Big Creek Rockfall

Rockfall that probably occurred over the winter has impacted three routes in the First Buttress area of Big Creek/McCalla Ridge. The event dropped tons and tons of rocks into the belay area beneath the climbs, and also struck about a half-dozen hangers on the routes.The hangers are mashed flat to the rock and are unusable. Kurt Krueger and Michael Moore tried to pry the hangers up, but failed. The structural integrity of the hangers would be in question, regardless.

photo: Michael Moore

The route Jimmy the Toe, which is just left of the main arete near the end of the buttress was hit, as were other routes -- the names of which we don't know -- to the left. The hard route on the arete was unaffected.

The smashed hangers need replacing and the climbs can't be done safely other than on toprope. The ledge above the climbs is littered with hundreds of pounds of loose rock, which will likely come off with more rain. Kurt and Michael cleaned a path to the anchors, but there's still a lot of rock loose on the ledge.