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a3webhog
May 10, 2004, 1:57 AM
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I was on fingertrip yesterday at Tahquitz and there is a very loose block just before the arch (crux). This block was not loose two weeks ago according to other climbers I talked to. When our leader pulled on it, it slid 6-8 inches. There are several large rocks behind it that are sure to go with it when it goes.
Not sure if someone can go trundle it mid-week when it's not so crowded, but this block is sure to injure someone...
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tradbum
May 10, 2004, 2:14 AM
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Thanks for the heads up!
We might head up there this week and were thinking about that route.
If we can lob the sucker off, we will. Not too busy up there yet, anyway.
Smitty
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murf
May 10, 2004, 2:51 PM
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In reply to: Thanks for the heads up! We might head up there this week and were thinking about that route. If we can lob the sucker off, we will. Not too busy up there yet, anyway. Smitty
If you get an opportunity with a clear base to trundle it, maybe you should. For a large rock, a clear base needs to be huge, shards fly for a long ways. However, its very busy up there, the season is in *full* swing. To get a clear base you'd have to be up there very early.
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edge
May 10, 2004, 5:03 PM
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edge moved this thread from General to Regional Discussions.
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thegreytradster
May 10, 2004, 9:27 PM
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Tahquitz is more alpine in character than most crags. Just about every route there under 5.10 has a "do not touch death block" somewhere. Part of the Trad game is knowing what not to touch! Some of these loose blocks have been there forever and are well known and should be left alone unless changes in conditions have made their removal absolutey required. Trundle everything loose up there and you will perminently alter about every route.
I suspect that the spot you are talking about is the loose spot about half to 3/4 of the way up the arch on pitch #3 (#2 if you streched a 60m). If that's the spot, great care will be needed to remove it, if that is what is really required. The shrapnel is likely to go way past Lunch Rock and down to the right of the approach trail. The only safe way to do it would be mid week and station someone with a radio at the base of the approach trail to make sure no one is on it.
The first fatality at Tahquitz occured when someone knocked a rock down the Trough. The victim heard the cry of rock and ducked behind a boulder where he was presumably safe. The falling rock knocked a tree limb off above him and the limb hit him in the head. A block that size is going to create a huge swath of projectiles from secondary effects.
If it's the block I suspect it's going half way to Humber Park when you kick it loose with the potential to kill anyone within a 100M wide swath. It's plenty busy up there now. Remember that local hikers use the approach trail as well as climbers. Be carefull!!
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a3webhog
May 10, 2004, 10:14 PM
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I think thats the block tradster. Thanks for the advice.
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thegreytradster
May 14, 2004, 9:29 PM
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Does anyone know what the outcome was on this? If not I might check it out tomorow.
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pbjosh
May 14, 2004, 9:34 PM
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While there is the occaisonal precariously perched flake at Tahquitz that can be judiciously trundled assuming there's not a soul around, by and large all the "loose death blocks" that people rant about up there have been "loose death blocks" for the last 50 years and 10,000 ascents of whatever route they're on. Why people feel the need to work them free and trundle them when they can readily be climbed past I don't know, the last 10,000 people up the route survived the "loose death block"?
If I'm thinking of the same flake you guys are, I climbed past it 2 weeks ago, it's just the same as it's always been. No rope drag or gentle tug of the hand is going to free it, stepping on it is not going to trundle it, the only way it's going to come loose is with some work, and it's just fine where it is.
And if it is looser, which could well be, it's unfortunately probably because someone did choose to reef too hard on it...
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thegreytradster
May 14, 2004, 9:46 PM
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That's pretty much what I figured was the case.
On another forum a year or so ago someone was talking about taking a crowbar to the loose flake on Whodunit, (chiminey pitch) that's been there for 30 years plus that I know of. He was sucessfully discouraged. I saw a guy having problems with the exit last Saturday and could swear I heard the flake rattling, but Clark J. told me it fell out late last season and the exit move is now easier.
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pbjosh
May 14, 2004, 9:51 PM
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In reply to: That's pretty much what I figured was the case. On another forum a year or so ago someone was talking about taking a crowbar to the loose flake on Whodunit, (chiminey pitch) that's been there for 30 years plus that I know of. He was sucessfully discouraged. I saw a guy having problems with the exit last Saturday and could swear I heard the flake rattling, but Clark J. told me it fell out late last season and the exit move is now easier.
From what I heard it "fell" out when someone following the pitch decided to save everyone from certain death by monkeying it out.
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murf
May 14, 2004, 10:05 PM
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They always seem looser the next year...
I couldn't tell where you guys got onto Price of Fear Josh, but from SP, there was this triangle shaped block that seemed pretty ready to go. I think from Flakes, you come across higher onto POF. Its one of those things where you want bad to hard on it, then realize its completely detached! Anyway, the blocks are up there, and I think you can never tell when they are going to go. If JT is any indicator, look at the Milestone, Loose Lips, and Grit Roof, all climbed many times, all fell off.
Murf
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thegreytradster
May 14, 2004, 10:06 PM
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Damn! That took some work. (Whodunit) There was no way that thing was ever coming out by its self.
That was one of the most entertaining parts of the route, to watch the reaction when someone stepped on it and it moved.
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pbjosh
May 14, 2004, 10:09 PM
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From The Flakes you join Price of Fear at the base of the crack on the arete, where there's a total jug, maybe 10-12' below the first bolt. It was a super clean pitch from there, nothing remotely loose.
I agree, some stuff does go, but I've climbed past the flake in question on Fingertrip countless times and still think if it loosened it was human doing.
I'm sure that the flake on Grit Roof got reefed off, it was an integral part of the climb. The flake wedged in the arch on Fingertrip is on like 5.0 terrain and readily climbed around, kinda different situation. Heh being surprised that Grit Roof broke is like being surprised that Desert Shield broke...
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bandycoot
May 16, 2004, 11:59 PM
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As far as I can tell the block is gone. A large rock (described as about 1/2 the size of a volkswagon bug - may have been an exaggeration) took a dive from around the arch area today. There were tons of people up there, so I assume that it came out accidentally as the original poster warned. No one in their right mind would have trundled that thing intentionally while the area was swarming like flies and there were people still coming up the approach in droves. I did not see it fall, but heard it. I talked to two witnesses who saw the block come out. One of them said there was a little bit of rock fall, and the guy climbing tried to hold the big sucker in while yelling, "ROCK, ROCK I CAN'T HOLD IT." Then he let it fly. No one was hurt! :D
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thegreytradster
May 17, 2004, 3:12 PM
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Are we talking Saturday or Sunday? The block was still there on Saturday in the same condition as it has been for the last two years. Also on Saturday someone trundled a large block off of The Step. We met him on the way down and The "I can't hold it" quote fits his description of the incident. In any case it's lucky no one was injured.
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alpnclmbr1
May 17, 2004, 3:25 PM
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The story above was sunday.
I was never clear exactly where the rock came from, but the initial flurry of rockfall just missed us at the base of fingertrip. We then proceeded to the south face as quickly as we could. A lot of granite sliding on granite makes a very distinctive and scary sound.
People hangout at the base of the rock way to much given the level of crowds and rockfall nowadays. It is crazy up there on weekends now.
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ntu_soca
May 17, 2004, 3:29 PM
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I was there on sunday when it happened. The block came off in the fingertrip area, I didn't see exactly where. But I heard the screems of a guy saying rock! then about 5 seconds later you could hear the thing roaring down the cliff. I barely looked over to see the block just before it went into the trees. It looked like it landed about half way down the hill, and exploded into hundreds of baseball sive spray. After that the guy yelled a couple time to make sure everyone was ok. and noone was hurt so everyone went on with there day. I was a little more nervus after that. I'm just glad noone was hurt, it was crowded up there. Tread lightly and be carefull.
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bandycoot
May 17, 2004, 3:34 PM
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I had two people tell me it was fingertrip including someone who said they watched it happen. Maybe they had their routes confused? Sorry if my info was bad.
Josh
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rizzuh
May 18, 2004, 6:21 AM
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I was there for the rock fall too... man that sucker was huge! We were on dave's deviation at the time and were so paranoid after that. Somebody would yell "rope!" and we would cart wheel under some boulder. Tahquitz is a zoo on the weekends. Forget about Angel's Fright... unless you wanna wait in a line that starts in the parking lot.
rock on,
Nic
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scuclimber
May 18, 2004, 7:22 AM
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Scary stuff, I'm buying a helmet soon. Although, it seems it doesn't matter sometimes. :shock:
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curt
May 18, 2004, 7:26 AM
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In reply to: Scary stuff, I'm buying a helmet soon. Although, it seems it doesn't matter sometimes. :shock:
Good thinking. If a ten ton block lands on your head, you don't want to be standing there without a helmet.
Curt
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scuclimber
May 18, 2004, 7:32 AM
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In reply to: In reply to: Scary stuff, I'm buying a helmet soon. Although, it seems it doesn't matter sometimes. :shock: Good thinking. If a ten ton block lands on your head, you don't want to be standing there without a helmet. Curt
Thus, the mention of a helmet not mattering, as in the case above.
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curt
May 18, 2004, 8:10 AM
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In reply to: In reply to: In reply to: Scary stuff, I'm buying a helmet soon. Although, it seems it doesn't matter sometimes. :shock: Good thinking. If a ten ton block lands on your head, you don't want to be standing there without a helmet. Curt Thus, the mention of a helmet not mattering, as in the case above.
So, you are going to buy a helmet soon for what reason??????
Curt
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td
May 20, 2004, 7:21 PM
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In reply to: In reply to: In reply to: In reply to: Scary stuff, I'm buying a helmet soon. Although, it seems it doesn't matter sometimes. :shock: Good thinking. If a ten ton block lands on your head, you don't want to be standing there without a helmet. Curt Thus, the mention of a helmet not mattering, as in the case above. So, you are going to buy a helmet soon for what reason?????? Curt
When I was at Tahquitz on Saturday, jamming up the first pitch of Wong Climb, someone a few pitches up dropped a #2 friend right on my head. They yelled something, and I had a split second to glance up, see something coming, and duck my head so the thing landed squarely on the top of my helmet. That would have been messy with no helmet.
Fortunately no damage and the helmet probably saved the friend from getting smashed also.
We continued up the Snakes on Everything variation to Consolation.
The faces just left of the first pitch of Wong/Long are good also.
One is well bolted. The left one is really X since the only bolt has a Leeper hanger, but you can toprope it.
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bandycoot
May 20, 2004, 7:24 PM
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You had better have kept that cam if you found it. No way I'd give that thing back!
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