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TripleS_in_EBs
climber
Poulsbo, WA
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Here's a photo from Sept 2009 compared with Dave's copied from page 1 of this thread.
Here's what we said about the ledge in our trip report:
"One pitch before the chimney system, we hopped across the rumored collapsed ledge at the end of pitch 11. It was intact but it wasn’t so much a ledge as it was a collection of blocks seemingly wedged by climbers behind a large up-opening flake. These kinds of flakes are common on the face and perhaps even define the character of it. A student of Yosemite once described how the successive detaching of huge flakes created the wall in its current form and how the continuing detachment of those presently in place would unveil the future surface of the northwest face. Merely by peering behind one, a climber could possibly glimpse a yet unborn Half Dome face that his grandchildren might one day climb freshly upon."
http://www.supertopo.com/tr/Half-Dome-NW-Face-The-Good-The-Bad-and-The-Obsession-With-Bivying-on-Big-Sandy/t11369n.html
The way those blocks were piled in behind the top of the flake made me think of a climber-built patio, but maybe they were deposited there naturally.
It will be interesting to see how this event affects the route. That ledge is (was) pretty key since it allows a big rightward traverse from the end of the pitch that follows the Robbins pendulum to the giant flake that forms the chimney pitches.
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G Murphy
Trad climber
Oakland CA
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Greg Stock - would a seismometer have picked up the event so you could tell exactly when it happened?
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c wilmot
climber
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It seems plant growth and rodent waste/gathering could have an effect on rockfall as well. I myself noticed they were most frequent a few days after rainfall in the valley
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le_bruce
climber
Oakland, CA
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The way those blocks were piled in behind the top of the flake made me think of a climber-built patio, but maybe they were deposited there naturally.
Climbers have always done their part in terms of depositing on the Reg.
Man have I become a scold on the subject of climbers leaving trash on and near routes. Cranky old wet towel.
El Greco: we can neither confirm nor deny, etc.
OP mentioned the base looking gnarly. I don't really have a pic with a good angle on the before version, but in this one, you can see the top of Big Sandy. In the before pic on left, the ledge would have been skier's right, so you can maybe kind of compare what that base area used to look like
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TradMike
Trad climber
Cincinnati, Ohio
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When I climbed it back in 2004, it was spitting rocks out of that area while we bivied on the sloping ledge. I told my partner, it is only a matter of time before we lose the entire route. Now, not much is holding up all that loose stuff above. Big Sandy is next.
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Roots
Mountain climber
Tustin, CA
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I added the ledge to my vintage climbing collection. It looked funny hanging out the back of my Tundra on the drive home, but hey..it's catalog #2014 now.
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MisterE
Gym climber
Being In Sierra Happy Of Place
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31/64th's Dome...
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HeldUp
climber
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31/64th's Dome... Clever!
Part of the majesty of Yosemite, especially late at night in the Valley, is the sound of rocks falling and the echoes bouncing across the canyon walls. You never knew where it was happening, but you knew exactly what was happening.
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Grippa
Trad climber
Salt Lake City, UT
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Big Gulps huh? Welp Seeya later!
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WBraun
climber
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Caltrans is up there today assessing and evaluating the situation.
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Cannon
Trad climber
Murrieta, CA
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No way. I bivyed on that ledge. It was an awesome sunset. Comfortable. That's gonna change that section for sure
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Man have I become a scold on the subject of climbers leaving trash on and near routes. Cranky old wet towel.
You may be a cranky old wet towel...
But that doesn't mean you're not right!!
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RonV
Trad climber
Placerville
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rockermike
Trad climber
Berkeley
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We used to call it the slow mans big sandy bivy. I guess now slow men need not apply.
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reptyle
Trad climber
Kali
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Good thing no one was under that! I had a similar experience on the NW Direct route back in the dinosaur days. A storm drove myself and my partner Forrest back to the valley and when we returned to the base the area had been blasted by a large fall. We had to dig for stashed gear.
At the risk of boring everyone, I have to repeat: gravity is ruthless and relentless and infinitely patient. It knows that it will win every battle eventually.
D-<
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