How to clean stubborn roots from finger cracks?

[dberdinka]

I figure if anyone knows how to clean trees and roots out of cracks it will be a climber from Squamish. So......

I was rcently cleaning out a sweet finger crack. Unfortunately there is a small cedar growing in the crack about 40' up and it has sent long roots up and down the crack. In some places I was able to pry with an old ice hammer and then strip it out. But in others the root is solidly wedged and blocking up the entire crack. While I'm at it I've got to remove the tree as well...

Brute Force (what little I have) wasn't doing the trick. So short of air compressors what are tools and techniques of choice?

I was thinking I could
Hack away at it with a chisel or flat prybar
Reek havoc with a cordless reciprocating saw
Someone suggested Torching it?

Any experts out there? Thanks

[mcgarnickle]

Maybe you shouldn't bother? I mean seriously, how many more generic 5.10 piece of sh*t scrubbed lines does squamish need?

[dberdinka]

It ain't Squamish dipshit and it most certainly isn't "generic 5.10 pos"

[Dru]

Roots are hard to get out... look at Slot Machine that thing was scrubbed 25 years ago and it still has 5m of root climbing to get to the first belay.

I reckon what you need is a small stump grinder.

[mr_staggerlee]

Maybe you shouldn't bother? I mean seriously, how many more generic 5.10 piece of sh*t scrubbed lines does squamish need?

How can you tell the weather has gone to sh*t and everyone is cranky about it?! Hilarious. I was going to post "put in some bolts and drill finger-sized holes in the root" just to be an a$%. Looks like someone beat me to it. Love it! (really!).

[Axel]

4000psi pressure washer. Cuts the roots right out.

[Peter]

If you can cut the root, it will die over the winter. Use a cordless drill if you have to, once cut, you could then get a prybar in behind it and possibly pull the whole thing out.........

[rolfr]

I used an old Ice Hammer until I lost it last week scrubbing new boulders. Just recently bought an Estwing Rock Pick hammer that works great and also heavey enough to drive home bolts. Used it today on some stubborn hands to finger size cracks on overhanging routes i am preping in West Van. It also works well to remove the dense root filled layer of dirt at the top of new climbs that repatedly sluffs off. No easy solutions just grunt work and bashed knuckles. Rolf