Munra Point fixed ropes?

[Bosterson]

Honestly, Fred Beckey would have walked up that gully with no hands and thus it is a Beckey Class 2, and a Class 3 for the rest of us.

That's awesome. Really, probably class 1 for Beckey. He probably wouldn't have distinguished it from the rest of the trail and would have asked where the "climbing" was

[Eric Peterson]

Class 6 for me, especially in the snow/ice

[Webfoot]

I would love to see a photo of you on there with aiders.

[johngo]

Interesting discussion, thanks to all who have posted.

The talk of what "class" this section has some attention.
Class 4 is defined as climbing fairly equally with hands and feet, in a place where a fall would be fatal.
For most folks with average coordination and abilities, this section on Munra would satisfy that.

Might you bounce a few times and stop? Maybe.
Might a skilled climber barely need to use hands at all? Perhaps.

So call it class 3+, or class 3-4, or whatever.

Another point of discussion - fixed anchors (generally rock climbing bolts) have been a point of contention USFS wilderness areas. Munra point is not in a wilderness area.

What degree is installed "safety equipment" is acceptable?
Do you remove or keep the cables on Eagle Creek?
Do you install a bridge over a creek in a wilderness area, or keep it native and let people figure out how to cross it?

Check out the book "Mountains Without Handrails" for a nuanced discussion of the entire topic.

[Bosterson]

Class 6 for me, especially in the snow/ice

Eric, they call that "French free."

The talk of what "class" this section has some attention.
Class 4 is defined as climbing fairly equally with hands and feet, in a place where a fall would be fatal.
For most folks with average coordination and abilities, this section on Munra would satisfy that.

If you fell down the Munra chimney, you probably wouldn't die unless you landed on your head. But that could happen walking down some stairs.

Keep in mind that the original definitions​ of 4th class given by the Sierra club in the 1930s went up to what we now call "low 5th," and some even went up to 5.6. I climbed the scramble route up Cathedral Peak in Tuolumne last summer (first ascent route by John Muir in the 1890s) and at the top you traverse a sloping ledge out to a short block (around 15 ft) and then climb a pair of super easy cracks to the top, all with a 700 ft near vertical drop behind you. The rating for that route is "class 4." The Munra chimney where you might break your leg can be placed in comparison.

If you're keen on turning Munra into a via ferrata, I believe the last time this (same) discussion came up here, Matt offered to install a bright orange ladder made out of unicorn tears or something up there.

[mandrake]

Another point of discussion - fixed anchors (generally rock climbing bolts) have been a point of contention USFS wilderness areas. Munra point is not in a wilderness area.

Actually Munra Point is indeed inside the Mark Hatfield wilderness. The boundary was expanded in 2009.

http://www.wilderness.net/map.cfm?xmin= ... 31635.9974

More info:
https://www.fs.fed.us/land/staff/Wilder ... 162007.pdf

[jessbee]

Climbers are taught to be suspect of fixed gear, including ropes, and are also taught how to inspect them.

The average Munra Point visitor probably doesn't have that perspective, and may just assume the gear (rope) is safe, and not have the skill or thought to check its safety.

Therefore a fixed rope on Munra Point is trash. Potentially hazardous trash. If you want to protect it, bring your own gear and remove it when you leave. Otherwise don't walk any farther than you're comfortable going without gear.

[johngo]

Another point of discussion - fixed anchors (generally rock climbing bolts) have been a point of contention USFS wilderness areas. Munra point is not in a wilderness area.

Actually Munra Point is indeed inside the Mark Hatfield wilderness. The boundary was expanded in 2009.

Munra.jpg

http://www.wilderness.net/map.cfm?xmin= ... 31635.9974

More info:
https://www.fs.fed.us/land/staff/Wilder ... 162007.pdf

Mandrake,

Thanks for that correction.

The Caltopo map layer FSTopo (2016) has it wrong, that's what I was going by.
http://caltopo.com/map.html#ll=45.61979 ... =14&b=f16a

[adamschneider]

The Caltopo map layer FSTopo (2016) has it wrong, that's what I was going by.
http://caltopo.com/map.html#ll=45.61979 ... =14&b=f16a

I found an updated Wilderness boundary map:

http://atlas.gpsvisualizer.com/map?url= ... SFS_RELIEF

[johngo]

Adam,

That's a cool map, thanks for the post.