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Fat Dad
Trad climber
Los Angeles, CA
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Aug 13, 2008 - 02:38pm PT
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I did it back in '79 or '80. My first long route in the Valley after cutting my teeth at my home crag of Tahquitz. A really wild passage. It felt solid enough but greasy and the holes worn in it. Hard to believe it didn't last longer or was a little more bounce proof.
I too can't believe I was that young once.
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BeeHay
Trad climber
San Diego CA
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Aug 14, 2008 - 12:58am PT
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'76;Dig the descent shoes, some hippy dippy Earth Shoe or something. We had a planned bivvy in 'The Jungle', were going to do North Dome next day. Didn't do N Dome for some reason, but what a cool night, a little fire, a little babbling brook...
I'm sure we were stoked in our new EB's, but the Whillans Harness was still in our future. Steve was sporting the self-tied 'harness' made at the base from 1" webbing. I pobably had my Swami from Strawberry Mountaineering in Idyllwild.
Ken, we did a couple of routes in the mid 80's, I don't remember what, but I do remember you as very low key, and a solid climber.
Brad
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Chicken Skinner
Trad climber
Yosemite
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Topic Author's Reply - Aug 14, 2008 - 09:03am PT
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Hi Brad,
If you are the Brad I am thinking of, I think we did the Sermon among other things. Hi, I always wondered what happened to you.
Ken
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hungry man
Trad climber
around
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Aug 14, 2008 - 04:23pm PT
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WOW. It's way steeper and skinnier than I had imagined. This is cool.
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Tom
Big Wall climber
San Luis Obispo CA
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Aug 14, 2008 - 08:17pm PT
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The Log was a few pitches above the penji + walking-on-water traverse.
Like many long Yosemite climbs, the RA keeps coming at you. The penji is right in the heart, midway up, and nowhere near the end.
Rotten Log is to Boot Flake as:
The Royal Arches is to The Nose.
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scuffy b
climber
Elmertown
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Aug 14, 2008 - 08:34pm PT
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Rotten Log is to Boot Flake as:
The Royal Arches is to The Nose.
Do you mean, further Right and lower angle?
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Aug 14, 2008 - 09:49pm PT
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What endures about the log is that onsight everybody had to go through the same process as the FA party before taking a considerable risk and commiting to the grisly trunk. Technology and time offered no comfort in the face of continued decay.
Schultz had some strange attraction to notoriety back in those days. I certainly don't recall him doing it for reason of safety. So many winters had passed since 1936.....
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Aug 15, 2008 - 01:16am PT
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Scenery Shot...
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neebee
Social climber
calif/texas
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Aug 15, 2008 - 01:34am PT
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hey there ouch.... great job on the rocks with the log-breaker-act.... again there, it bears the mark of high quality...
i mean:
the quality is high, as the mark of the bear is there again...
great job, ouch...
ouch-job, GREAT!
:)
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Forest
Trad climber
Tucson, AZ
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Aug 15, 2008 - 02:35am PT
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The Log was a few pitches above the penji + walking-on-water traverse.
I'm having a hard time visualizing that:
1) penji, followed by long traverse to oak tree on ledge
2) vertical climbing up a column, about 5 - 10 feet right of the corner to a live but questionable looking oak tree; left of tree (probably hanging off it in the process, around corner to pine tree
3) up dihedral to more pine trees, then frictiony traverse left across face with hands below shallow roof
4) rope-stretcher pitch to rappel anchors
Where was the log in here?
thanks! I've always wanted to know where the log was. I assumed it let you skip the bit in #2 above where you have to trust that questionable tree.
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Jobee
Social climber
El Portal
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Aug 15, 2008 - 10:26am PT
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-Great shot Rodger
It is remarkable how an image can wisk one right back into a moment 30 years prior; I am 18 again!
Thanks!
Jo Whitford
Cool thread Kenny
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Scared Silly
Trad climber
UT
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Aug 15, 2008 - 11:02am PT
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Do folks know that the rotten log still lives?? I do not know all of the particulars but it was recovered and has been in "hiding" for some time.
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thedogfather
climber
Midwest
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Aug 15, 2008 - 11:15am PT
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What I remember about the pitch was that this was my first non-local climbing trip (I live in Kansas). I had hooked up with some Las Cruses, NM climbers. My first multi-pitch was swinging leads on Snake Dike a few days before and following the Mouth and Grack Marginal on the Apron. I was swinging leads with an 18 year old strong climber named Ed Ward (I think). It would be cool to know he is still around and climbing. Anyway, as luck would have it, it was my lead when we got to the log. So, as I start up the thing, Ed says something like "Oh, don't think about putting a sling around it because if it goes you don't want to be connected to it!". Long time ago but I recall it being polished and springy.
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Chicken Skinner
Trad climber
Yosemite
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Topic Author's Reply - Feb 6, 2009 - 03:58pm PT
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There is a picture on our website of Ronald Hahn climbing the traverse after the first pendulum and the Rotten Log can clearly be seen in the upper left corner of the photo. The picture brought back many memories.
http://www.yosemiteclimbing.org/
Ken
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Doug Robinson
Trad climber
Santa Cruz
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Sheridan Anderson on the Arches, mid-60s
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Chicken Skinner
Trad climber
Yosemite
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Topic Author's Reply - Feb 6, 2009 - 04:34pm PT
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Nice photo Doug. I met Sheridan's brother about 2 months ago.
Ken
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Strider
Trad climber
one of god's mountain temples....
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If you look at the Supertopo topo for Royal Arches, Pitch 11 is where the topo says "RIP Rotten Log", right under the 5.9R slab traverse.
Cool shots of the penji! Thanks
-n
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guido
Trad climber
Santa Cruz
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In the early 60's Roper and I has an ongoing contest for time on solo ascents of the Arches. My best was 1 1/2 hours and his was 55 min. The worst part was the "Rotten Log", never felt quite comfortable with that one. Visions of riding it to the ground like Slim Pickens on the Atomic Bomb in Dr.Strangelove.. Once did a moonlight solo ascent and think that was easier when it came to the "Log". All seems quite funny in perspective with the recent speed ascents of the "Nose"
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hobo_dan
Social climber
Minnesota
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I have bivvied at the top of the arches! Not by choice but I was with my girlfriend, we had a nice camp fire at the spring at the very top. i remember we were going to use a lerge rock to try and break off some more firewood- but just before I was about to throw it at this log/stump I remembered that about 2000 feet below us was the Awahnee hotel. I sheepishly set the stone down
I always thought that the 5.5 traverse at the end was way balls- 150 feet out on a traverse and I never was able to style those moves- i just yarded out about 30 feet of rope and then I ran across the sloping slanting slippery slab.
I met a guy who worked at the St. Paul EMS and he said his freind died soloing across that same slab- I believe it too that thing was tricky.
The arches had a cool knob face pitch that I used to groove
I did the Arches 3x's and it was always fun and it always took a long time
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Barbarian
Trad climber
stealth camping and hiding from the man
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I agree. Soloing the Arches wasn't bad with the exception of the log and the traverse. Did a pretty quick car to car in 1980. The only parts where I slowed down were those 2 spots. I was sure I was going to ride that log down someday. A big chunk of the character of the climb went with the log.
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