Intersection Rock Fall - Flake and West Chimney closed

West Chimney and The Flake are closed to climbing.  The flakelet fell off and is precariously perched 40feet above the ground.  

Note from the superintendent:  
Temporary closure of southwest face of Intersection Rock Effective Immediately, including the climbing routes Sheepherder, The Flake, West Chimney, Outer Limit, and Shovling-Cole. A rockfall was reported by a JOTR guide; follow up with NPS Geohazard Specialist and JOTR Law Enforcement and Trails are underway. Park expects to have a plan to confirm the stability of the concerning rock in question, and either scale it off the formation or leave in place. More to come next week. For now, the area is cordoned off with caution tape and signage. POC Ranger Myles Landry 

3/27/2025

Will anyone be allowed to rap down and dislodge the flake? Serious question as national parks seem to sometimes have a “let nature take its course “ policy. 

Please don't do that

Scary reminder. Sadly I am just about ready to climb The Flake...was the "Flake" itself affected or is this "out of an abundance of caution"?

“Closed to climbing”

I really appreciated the heads up. And I am a big fan of you, Bernadette.

Still, I hate to see an arm of the government constraining where climbers can and cannot risk their life and / or well being.  Honest.

I want to be free to climb under a precariously perched piece of rock big enough to kill me, god dammit! Big government tellin' me I can't go get myself killed, encroachin' on muh freedoms! Nevermind all the beginners that frequent Intersection Rock who may not have the judgement or skill to keep themselves safe in this situation, fuck 'em! Muh freedoms are more important!

Cosmic Hotdog wrote:

I want to be free to climb under a precariously perched piece of rock big enough to kill me, god dammit! Big government tellin' me I can't go get myself killed, encroachin' on muh freedoms! Nevermind all the beginners that frequent Intersection Rock who may not have the judgement or skill to keep themselves safe in this situation, fuck 'em! Muh freedoms are more important!

Even for beginners - yes, give an update or a warning. Not a mandate when it comes to climbing decisions in the out-of-doors.

Nothing is for sure in life. The sooner that is acknowledged about our favorite activity the better, in my humble opinion.

West Chimney is one 5.6 route out of 348 5.6 routes at Jtree. The Flake is one 5.8 route out of 681 5.8's at Jtree. No really, use the route finder and you can verify my numbers. 

That side of Intersection Rock is pretty crappy anyway with subpar rock quality and there are tons of better routes at both of those easy grades elsewhere in the park. This seems extremely inconsequential and the minimal inconvenience of 2 very accessible (read: newbies on them often) routes being unavailable for the safety of folks doesn't seem like a bad decision or an overstep. 

I live in California and climb at Jtree just about every single weekend during the season. This, to me, was the right call. 

Someone is just going to do a commando assault on it at night and knock down the remaining loose rock, just give it time.   

Perhaps someone knowledgable could post this info on the MP page for these routes.

Cosmic Hotdog wrote:

I live in California and climb at Jtree just about every single weekend during the season. This, to me, was the right call. 

I hear ya.  Closure just feels like over reach to me.

Is West Chimney the one with the low unprotected crux?

Bill Lawry wrote:

Perhaps someone knowledgable could post this info on the MP page for these routes.

I hear ya.  Closure just feels like over reach to me.

Is West Chimney the one with the low unprotected crux?

The crux is about 40 feet up, currently 

I believe I may have been apart of the last party to climb it, prior to the closure, post rockfall. I stood on top of the lodged stone. Seemed pretty well stuck in the chimney, I felt it was less serious than NPS did…..

It would be nice if a decent photo was taken….

From the government photo it looks like a heavy LSD influenced image…. Was it taken from a drone? Satellite?

The photo is confusing. It’s a narrow upside down pyramid, or K9 tooth, shaped stone about 3’ x 2’ at the base and 4’ tall. 

The picture in the first post is picture of the route before the rock fall. It looks like a picture of a computer screen showing this photo https://www.mountainproject.com/photo/110450793/about-to-get-into-the-slab-business-pc-mlberke  

It would be cool if someone has a pic of the fallen rock as it is situated now. 

I appreciate the heads up about potentially dangerous rock in a very popular area for climbers and tourists.  

FOJT talked with Park staff today and there is a  plan for geologist and park staff to immediately (within several days) examine the affected area on Intersection (via rappel from above) for further instability and determine best tactics for scaling the detached piece(s) safely if necessary. Please be patient and check FOJT site (or here on MP) for further updates. 

There is a large chunk of rock from the rockfall wedged in the West Chimney route. It’s the giant chockstone directly below the bush. I’d be more worried about the large detached flake directly above the bush.

Be worried about the Flakelet.  The handcrack is now an OW.  This is the crack in Bob Gaine's pic that is immediately above and a little left of the bush and right of the Flake. The chunk of rock that fell off was pushed off by the roots of the green bush.  That chunk was a piece of the Flakelet.  

Cosmic Hotdog wrote:

I want to be free to climb under a precariously perched piece of rock big enough to kill me, god dammit! Big government tellin' me I can't go get myself killed, encroachin' on muh freedoms! Nevermind all the beginners that frequent Intersection Rock who may not have the judgement or skill to keep themselves safe in this situation, fuck 'em! Muh freedoms are more important!

As much as I enjoyed reading this kind of mocking against anti-vaxxers and the like in the past, I don't think it carries much weight when it comes to risk of personal injury only. One could easily substitute "free soloing" or "climbing routes with runnouts" with the same effect. 

Brandon R wrote:

As much as I enjoyed reading this kind of mocking against anti-vaxxers and the like in the past, I don't think it carries much weight when it comes to risk of personal injury only. One could easily substitute "free soloing" or "climbing routes with runnouts" with the same effect. 

i think this is something worth thinking about a bit more in depth. the base area beneath this route tends to have tourists/kieds/etc under it, so assuming it would be personal injury only might not be completely accurate.

slim wrote:

i think this is something worth thinking about a bit more in depth. the base area beneath this route tends to have tourists/kieds/etc under it, so assuming it would be personal injury only might not be completely accurate.

Signs at the base and nearby parking areas informing people of the risks seems sufficient to me. There are countless potential hazards to climbers and bystanders, just as dangerous as this one, in just about every climbing area that exists.