt and a piton as a rappel anchor already. We were overjoyed.
Now on to the objective. Silverman took the lead and placed several pieces of gear as he moved up. The route we took was 5.7 or A1 and the rock looked even better than The Bump. There were not as many loose blocks. Silverman placed one piton and stood in a sling to make the crux move. That was the A1 placement and seemed reasonable.
He made it to the summit easily and then stood up to touch the summit block. He then brought me up. I went up and went to stand on the block that Silverman had stood on to touch the summit block. Just as I did Silverman gave a whelp and told to not stand there, the block was moving. I moved off and down climbed quickly.
After I got down we signed the summit register. There was a Tupperware container that had a pad of paper, pencil and a snack size Snickers candy bar in it. We read that the last entry was January 28th in 2001. It was hard to believe that we were the first ones to climb this in the last ten years. There must have been other climbers since then.
We rappelled off the ropes that were slung around through a crack below the summit block, pulled our rope and made it back down to the rappel of the headwall to the bench below were we had started.
What an awesome day. Two spires for the 100 Days, 100 Miles, 100 Climbs project. Now the count stands at 56 out of 100. I climb on to the Next Adventure!
kpinwalla2 where the heck is that. Looks fun! We got to get out together sometime since we are in the same neck of the woods..... I personally am in the deeeeeep woods. Kinda like an ogre or hobbit. Maybe more like a dwarf cause of my little stature. 5' 7" and shrinking.
This thread is kinda like the Deadhead thread.
And like Garcia said,
"Not everyone likes licorice. But the people who like licorice reeeaaaallly like licorice."
For the record, the power of choss does not compel me but chunder on, my choss loving brothers and sisters.
edit: what about those dirt towers near Grand Junction where Pete Takeda climbed with ice axes and rebar. Now that dude was compelled by the chawse.
I think the choss climb of all time is The Great White Fright. Where those guys climbed the White Cliffs of Dover with ice axes. It used to be on Youtube. Now the only way to get it is via the DVD. The only problem is that it is in a UK digital format which the U.S. DVD players don't use. I tried to order the DVD for the Mazama library. We had to cancel our order. So no choss porn. DAMN IT!
It is a real shame cause that was one scary choss filled adventure.
kpinwalla2 where the heck is that. Looks fun! We got to get out together sometime since we are in the same neck of the woods..... I personally am in the deeeeeep woods. Kinda like an ogre or hobbit. Maybe more like a dwarf cause of my little stature. 5' 7" and shrinking.
Let me know if you're ever up in my neck of the deep woods. There's also non-choss climbing available (I know, boooooring!) at Spring Mountain. Ogre, dwarf, hobbit, elf are all OK - but no balrogs, please.
Yes, if it the one across the river near the bridge. I think I ran into a couple of buddies of yours. Every couple of years I do one of the easier climbs there. I would like to explore the area more. I have skied around Tyron Peak and I think I have seen the basalt, I have heard that Henry Peak has some basalt too.
Plaidman, eat yer heart out! I'm going' to Choss Heaven - the Dolomiti! Where it all started.
I'm gonna do Il Campanile Basso di Brenta which was first climbed in 1899! 5.8 Choss in
street shoes with hemp ropes and little else. Check out the Grossman thread:
Great Pioneers of the Eastern Alps.
Really enjoyed the article in the Mazama annual Plaidman. Makes me want to go back - something about the smell of Gorge moss...smells like adventure. Was craning my neck (again) yesterday looking at those piles...I mean towers above 84 just east of the dalles. Look nice.
John Leary photo 2008.
His account of pulling up onto the mossy blocks at top of the 96 foot band, to the ledge was what inspired me to bring the moss ax to assist in making that move. The heck with a hook. I'll take a moss ax any day. Here is what one looks like.....
Friends don't let friends choose choss. Choss isn't a choice.. it's a lifestyle you learn to lovingly embrace when every hunk of rock within 100 miles is crumbling POS and your love of climbing outweighs your fear of headwounds.
You know Crunch, I've got a stash of some real nice Jurassic Wingate things that are tall and virginal, some of the poorest cemented Jwg I've known, and you probably wouldn't even be interested if I were to cut you in, would you? You really do have a dirt addiction, don't you?
Thank you for normalizing my obsession with good old loose quartz sandstones. Seriously, I feel much better about these, my chosspiles of a more standard fare:
This has to be my favorite choss climb yet. On sight lead ground up of "Into The Mystic". I had a drill but wouldn't use it till I got to the top of the pitch. My wife said there were piles of crap coming out of that chimney/stream vent hole. She said that she almost vetoed the climb. She didn't relieve that her vote didn't count. My blood was up. I had to finish it and find out what was up this vertical cave.
It's cleaned up and it doesn't have a secret door or anything. Anyone with the will to brave the darkness my enter. No orc, dwarfs, hobbits, elves, or such. But there is a pack rat that keeps eating my webbing on my anchor up there. I am going to install chain and unless he has steel teeth that should take care of the little bastard!
Credit: Plaidman
Here is a pic of the upper entrance. It is natural. I call it The Window To Heaven.
Window to Heaven
Credit: Plaidman
I have removed all the loose rock so it's not a death route anymore. You do need several headlamps to see in there. But you can leave your swords and magic sticks at home.
