Rockfall on bastille in Eldo

Dan Griffiths wrote: The date is for sure. The extent of “catastrophic” is subjective for sure. Not the kind of catastrophic that alters the park.  Not the kind of clean up requiring heavy machinery. It was the kind of catastrophic that made you say “holy s$&t” if you were anywhere nearby....crashing echoed through the canyon.  It was the kind of catastrophic that could have easily resulted in serious injury or fatality even if wearing a helmet. The kind of catastrophic that made you immediately concerned for someone’s wellbeing.  

Hard to quantify mass of rock that fell. 75 lbs - 100lbs??  I don’t know, but it was significant...but again that is a subjective term. It was shocking for sure. I don’t doubt you would have not noticed anything if you climbed the route later that day. 

That's totally fair. Obviously it's great nobody got hurt. I think the original description of the event just gave me pause, making it seem like it was way worse in words than it was in reality. Maybe that's just me jumping to conclusions. Have a nice weekend, hope you can get out climbing!

David A wrote:

That's totally fair. Obviously it's great nobody got hurt. I think the original description of the event just gave me pause, making it seem like it was way worse in words than it was in reality. Maybe that's just me jumping to conclusions. Have a nice weekend, hope you can get out climbing!

Yes.

ACE went up there today.  There was definitely some significant rockfall as you start the overhang on pitch 2.  Keep in mind that there are 3 options off of the big ledge.  Hair City is the one in the middle.  (Many people seem to finish Hair City with the last pitch of the West Face, which is furthest right.)  I would estimate the rockfall to be about 2' x 3'.  The debris falls straight down over the Rain area, so its not surprising there isn't any evidence near the start of Hair City.  I cleaned up some shrapnel today and we will coordinate more work with the Park early Monday morning.  It will involve a temporary road closure and crag closure.  There is some significant loose rock adjacent to what pulled off.  As always, that rotten band contains alot of loose rock.  Climbing is dangerous.  So is the internet. Be careful.

That flakey, spikey thing at the start of the rightward traverse on the second pitch of the W. Face has always seemed to be a little dicey to me,
even though I've pulled on it for 30 years. It's easy to assume in Eldo that because  bunches of people pull on certain flakes, they must be
more solid than they appear to be. Especially if there is chalk all over the flake.

This situation tells me I need to pay a little bit more attention to that uncomfortable feeling in my gut that I sometimes experience in Eldo.

Brad White wrote: This situation tells me I need to pay a little bit more attention to that uncomfortable feeling in my gut that I sometimes experience in Eldo.

This is what makes Eldo so special...the transitory nature of the climbs.  Remember that big f*cking block sitting on the ledge on Rewritten?

Buck Rio wrote:

This is what makes Eldo such a choss heap...the transitory nature of the climbs.

FTFY!

Buck Rio wrote:

This is what makes Eldo so special...the transitory nature of the climbs.  Remember that big f*cking block sitting on the ledge on Rewritten?

I remember the big one with the fully loaded tighty-whities stuffed behind it.

Buck Rio wrote:

This is what makes Eldo so special...the transitory nature of the climbs.  Remember that big f*cking block sitting on the ledge on Rewritten?

Hell yes I do! I also remember the first time I did the route, my partner placed cams behind it and brought me up to this "anchor." Yeccccch! On later ascents I would come up to the left of it and avoid it, often just going into the gully. My friend M accidentally sent that tombstone sailing off its ledge some years back and neither he nor anyone else got injured from the trundle.

So Mike, someone shoved their shit-filled underpants behind there? I'll bet that extra slipperiness is what finally brought the block down.

Went up to do Parallels this afternoon on West Ridge and thought we'd go on an adventure and do something obscure.  We did Milk Dreams to warm up and experienced rock fall much larger than that on Hair City. Be careful out there and don't hang out below other parties.  Lots of rockfall this Spring. 

There was a heinous new rockfall on the decent  trail between lower and upper peanuts that we saw today. Fresh rock and rock scars all down the talus slope, trees barreled into and freshly cut tree branches abound. Pretty amazing to see all the geological activity in the area. This place is wild.

This is part of the part of Hair City that fell off.

Dr. VARMENT wrote: This is part of the part of Hair City that fell off.

Could you send that to me, that was my favorite part of the climb...

Any volunteers to haul that block up and epoxy it back on?

Buck Rio wrote:

Could you send that to me, that was my favorite part of the climb...

If you pay for shipping and the Paypal fee.

Caution is merited - another freeze/thaw cycle is already in progress today.

It'd be interesting to see how p2 of hair city climbs with some holds eliminated.

At some point this summer I'll haul up some new flagstone toppers for the gabions. I'll post up in case anybody is looking for a workout.

Pull down, not out. Be safe out there.

Thanks Mike & Mike & crew for getting after it on the Bastille.

This seems to be an above-average loose rock season in Eldo, with reports of loose/falling rock on many climbs and sectors throughout the Park.

Just a reminder to be wary climbing under other parties, and that helmets may help with the small stuff. Also, be attentive staging in sectors that have had historical spontaneous/climber-generated rockfall, for example the start of Rewritten/Touch 'N Go/Over the Hill, and the Upper West Ridge and Wind Tower base areas.

Note the Upper Meadow has a large accumulation of loose rock along the climber path, particularly near the area where Lower Jules Verne tops out. Be especially careful in this zone with footing, and avoid dragging ropes across it.

Climb safe out there!