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Some people just like big expensive rocks

phaxtris

phaxtris

(Ryan)
Premium Member
Premium Member
I'm not much of a work picture guy, but in this case I needed some photos for my geologist buddy after consulting him on an approximate weight.
I was told it was about 3500lbs....when I got there and looked at the size of this rock I knew there was no way in hell this was only 3500lbs...and we were going to need someone to haul it (wich I thought was the original plan), buddy came back to me with roughly 2.7 tonne...

It all worked out in the end as after we had the first rock loaded the owners asked if we could grab another smaller rock. Judging by the first rock this one was probably only 4000lbs

I guess the story behind the big rock, it's one of 3 rocks legally taken from Frank slide, bought at a charity auction years ago, and actually picked out by the owners son, so they wanted it to come to the new building.....didn't ask specifically how much it cost him, but given what it would have cost to get it to Calgary from Frank slide and it was a charity auction I'm guessing this is rock is probably north of 20k :oops:

For those that don't know what the Frank slide is...kinda interesting, neat to see in person

en.wikipedia.org

Frank Slide - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org

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Chicken lights said:
Dang it. I was just through Crowsnest Pass, had no idea on the history
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Now you know why half the mountain is across the road! pretty wild when you drive through there knowing the story

im sure your wondering....we did have to stop twice on the 15km trip the to tighten straps as the pallet slowly turned into kindling with every bump....we were all pretty confident it wouldn't make it, took the slowest route possible and kept a tight tail with the driver on speed dial to pull over, it was only there to try and distribute weight of the irregular shape and hopefully not put any holes in the deck (success! no broken boards)
 
they have an interpretive center there, although i have never checked it out, next time im through there i plan to stop
 
phaxtris said:
they have an interpretive center there, although i have never checked it out, next time im through there i plan to stop
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The Interpretive Center is an excellent stop. Well worth it. Bring some good footwear to hike around on the slide itself. It's mostly limestone, so there are marine fossils visible here & there.

One of my geology profs was fascinated by Frank Slide. We did a couple field trips out there. The point of his fascination was threefold: 1) How did all that rock end up across the highway while the river at the base of Turtle Mountain had almost no blockage?; 2) How did rock from the slide end up further from the peak than the height of the peak? We're talking angular rock here, not marbles; and 3) If you walk towards the SE corner of the slide, you come across a small, conical hill that has slide rock on the westward side of the hill, north side of the hill and east side of the hill, yet none on the hill. How does rock get on 3 sides of the hill without rolling over the top of the hill?

His hypothesis was that the slide was so huge it trapped & compressed a cushion of air underneath the slide, solving the question of why so little rock at the foot of the mountain, how the rock managed to move so far from the mountain and how the rock "flowed" around that conical hill.
 
I have been through Crow's-nest Pass 3 times in my life. Last time I stopped at the interpretive center.. That was neat boarding in Windsor at 6:00 am, Landing and in the car by 9am local.. It was 15C at Calgary. As I descended into BC, it got hotter and hotter. By the time I got to Cranbrook, it was 28 C.
 
It's also an interesting hike up the north ridge of Turtle Mountain to the north peak. Very scenic. You can see almost the entire valley, all the towns, Crowsnest Mountain & Mt Tecumseh to the northwest, Mt Ptolemy & Andy Good Peak (where some sizeable caves are) to the west & the backside of the Whaleback Ridge to the east.
 
Seen it at about 10 BC (Before Children). I am amazed at how heavy those are. I have 3 boulders I want to move and I thought I could use a 2T engine hoist to pick them up off center have it swing in the direction I want. Then move hoist and do it again. Repeat until it's where I want.

Originally most of the boulders were done with this equipment. He had 3 left over that we tucked away for some sort of yard decoration later. Now it's much later and I want to move the 3. And yes, they are about that size.

EquipmentForRocks.jpg
 
We live backing onto a small creek that is about 80' below our backyard. The previous owners had a zip line for their kids that terminated at a small play fort. Anyways my wife is really into gardening and she wanted another specimen rock for our backyard garden. Lots of rocks near the creek. I made a strong net with rope, managed to roll a 400-500 lb? specimen rock onto the net with pry bars and then winched it up the hill with just come-Alongs 10' at a time. It took me the better part of a day. Was more of a "hmmm this should work let's give it a try" type of deal. What I learned is that a rock that heavy prefers to be dragged through the hill instead of up the hill. A skid plate helped. If I were to do it again I might make something with wheels.
 
Yes the Frank slide is very impressive. A strange thing was the hotel survived the slide, it is now in Vulcan, was moved here by rail after the slide. Have not seen any pictures of the move, so not sure if it was moved in large pieces or totally taken apart. Any how it is 3 story's tall, in an L shape, maybe 75ish feet on each leg. In bad shape now due to leaking roof, and water/boiler lines froze and broke some years ago.
A friend came out many years ago, wanted a rock for a lawn ornament, not really, his wife did. Said help yourself, then wanted to know the biggest rock I could get in his truck with the tractor. Found alikly candidate from the rock pile, hooked as close to the tractor as could and still lift . Truck dropped a long ways, but stopped on the over loads. He got to town, confirmed where to put it. Wenched it out of truck, it hit the ground and sunk in over 6 inches. Parked truck, said there honey, that looks good. She said changed her mind, wanted it over about 5 feet. He opened a beer, looked at her for abit, said best change your mind again, that sucker won't move short of earth quake or large excavator. The rock is still in same spot and they are still together.
 
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A ways back my wife decided {i protested in vain} she wanted flat rocks all around the house. I hate rocks, picked them all my life from the fields. After she passed on, i let local ladies know i was getting rid of said flat rocks. Lots of husbands let me know they were not happy with me. :)
 
Pretty interesting history of those rocks with a sombre tone. I had never heard of the Frank slide, but spent about an hour this morning reading about it, and doing a google map tour of the area with my morning coffee.

I have a few big ones here. One not quite that big , about 3/4 that size out in the middle of the back field. Would love to know the story behind how it got there, but I imagine it involves a lot of manual labour by the people that cleared these fields. I want to carve one of them into a bathroom sink.
 
jcdammeyer said:
Seen it at about 10 BC (Before Children). I am amazed at how heavy those are. I have 3 boulders I want to move and I thought I could use a 2T engine hoist to pick them up off center have it swing in the direction I want. Then move hoist and do it again. Repeat until it's where I want.

Originally most of the boulders were done with this equipment. He had 3 left over that we tucked away for some sort of yard decoration later. Now it's much later and I want to move the 3. And yes, they are about that size.

View attachment 34143
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Just rent a mini ho, it will cost a few hundred bucks, but 1 youll have all 3 moved in a day without breaking a sweat, and 2, you get to have fun running an excavator for a day
 
I was born on a Saskatchewan Farm. We moved big rocks with a "Stone Boat". Basically a flat platform on sleds that you pulled with work horses or a tractor. Worked great!

The Mennonites around here are very talented movers. I've seen them move huge rocks with an A-Frame. Huge leverage at the high lift approaching top center (but don't go over). Lift about 12", slide a platform on log rollers under it, set it down, and then roll the platform moving the rollers to the front as they come out the back. Those characters just "git er done".

Today I like my loader tractor. It can lift and move rocks the size of a chest freezer. Moving a big rock is just like moving a big machine. Lift it with big straps or chains and lift close to use the leverage to advantage.

The vast majority of rocks are between 150 & 180 pounds per cubic foot. I use 200 as a guide cuz I can do the math easy peasy in my head. But It's also pretty easy to section a rock on square grid paper in X, Y, & Z with rough measurements. It'll be close enough to be within 20% of actual.
 
Susquatch said:
The Mennonites around here are very talented movers. I've seen them move huge rocks with an A-Frame. Huge leverage at the high lift approaching top center (but don't go over). Lift about 12", slide a platform on log rollers under it, set it down, and then roll the platform moving the rollers to the front as they come out the back. Those characters just "git er done".
ion a rock on square grid paper in X, Y, & Z with rough measurements. It'll be close enough to be within 20% of actual.
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I used the same 'Egyptian' method to get the milling machine from where it was unloaded in front of the shop into where it sits now using four 2" steel pipes under the pallet. Roll until room for pipe at front and rear pipe no longer under. Move pipe from front to back. Angle pipes slightly to move in arc.

I don't remember how I got it off the pallet. Might have borrowed an engine hoist for that.
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