A couple from Whiskey

February brought us out to Whiskey Gulch a couple times...mainly to work on the Crack of Doom with the brotherman, but to also work a couple other random things...

Once again, I was surprised by the snow level difference compared to the lower elevation areas on Delmoe Lake Rd...

A few things I must mention:

-Someone had a fire under 'Hairy Palms', a problem on/next to the hidden boulder/caught in the act...the fire scarred the bottom of the problem...there are no other user groups to blame...a scrappy V2 or not, it's very sad to see the rock disrespected in such a way...there is no excuse.

-There is a mattress that needs to get cleaned up over by the Popes...I thought this was cleaned up, but discovered it discarded 10 yards or so to the east, rotting under some boulders...gross. I swear that there was a pic of some kids with the mattress floating around on the web, and thought they said it would be cleaned up...anyone know what I'm talking about? Shit is weak...

Also, the tickmarks out there are ridiculous...if you can't read the rock, and must use rookie stripes, at least brush them when you're done...

Please consider your actions.

So if anyone heads out there soon...if you haul out the mattress, I'll hook you and your buddies up with some beers and a couple guidebooks...I would have done it myself, but didn't have the truck with me...




Pat working the low/thin crux on the COD...he was super close, but within a 1/2 hour of arriving, the route went from 'kinda wet' to 'soaked'...



Checking out 'The Thing'...pretty damn cool Jeff!


Weather-wise, things are back on the upswing...and I'm psyched to head back out to the Batholith...maybe I'll see you out there...

Cheers,
Tom

Late December Bouldering

With the holidays in full swing, I managed to take some time to head over to the Boulder Batholith for a bit of exploring and bouldering...


Right around the solstice, the brotherman and I headed out for a day of exploring. We ended up exploring the east side of the Halfway Creek draw, being lured in by clusters on the skyline...while the boulders were somewhat sparse, a few gems lay waiting in this area...though the 5-10 minute uphill walk is a bit far for typical approaches out here...so they may have to wait for a bit longer...


good rock though...


Perhaps the best looking one in the area, with a couple of great looking lines possible.


A decent traverse just uphill


evening light on the King..


On Sunday we headed out towards Whiskey to see if the Doom Wall was dry and to jump on a couple problems...unfortunately a combination of a semi-late start and a couple exploratory stops on the way in, we were already somewhat strapped for time...

We abandoned the idea of hiking gear in only to find the Doom Wall dry and in the sun and most of the boulders wet with snowy top-outs...about 4-6 inches of snow on the ground as of the 26th...We ended up on the Popes and after a couple refresher attempts I was working my way towards the wet top-out...only to 'stub' my finger slapping(over tossing) my way up...DOH!...so close only to botch my finger and end my day early...

a couple shots






All and all though, some good days for late December in the Batholith...it's been a while(2007) since I've bouldered at Whiskey, so it was nice to be back and get on some old favorites...I certainly didn't miss that extra hour of driving though and seeing 6 inch rookie stripes everywhere is a bit sad (please clean up your messes folks)...we'll probably wait a bit before returning as there are drier/closer areas around Butte to climb and explore currently...though the Doom Wall is calling out to us...quite the siren...

Cheers
Tom

Whiskey quickie

A few from this afternoon with the family-I left the guide at home, figuring this crew likes to pick their own stuff to scale.



Lyddie practice pullin'


Ladd almost made it to the top, before sliding back down to Mom


Family group shot


Long way down for a little boy


Ladd proudest send--a gutsy onsight success