FYI - Rockfall at the north end of the Grand Wall on Sat
FYI - Rockfall at the north end of the Grand Wall on Sat
Last Saturday, a couple of friends and I were warming up on Seasoned in the Sun when we saw significant rock fall north of us and south of the Apron, roughly above Ghostdancing.
It was very significant, with numerous volleys of boulders coming down most of the length of the wall. We couldn't tell exactly where they were coming from but it definitely looked close to the top. In one instance, boulders landed on a big, treed, ledge (a bit higher than the Apron) and timber came flying off! Some of the smaller rocks ricocheted in our direction and whizzed by only 20m from us! I would not be surprized if some rocks ricocheted toward the Apron descent trail (although I don't have a very good feel for it).
Needless to say, we did not stick around longer then we had to. As a matter of fact, seconding that pitch was by far the scaries top rope of my life! Later on, from the parking lot, with the help of a very nice RCMP officer who was happy to see us alive, we discovered a very big rock scar just over halfway up the wall (up and to the right of the top of the Apron). We guessed that it was knocked off by smaller rocks falling from up high (but who really knows?).
Just an FYI. I think I would avoid climbing between Seasoned in the Sun and the Apron for the next little while, or having my lunch on the Apron descent trail for that matter.
It was very significant, with numerous volleys of boulders coming down most of the length of the wall. We couldn't tell exactly where they were coming from but it definitely looked close to the top. In one instance, boulders landed on a big, treed, ledge (a bit higher than the Apron) and timber came flying off! Some of the smaller rocks ricocheted in our direction and whizzed by only 20m from us! I would not be surprized if some rocks ricocheted toward the Apron descent trail (although I don't have a very good feel for it).
Needless to say, we did not stick around longer then we had to. As a matter of fact, seconding that pitch was by far the scaries top rope of my life! Later on, from the parking lot, with the help of a very nice RCMP officer who was happy to see us alive, we discovered a very big rock scar just over halfway up the wall (up and to the right of the top of the Apron). We guessed that it was knocked off by smaller rocks falling from up high (but who really knows?).
Just an FYI. I think I would avoid climbing between Seasoned in the Sun and the Apron for the next little while, or having my lunch on the Apron descent trail for that matter.
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Anders Ourom
- Senior Member
- Posts: 328
- Joined: Thu May 18, 2006 10:38 am
That area has always been subject to rockfall, but this sounds more substantial than usual. There's a lot of natural rockfall from the area of the Northwest Passage and the Vulcan's Artery. It's generally not wise to hang around at or near the base of the wall there, e.g. Seasoned in the Sun.
When I was working on Slab Alley in April, someone high on the wall in that area was trundling rocks. It was late afternoon on a weekday. I don't know what precautions may have been taken, or how much was moved.
When I was working on Slab Alley in April, someone high on the wall in that area was trundling rocks. It was late afternoon on a weekday. I don't know what precautions may have been taken, or how much was moved.
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