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trenchdigger
Sep 7, 2005, 7:49 PM
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Moderate temperatures, quality routes with nobody else on them, a fun crowd, and last, but not least, the midday margaritas made this an awesome trip to JTree. It will also be my most memorable, but for reasons that I’d rather have gone without. They did, however, remind me how important it is to be careful not only at the crag, but also to and from.
Dave and I had originally planned to leave Friday afternoon, but laziness and just being too dang busy forced us into a 7pm departure from San Diego. We arrived at Sheep Pass group site #3 around 10pm, just in time to meet “Chukker” in the parking lot. As we set up our tents, 2 more of our group showed up – Ob and Jeff. Jimmy “lqdslvr” showed up too, and after some chit-chat about what to do Saturday and a few beers, we were headed off to bed.
It was Dave’s first time to JTree, so Jimmy, Chuck, Dave, and I headed over to Headstone for a pre-sunrise run up SW Corner and Cryptic. SW Corner is, in my opinion, one of the best intros to JTree climbing. With those two routes knocked out, we ran back to camp to grab some food, fill up on water, and rack up for the next destination: HVCG.
We rejoined with Ob and Jeff at the day-use lot and Jimmy and Chuck immediately jumped on North Overhang. As they worked their way up the first pitch, I waited with my camera, but the others wanted to climb. With the mention of Hobbit Roof, I perked up and quickly grew impatient. I figured I could get pictures later, put the camera away, and grabbed my gear.
I was first up on Hobbit Roof. Armed with a couple of runners, a couple of mid-sized cams for the crack, and a few big ones for the anchor, I walked up the slab, clipped the bolt and looked around for crimps that would get me over the bulge. I made one move straight up, then stepped back down before moving just right of the bolt on good feet to a thin high-step move. Into the roof went a .75 C4, and I fired the crack to the top. Fun, but nothing more than two boulder problems stack upon each other. Ob, Jeff, and Dave all gave it a go on TR with varying degrees of success.
From there, we ran over to The Eye and met up with two more members of our crew who had just driven up from San Diego – Jon “Collegekid” and his girlfriend Yi (sp?). Ob and I led with the others following. Yi who hadn’t climbed before, gave it a shot and made it about half-way before lowering off.
By that time, it was Margarita-O-Clock, so we went back to cam for lunch and margs. Over lunch, the group decided that Rock Garden Valley’s Shorter Wall looked like a great place to soak up the afternoon shade and play on some fun cracks. After resting away the hottest midday hours, 8 of us met up there and hiked in over the talus and boulders. We rested in the shade for a few minutes, then started in on the routes.
I put up Double Dogleg and left a toprope for the others, then Ob led up some broken cracks left of Rock-A-Lot with Jon belaying as Chuck belayed me up Rock Candy. Just before I reached the third bolt, I heard Jon yell and looked down to see him fall 6 feet to a ledge, tumble off, and fall another 15 feet landing on his back, then hitting his head against a boulder. He immediately stood up, and the others on the ground had him lie down and not move. As this is intended to provide a trip report only and not delve into the accident, I’ll let him post an accident report if he wants. Basically, he ended up with a helicopter ride out of the park, a few broken transverse process bones on his L3-L5 vertebrae (nothing dangerous to the spinal column – they perform no function), and some nasty road rash on his back.
Since the injuries were relatively minor, most of us decided to spend the rest of the weekend in the park. Thank you to Ob and Jeff for being kind enough to bring Jon’s truck back to San Diego and give his girlfriend a ride home from the hospital.
Saturday evening we met up with Bill and John, two more in our party who had driven up that morning, and told them the crazy stories from the day over plenty of cold beer and more margaritas.
Sunday morning we got a later start, and headed over to HVCG again so a couple of the newer leaders could get on Beginner’s Three on Intersection Rock. I took a few pictures before leading up The Flake with Chuck following. I tossed the rope down once he finished and brought Bill up third. Dogleg still had shade, so I led up that next with Chuck and Bill following again. You can’t just rap off without doing Geronimo, so we knocked that out too. By then it was lunch time and we were out of ice, so it was time for a trip back to town.
That afternoon, Dave wanted to get back on Cryptic, and Bill wanted to get the poser/’hang from the flake and chalk up’ shot, so we went back to headstone for the evening.
Then, once again, back to camp for more margaritas, cold beer, and good food.
Monday morning, Bill, Dave, Chuck, and I went to Saddle Rocks while John wandered the Wonderland with his camera. We did Walk on the Wild Side, then Right On in pairs with Bill and I leading WOWS and Chuck and I leading Right On. If you do Right On, make sure to finish up the slab just to the climber’s right of the notch that most people finish in. It adds 30 or 40 feet to the climb and gives you one of the most spectacular views from a climb in JTree. There’s a rap station that drops you at the ledge where the regular rap station is to get off of the climb.
Our weekend was finally done. We were all sore, but satisfied, and headed back to camp to relax in the shade, enjoy a cold beer, and pack up for the ride home.
A few hours later, just south of Hemet on Hwy 79 on our way home, Dave and I see this big cloud of dust in the road, so we slow down. Sure enough, there was the Jeep Cherokee that just flew by us, now upside-down on the side of the road. We stopped and ran over to the car to find three of the four passengers out of the car with a fourth pinned in the car. The three outside the car were a baby girl (<1 yr), a boy (8-10yrs), and their father, the driver. The boy had a few small cuts on his knee, but was relatively unharmed as were the others. The driver wanted to try to get his wife out of the car, but we made sure he didn’t try to move her as she was obviously injured and her legs were pinned. By the position she was in, it was obvious she wasn't wearing a seatbelt. I'd bet money that the others were. We provided flashlights and first-aid to her badly cut hand and wrist until the medics arrived, then continued our drive home… in the right-hand lane… well under the speed limit.
It wasn’t a trip I’ll soon forget; great climbing, damn good margaritas, crazy accidents, and a few people who are very happy to be alive. Please be safe not only at the crag, but also on the way to and from.
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asandh
Sep 7, 2005, 8:42 PM
Post #2 of 18
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:)
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trenchdigger
Sep 7, 2005, 8:45 PM
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In reply to: Sounds like it's time to stop, and take a deep breath ... :) |
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hangerlessbolt
Sep 7, 2005, 8:47 PM
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Good TR…fun route selection…
We’ll be down in a few weeks.
-RB
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u_will_die
Sep 8, 2005, 3:28 AM
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Registered: Aug 26, 2005
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I love it ....let me summarize your trip as i see it:
1) group of noobs descend upon Jtree armed with new C4 cams ready to do battle with the gnar...
2) one noob decks , gets helicoptered out , future uncertain...
3) rest of group, fueled by margaritas and chalk dust , blissfully carry on with the weekend , "because he would have wanted us to"....
4) noobs pile into Subaru outbacks and toyota matrixes and return to worker land where they congratulate themselves on the successful weekend....
Labor day doesn't get any better than that.....
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trenchdigger
Sep 8, 2005, 3:51 AM
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In reply to: I love it ....let me summarize your trip as i see it: 1) group of noobs descend upon Jtree armed with new C4 cams ready to do battle with the gnar... 2) one noob decks , gets helicoptered out , future uncertain... 3) rest of group, fueled by margaritas and chalk dust , blissfully carry on with the weekend , "because he would have wanted us to".... 4) noobs pile into Subaru outbacks and toyota matrixes and return to worker land where they congratulate themselves on the successful weekend.... Labor day doesn't get any better than that.....
Haha... entertaining, but you really have no clue.
Troll on brutha.
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jt512
Sep 8, 2005, 5:15 PM
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So Jon was drunk, and fell while belaying?
-Jay
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thomaskeefer
Sep 8, 2005, 5:45 PM
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Adam,
I will bite and ask the question how the guy fell so far.. What was his belayer up to?
Sounds like quite a trip.. Similar thing happened to me on a Red Rocks trip.. driving home and a dude comes flying past us (my cruise set at 85) and then sometime a few minutes later we see him upside down on 15 and pulling his kids out on the side of the road.
Glad you had fun! Hopefully I will see you again in J-Tree.
And BTW for U_will_die.. TrenchDigger is not a noob..
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erisspirit
Sep 8, 2005, 6:16 PM
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Wow looks like I missed an eventful trip... I was busy and couldn't go :(
Glad you guys were able to finish out the weekend, and Jons gonna be ok
...hes gonna go nuts not climbing for awhile ... :D
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jt512
Sep 8, 2005, 6:20 PM
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In reply to: Wow looks like I missed an eventful trip... I was busy and couldn't go :( Glad you guys were able to finish out the weekend, and Jons gonna be ok ...hes gonna go nuts not climbing for awhile ... :D
Erin, "eventful" is not a word I would to describe a trip characterized by a hoard of drunken newbies descending on a wall and making at least one horrendous life-threatening error. When did this become acceptable?
-Jay
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trenchdigger
Sep 8, 2005, 6:22 PM
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In reply to: Adam, I will bite and ask the question how the guy fell so far.. What was his belayer up to? Sounds like quite a trip.. Similar thing happened to me on a Red Rocks trip.. driving home and a dude comes flying past us (my cruise set at 85) and then sometime a few minutes later we see him upside down on 15 and pulling his kids out on the side of the road. Glad you had fun! Hopefully I will see you again in J-Tree. And BTW for U_will_die.. TrenchDigger is not a noob..
He fell a total of about 20 feet. I'm going to wait for details from Jon for the rest.
And I really don't understand why people drive like that with their kids in the car.
I should be in JTree a lot this season. Let me know when you're headed that direction.
~Adam~
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erisspirit
Sep 8, 2005, 6:32 PM
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In reply to: In reply to: Wow looks like I missed an eventful trip... I was busy and couldn't go :( Glad you guys were able to finish out the weekend, and Jons gonna be ok ...hes gonna go nuts not climbing for awhile ... :D Erin, "eventful" is not a word I would to describe a trip characterized by a hoard of drunken newbies descending on a wall and making at least one horrendous life-threatening error. When did this become acceptable? -Jay
I didn't mean eventfull in a good way... but I was sad I couldn't go... not because of the accident, but because I love JTree. Sorry I didn't type all that out. I'm definatly not a good writer by any means ... spelling grammer and content included.
I don't know all the people who went on the trip or details of the accident, but I know some of them, and would still feel safe climbing with them.
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trenchdigger
Sep 9, 2005, 5:12 PM
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In reply to: In reply to: Wow looks like I missed an eventful trip... I was busy and couldn't go :( Glad you guys were able to finish out the weekend, and Jons gonna be ok ...hes gonna go nuts not climbing for awhile ... :D Erin, "eventful" is not a word I would to describe a trip characterized by a hoard of drunken newbies descending on a wall and making at least one horrendous life-threatening error. When did this become acceptable? -Jay
Of course, Jay, you know exactly what happened because you were there, right? :roll:
Well, you must not have had your specs on because you're a little fuzzy on a few details.
- None of the climbers in the group were intoxicated at any time that the group was climbing.
- The climber involved in the accident had drunk only water leading up to the accident.
- The noobs in the group were not involved in the accident.
You are correct on one obvious detail: a horrendous, life-threatening error was made.
If you'd like, you can wait patiently for an accident report and comment intelligently (as I know you are capable) on that once that's available. Or you can stick your head back up your ass and keep producing inaccurate assumptions about the details of the accident. Before you do that, I have to ask, when did it become acceptable to produce spread inaccurate and unfounded assumptions of the details surrounding an accident? I would think such an experienced climber as you would have more sense than that.
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curt
Sep 9, 2005, 5:27 PM
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Jay may have jumped to a conclusion, but you did post this.....
In reply to: ... By that time, it was Margarita-O-Clock, so we went back to cam(p) for lunch and margs. Over lunch, the group decided that Rock Garden Valley’s Shorter Wall looked like a great place to soak up the afternoon shade and play on some fun cracks. 8 of us met up there and hiked in over the talus and boulders. We rested in the shade for a few minutes, then started in on the routes. I put up Double Dogleg and left a toprope for the others, then Ob led up some broken cracks left of Rock-A-Lot with Jon belaying as Chuck belayed me up Rock Candy. Just before I reached the third bolt, I heard Jon yell and looked down to see him fall 6 feet to a ledge, tumble off, and fall another 15 feet landing on his back, then hitting his head against a boulder....
It does sound like there was climbing involved right after having margaritas. Is that not the case? You might want to clarify that, to eliminate the confusion.
Curt
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jt512
Sep 9, 2005, 5:28 PM
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In reply to: In reply to: In reply to: Wow looks like I missed an eventful trip... I was busy and couldn't go :( Glad you guys were able to finish out the weekend, and Jons gonna be ok ...hes gonna go nuts not climbing for awhile ... :D Erin, "eventful" is not a word I would to describe a trip characterized by a hoard of drunken newbies descending on a wall and making at least one horrendous life-threatening error. When did this become acceptable? -Jay Of course, Jay, you know exactly what happened because you were there, right? :roll:
All I knew when I posted was what you wrote. Your trip report states that the group had been drinking margaritas prior to climbing (which is stupid). Your report also implies that Jon was belaying when he fell. If you didn't mean that, then learn to write unambiguously.
In reply to: - The noobs in the group were not involved in the accident.
I beg differ. Jon is a n00b and so are you. This is not an insult. It's just a fact.
In reply to: You are correct on one obvious detail: a horrendous, life-threatening error was made.
No shit.
In reply to: If you'd like, you can wait patiently for an accident report and comment intelligently (as I know you are capable) on that once that's available. Or you can stick your head back up your ass and keep producing inaccurate assumptions about the details of the accident. Before you do that, I have to ask, when did it become acceptable to produce spread inaccurate and unfounded assumptions of the details surrounding an accident?
Beats me. But it sounds like something you should have thought about while choosing the wording of your trip report.
I know of at least 3 readers besides myself who have intepreted your report the same way I did, so don't start throwing out crap about my reading comprehension. Learn to write what you mean.
-Jay
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trenchdigger
Sep 9, 2005, 5:33 PM
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In reply to: Jay may have jumped to a conclusion, but you did post this..... In reply to: ... By that time, it was Margarita-O-Clock, so we went back to cam(p) for lunch and margs. Over lunch, the group decided that Rock Garden Valley’s Shorter Wall looked like a great place to soak up the afternoon shade and play on some fun cracks. 8 of us met up there and hiked in over the talus and boulders. We rested in the shade for a few minutes, then started in on the routes. I put up Double Dogleg and left a toprope for the others, then Ob led up some broken cracks left of Rock-A-Lot with Jon belaying as Chuck belayed me up Rock Candy. Just before I reached the third bolt, I heard Jon yell and looked down to see him fall 6 feet to a ledge, tumble off, and fall another 15 feet landing on his back, then hitting his head against a boulder.... It does sound like there was climbing involved right after having margaritas. Is that not the case? You might want to clarify that, to eliminate the confusion. Curt
Clarification...
Climbing resumed 3-4 hrs after lunch where 1 6-8oz (blended, not shaken) margarita was consumed by some of the climbers.
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jt512
Sep 9, 2005, 5:45 PM
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In reply to: In reply to: Jay may have jumped to a conclusion, but you did post this..... In reply to: ... By that time, it was Margarita-O-Clock, so we went back to cam(p) for lunch and margs. Over lunch, the group decided that Rock Garden Valley’s Shorter Wall looked like a great place to soak up the afternoon shade and play on some fun cracks. 8 of us met up there and hiked in over the talus and boulders. We rested in the shade for a few minutes, then started in on the routes. I put up Double Dogleg and left a toprope for the others, then Ob led up some broken cracks left of Rock-A-Lot with Jon belaying as Chuck belayed me up Rock Candy. Just before I reached the third bolt, I heard Jon yell and looked down to see him fall 6 feet to a ledge, tumble off, and fall another 15 feet landing on his back, then hitting his head against a boulder.... It does sound like there was climbing involved right after having margaritas. Is that not the case? You might want to clarify that, to eliminate the confusion. Curt Clarification... Climbing resumed 3-4 hrs after lunch where 1 6-8oz (blended, not shaken) margarita was consumed by some of the climbers.
Blended? That was your first mistake right there!
-Jay
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trenchdigger
Sep 9, 2005, 5:52 PM
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In reply to: In reply to: In reply to: Jay may have jumped to a conclusion, but you did post this..... In reply to: ... By that time, it was Margarita-O-Clock, so we went back to cam(p) for lunch and margs. Over lunch, the group decided that Rock Garden Valley’s Shorter Wall looked like a great place to soak up the afternoon shade and play on some fun cracks. 8 of us met up there and hiked in over the talus and boulders. We rested in the shade for a few minutes, then started in on the routes. I put up Double Dogleg and left a toprope for the others, then Ob led up some broken cracks left of Rock-A-Lot with Jon belaying as Chuck belayed me up Rock Candy. Just before I reached the third bolt, I heard Jon yell and looked down to see him fall 6 feet to a ledge, tumble off, and fall another 15 feet landing on his back, then hitting his head against a boulder.... It does sound like there was climbing involved right after having margaritas. Is that not the case? You might want to clarify that, to eliminate the confusion. Curt Clarification... Climbing resumed 3-4 hrs after lunch where 1 6-8oz (blended, not shaken) margarita was consumed by some of the climbers. Blended? That was your first mistake right there! -Jay
Ah, but they went down so smoothly with the mushroom, bell peper, and onion filled quesadillas.
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