Sometimes they hold out on us... The Choss Diaries

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Todd Gordon

Trad climber
Joshua Tree, Cal
Aug 9, 2008 - 02:32am PT
Stacked pins bottomed out after 1 1/2 inches....long bolt ladders of 1/4" bolts which wiggle in the holes when you stand on them.....Artist Tears, Moab, Utah.


Ricardo Cabeza

climber
Meyers,CA
Aug 9, 2008 - 02:33am PT
But Mungie, do you know what lies beneath that scary stuff?...




Todd Gordon

Trad climber
Joshua Tree, Cal
Aug 9, 2008 - 02:36am PT
Anasazi steps carved 800 years ago , followed by a loose dirty chimney lead to a summit anchor of drilled holes with 3' rebar sticking out of the rock to tie off and rap from. rond Rock, Ariz.


Here's the "bombproof" anchor

Todd Gordon

Trad climber
Joshua Tree, Cal
Aug 9, 2008 - 02:37am PT
Why hasn't this fallen over? Ancient Arts, Fishers

Todd Gordon

Trad climber
Joshua Tree, Cal
Aug 9, 2008 - 02:41am PT
Hammering pitons in holes, where, after 2 hits, the pins hit the back of the holes, and come flying out, and you try to catch them before they fall into the abyss....Multi-hour leads crawling up pitches while people take turns belaying, as the belayers sleep and fry in the hot desert sun. The Bride, Moab, Utah.


Todd Gordon

Trad climber
Joshua Tree, Cal
Aug 9, 2008 - 02:45am PT
Handhold broke near the top, hitting me in the face, and filling my mouth with dirt...... Argon Tower, Arches

Todd Gordon

Trad climber
Joshua Tree, Cal
Aug 9, 2008 - 02:48am PT
Pieces of wood stacked with cams, and a 2 by 4 hammered in a wide section to stand on. Totem Pole, Mon. Valley, Utah/Ariz border. Bolt ladder with top 2 bolts missing.


Todd Gordon

Trad climber
Joshua Tree, Cal
Aug 9, 2008 - 02:50am PT
Locals use the rap anchors for target practice...bullet holes through rap rings. Chinle Hospital Crags, Chinle, Ariz.

Todd Gordon

Trad climber
Joshua Tree, Cal
Aug 9, 2008 - 02:52am PT
Looked so chossy, even I wouldn't climb it....and I LOVE choss;....this one looked like a 400' vertical sandbox. Whale's Tail, Rock Point, Ariz.

Todd Gordon

Trad climber
Joshua Tree, Cal
Aug 9, 2008 - 02:58am PT
The Gendarme fell over and slide down the notch. Seneca Rock, W. Virginia.

Todd Gordon

Trad climber
Joshua Tree, Cal
Aug 9, 2008 - 03:00am PT
Ladders of copperheads hammered in drilled holes. Goof Proof Roof, J. Tree.

coldstonesoup

Mountain climber
outside the taco stand
Aug 9, 2008 - 03:03am PT
Cool photos Todd, have any of your brothers been killed in Iraq this week?
Todd Gordon

Trad climber
Joshua Tree, Cal
Aug 9, 2008 - 03:27am PT
Coldstone;.....thanks for the thumbs up on the pics. Living near the 29 Palms Marine Corp Base (Largest Marine Base on the planet), there are always alot of soldiers coming and going, and many of the teachers I work with are Marine wifes (toughest job in the Marines; Marine wife). Lots of wierd, wild, scary, and sad stories coming from this bunch. I have alot of Marine friends that climb and have been over to Iraq one, two, and tree times......one messed up place. I hope and pray this is over someday;...the sooner the better......send the soldiers all home, and teach them all to climb choss.......
Todd Gordon

Trad climber
Joshua Tree, Cal
Aug 9, 2008 - 03:31am PT
Pins hammered in shallow drilled holes, pin scars so big you can see them from Sky Lab in space. Zenyatta Entrada, Arches

Todd Gordon

Trad climber
Joshua Tree, Cal
Aug 9, 2008 - 03:35am PT
The first 8 pitches (20 total), every cam placement had to be dug out of dirt filled cracks...there was some vertical grass pitches too. New route, Pakistan


Todd Gordon

Trad climber
Joshua Tree, Cal
Aug 9, 2008 - 03:39am PT
50 to 100 holes drilled in this volcanic plug.....some have bolts, some are just holes;....you can put your finger in some and free climb past, you can use hooks to aid, or bang in pins and use aiders, or just use the pins as handholds and footholds.

Steins Pillar, Central Oregon

Mungeclimber

Trad climber
sorry, just posting out loud.
Topic Author's Reply - Aug 9, 2008 - 03:54am PT
nice B, looks graniticus




Todd, solid! thx for the keeping this going while I was at a wedding


Steins are so intriguing! The Chinle stuff just looks straight up scary, but it looks way big.


The whale tail formation, if I have that right... has it subsequently been climbed?
Mungeclimber

Trad climber
sorry, just posting out loud.
Topic Author's Reply - Aug 9, 2008 - 04:08am PT

choss or not?

stolen from Chriz shots
rick d

climber
tucson, az
Aug 9, 2008 - 09:42am PT
todd-

While both of us have a high respect for desert sandstone, there are limestone,volcanic,and simply rotten walls that swoop virtually all forms of desert rock. Remember, the deeper red the more iron and therefore sounder rock. We need that crap white stuff (Great White Throne sugar!). For short choss, we should examine crap like to towers on the way to Yellowstone west of Cody, WY where the wind blowing the razor crystals is an objective hazard. Hell, I'd even include Paul Ross' Grand Junction "towers". Consider all the crap you skipped on the res from the mighty Agathala and all the other plugs. Many have wandered onto Shiprock to summit, but few venture beyond the trade route.

Limestone, ala Canadian Rockies & Glacier etc. really gets loose- far worse than the minor pegmatite one sees in the Black. Ice cubes of BS with birdshit and shale cement, mmmmmm yummy. A.2 there will kill you.

I've just got to say that I have graduated from El Cap where hard pitches are easy relative to choss. So you get less vertical feet- each foot gained is equal to 50' of granite.

All hail slag!
Todd Gordon

Trad climber
Joshua Tree, Cal
Aug 9, 2008 - 11:05am PT
rick d......that stuff Paul Ross has climbed...those skinny little dribbles by Grand Junction.....they look so cool;.....he is truly a choss MASTER......I want to go do a few of them SO BADLY.........(which shows what floats my boat;....it's a bit embarrassing.....).....I travel all over the planet to climb crappy rock.......grovel on....
Messages 21 - 40 of total 86 in this topic << First  |  < Previous  |  Show All  |  Next >  |  Last >>
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