When Jim proposed starting up the ICA (Idylwild Climbers Alliance)a couple of years ago the decrepit state of the stairs were an immediate topic. fixing them though was a peak to far, a wall to big. So we started off with trail maintenance and establishing an improved trail on the north side. We kept returning to the stairs though, discussed methods, materials, budgets and bureaucracies. The stairs involve the intersection of three agencies, the county, the water company and the Forest Service. Finally a few months ago Andy Smith from the USFS cleared things up and Jim arranged for the Access Fund to loan us their crew for a week. We still had only a paltry budget and with a lack of funds for materials didn't really think we'd get far this year, but Jeff and Justin had another solution.

We'd find our own materials.



The area below the stairs is an ancient stream bed and almost all the rock was in round form and not suitable for stair building. In a couple of hours we'd collected all the suitable chunks and staged them. These were all remnants of the boulder across the street that the County had blasted smaller years ago, except for two boulders that were flat enough naturally for steps. the rest of the county's remnants were too big so the next step was to break rocks.


This first step is brutal!

A grove is worked into the rock with two 8 lb sledges in three passes.

Then holes are drilled about every six inches.


Feathers and wedges are inserted and driven home


Every block split clean. (the larger holes were from the original blasting holes.)


Then we hauled them to staging at the base of the hill


By the end of the first day we had a rather meager stockpile for the task at hand, but none the less impressive given the size of the crew and the tools available. Everyone was sore and dead tired.


Not many photos from day two. there were only three of us. Jeff made some calls and then spent some of the Access fund's budget on lumber and got started on the retaining wall up top. Jason and I got the bottom three steps built then split and staged some more pieces as high as we could get them.

I went home, pounded some vitamin I down with a couple of IPAs and collapsed.






Day three saw some more help arrive and we started with some tree climbing and rigging.


The best way to characterize this kind of work is "precision brute force"



Sometimes the biggest problem moving blocks this size is avoiding destroying what you've already accomplished




Jeff's retaining wall was making great progress by mid day.


Typical male behavior was demonstrated.



Rest periods consisted of collecting small rocks for chinking


Then right back to brute force.


the last big block of the day.


By the end of day three it was starting to look like something was happening.


The hero shot.


Jim was back there today with a crew and Jeff and Justin will be working Monday and possibly Tuesday as well if anyone can give them a hand.

I didn't get everyone's name so send me a PM and let me know which photos you are in. I'm sure Jim will have some more photos from today to add to the mix.

Thanks to everyone that came out, and the Access Fund!

I'm sure there will be more work to be done in the spring. unless the County comes through with a delivery, rock will need to be imported from somewhere to finish the job off.