Oregon Field Guide

Beacon Rock Climbing, Ditch Fish, Newberry Crater Geothermal

Beacon Rock Climbing Jim Opdycke is the unofficial “mayor” of Beacon rock. He’s climbed this spectacular basalt monolith in the Columbia gorge for over 40 years and has contributed perhaps more than anyone else to the unique traditional, or traditional, climbing culture of Beacon. We join Jim on a climb up the 900 foot face of Beacon Rock, cameras in tow, and learn about the specialized style of climbing known as “trad”- considered the most pure of climbing styles. Ditch Fish Willamette Valley farmers learn that in addition to their intended crops, they’ve been raising fish in their fields for years and never knew it. Researchers found young native fish thriving in ditches that fill with water during the winter, an unrecognized habitat until recently. Newberry Crater Geothermal EGS, Enhanced Geothermal Systems, hopes to get hot water out of a dry well just outside the Newberry Crater. The experiment hopes to create massive reservoirs two miles under ground. The earth would heat the cold water injected into fissures in the rocks and pumps would bring the hot water back out for energy production.