Alpental Falls - 01.04.11

Finally weather, schedule and partners cooperated for ice this season. We had been experiencing high pressure, and the temps did not rise above 20° at Alpental for nearly five days. Surely there had to be ice.

Adam and I had a casual start and arrived in the Alpental parking lot before nine. We donned snowshoes and headed up to the falls. Upon scoping out our options, we once again went to Alpental IV, or the farthest on the left in the clearing. Adam took his snowshoes off for the last bit before we geared up and found himself wallowing. I didn't fare too much better on snowshoes, but mostly because I didn't have a balancing tool out, like a trekking pole. Last winter this lower tier was never climbable. This time I was going to give it a go.

We geared up and I headed off on the lead. I was slow, concerned with the running water behind much of the ice. Surprisingly, the ice took screws well and I even tied off a tree branch at one point. Then I stalled for a while trying to figure out how to proceed. It seems some bit of ice had come off and now there was a window with a thin pane of ice to the running water. I needed to not be brutish around it and contemplated going left of it on a steeper bit, or going around right on lower angle terrain that had plenty of water behind it. After exploring both options, I finally decided on the left steeper bit. The climbing was a bit easier than I expected it to be once I committed to it. Due to the snowy top, I used my left hand to grab a few branches on the way over. Once over this short section the going was fairly easy on lower angle ice with water behind it. Then I got into snow and exited the falls to a tree to belay. I brought Adam up.

We eyed the remaining portion of the climb and decided that it did not look fat enough for us to continue. We scouted around in the woods for something to climb and saw a few items, but I really didn't feel like breaking the rope out again for 25' of ice. So we checked the next gully. That didn't pan out and we started to head back to our packs. On the way we passed the ice we climbed back in November. It was fatter still, and I gave it a go on lead. The climbing was alright, with a bit of a sketchy top out. After I brought Adam up we returned to the packs.

We ate lunch and chatted with another party who were packing up after having climbed Alpental III. They seemed to have a good time and we decided to get on it. The sun came out for a bit and one of the fellows leaving warned of high temps. But his buddy dismissed him saying he was from Alaska. Having checked the telemetry when I got home, the air temp never rose above 28°, but I'm sure it was a bit warmer in the sun. That gave me pause to leading it, but once I got on the lower section, the ice felt more secure than the first route of the day, and I kept going.

After the initial steeper section was a scary unprotectable slab with less than a 2" thick sheet of ice over the rock. I high dagger tip toed up the slab and stopped at a convenient tree to belay Adam up. When he arrived he asked me what I thought about the next section. I told him I'd have to be at the base to get a feel for it. Just because I see running water behind ice doesn't mean I automatically can't trust it. I like to tap and poke it a bit before I make a decision. Adam thought there was an easy bypass on the right of the main fall. He offered to lead up and we would top rope the ice. After going about a body length or more up and not finding any protection, Adam came back to the tree. We swapped leads, and I went to check out the ice.

While there was considerable water running behind the ice, it was thick and fairly solid (for Washington ice.) I poked at it a bit, and scouted a route. I wanted to stay where the ice was thicker, and where there were some ledge type features to ease my lead. I took a few swings and really liked how they stuck. I told Adam I was going for it. I sunk a 19cm screw and was on my way. A bit higher I placed another screw and was even able to get another in a little higher. Then I was struck with a decision. Climbing left of my position meant steeper ice with some good ledges, but more tricky protection. Climbing right meant thinner ice at a lower angle closer to the main flow of water under the ice. Since I seem to prefer less steep to steep, I opted to go right. At the last great stance I contemplated the terrain above me. Adam suggested sinking a screw. I didn't think one would go, but I pulled out a 13cm and sank it. I clipped it and cruised upward.

Adam said I climbed the last bit better than the earlier part. He found it funny as he thought that was the more difficult section. I guess I just focused for that section and felt good about the screw I placed. After Adam reached me he offered to lower me and for me to top rope the section again. He lowered me, and then I took the steeper line to the left which was also enjoyable. I cruised the whole portion a lot quicker and felt good to finally be on top rope.

Adam lowered me to the packs, and set about doing two rappels to get back to the ground. It was around 3:30 and the sun had gone behind the clouds making the air noticeably cooler. At the packs we packed up and took the ten minute hike back to the car.

This was a nice outing to get in before the temps warmed up the rest of the week. Hopefully some ice will remain. Otherwise it will be skiing for the rest of the winter.

My pics are here.

Hyalite Canyon Ice - 02.13-15.10

At the beginning of the winter, Matt was trying to drum up interest in an ice climbing trip to Vermont for the February weekend he had off from school. I countered with a possible Joshua Tree trip, and due to funds and access, a more local venue was chosen. The venue in this case was Hyalite Canyon just south of Bozeman Montana. Matt managed to get an even six of us to go and the plan was to leave Friday, and come back Tuesday with three full days of climbing in between. Unfortunately, the day before we left I awoke with a sore throat. I hoped it would go away, but by the time we were in the car heading to Bozeman I had a respiratory infection. The ailment would put a damper on my weekend, but I strove to have fun.

We got a late start on our travel day and the vehicle I was in did not arrive in Bozeman until some time around midnight. After securing a hotel room with three beds, we got about to getting to sleep in an effort to maximize our time the next day.

Once again hobbled by a late start, we probably arrived in the parking lot around 10am. We choose the area with the shortest approach and great assortment of climbs, the Genesis area. It had snowed the previous day and I gave my new snowshoes a try. They were not needed on the packed trail, and unfortunately ineffective in the thigh deep powder off the trail. (I'm sure they work great on "Cascade Concrete".) They would be relegated along with all the snowshoes to the hotel for the remainder of the trip.

We arrived in less than 20 minutes at the Genesis area. Josh and Adam went about setting up top ropes on the G1 wall where everyone took turns climbing routes in the WI4 & 5 range. I attempted a couple of routes but was too weak to climb such steep routes due to my condition and would have to lower off before even gaining the halfway point. I took some pictures and mostly belayed and tried to stay warm in the light snow. After everyone had their shot at three different routes we tore down the top ropes and headed north along the wall to reach other routes that we could lead. While I led Tree Clump, Matt and Josh climbed up Lower Greensleeves and onto Hang Over. Adam followed me on Tree Clump where we originally climbed the easier left side and then top roped the steeper right side before rappelling back down. Upon arriving at the base of Lower Greensleeves, we alerted Zach and Alex who had just topped out that the time was 3:45pm. They set up a rappel and were soon joined by Josh and Matt coming back from their climb of Hang Over.

That evening we went to the Montana Ale Works for dinner and had bison burgers. While I recommend the food and local beer selection, it is not a great choice for a Saturday night as we had to wait nearly an hour before being seated.

Sunday morning we had an earlier start with clear skies and much colder temps than the previous day. We didn't make a decision until the parking lot that we would go to the Mummy Cooler area to check out climbs there. The hike up was fairly long (an hour?) before we got to the routes Mummy Cooler II and the Scepter. Unfortunately there was a considerable avalanche danger and we opted not to climb Cooler II which looked like an awesome route. We went around the corner to a route that was not in the sun and was quite cold at the base. It may have been called Mummy Orchid. Josh led Adam up in one pitch, while Zach led the first bit and I led the second bit with a funky frozen moss top out. Matt led Alex up in one pitch as well. We rapped the route and everyone but me top roped a pillar near the second part of the route. While Matt and Alex finished the top roping, the rest of us headed south to other climbs.

Josh had spied "The Matrix" earlier and saw it in much fatter conditions than the guide picture. It is normally rated an M4, WI4, 5.9 or something like that. The fatter conditions rendered it more like a WI3+ or 4 and Josh wanted at it. Zach and I went a little further and climbed Cave and Gully a decent WI3 route in the sun. Unfortunately because of the sun the outer ice was a bit rotten and ice on the second step was seriously delaminating and a little sketchy. Zach led, and I followed after taking a short fall right near the start before realizing the surface ice was not to be trusted. We hung out on top until Matt and Alex arrived before we rapped off in the direction of Feeding the Cat. We arrived to a joyed Josh and Adam after their successful completion of The Matrix, or the variation they climbed. And we all made the long hike back out to the car from that location.

On day three we headed to the Amphitheater wall to climb the corner climbs. I think the original intent was to do a little top roping there and then head to Mummy Cooler I to do some easier leading. (Alex was interested in getting a lead in.) After Josh and Matt set up top ropes, Zach and Josh quickly finished Fat Chance and then started on Slim Chance. Both are supposed to be WI3, but Slim Chance had become overhanging possibly due to the super fat condition it was in.

I belayed Alex on a mock lead before tackling Fat Chance myself. Unfortunately, I had Alex leave the screws in and I was going to remove them on the way down. This proved to be a hazard, as the rope caught on one of the screws while I was heading on a different track around a bulge from the line Alex took. Suddenly I was in a situation where I was leading. I attempted to flip the rope, but there was too much tension, even after Adam gave me slack. I told him I was going to try to climb above to a better stance and then attempt to flip the rope. I really did not want to traverse back over the steeper bulge to the screw. After a few strenuous moves up the rope felt like an anvil pulling me down and my legs were getting tired. A few moves and I would be on a decent ledge like stance, but the rope tension was too much. Now I was set to take quite a fall. I finally gave in to a down climb. I made some moves down and then across the bulge before finally flipping the rope off the screw. At that point I was so pumped I just decided to come off the wall and get lowered. What an ordeal.

I rested a bit on the ground while eating lunch and gave Slim Chance a try with Zach's Quarks. The route was steep, and I was overgripping the unleashed tools with the fat gloves I was wearing. I got up a bit on the climb but was already too pumped to continue. Later after more rest I gave an attempt on the line that Josh set up a third top rope for. This line started on Thin Chance (or in Alex's case half on Thin Chance, half on the rock.) I made a few moves and felt good until I stepped up and couldn't locate a position for my left foot. I backed off and that concluded a somewhat depressing third day in Hyalite for me. Later Zach would tackle the line that moved from near the top of Slim Chance over to an icicle on the left. With all of us watching, he successfully completed the climb without taking or falling. He even threw in a figure four move for the cameras! After that, Josh climbed Slim Chance one more time to tear the anchors and the group decided that it was a good time to leave. (It was around 2pm.)

Overall it was a good trip. Since I was not the organizer, I took the position of being a participant. This was frustrating at times when we were not organized, or my voice wasn't heard when picking an eatery. I enjoyed myself on the trip, but could have enjoyed it more if I was not ill. The climbing was great and I would like to go back and lead more as well as get on harder routes on top rope. I think for the money we spent to get/stay there, I didn't get a whole lot of climbing done. Once again, this was mostly due to illness as I could not complete steeper routes that we set top ropes on. It was also due to inefficiency in our group and perhaps other issues. The climbing that I did do was fun and I would go back again even this winter if possible. The rest of the party was talking about making it an annual pilgrimage, but I'm not so sure at this point. I also felt like I would enjoy ice climbing more with a newer set of tools.

My pics are here.
Alex's pics here.
Josh's pics are here.

The Goatee - 12.14.09

Steve and I got out to climb some ice before the weather turned warmer. While the weather wasn't supposed to warm significantly until Wednesday, precip was in the forecast from Sunday on. And this meant possible burials of lower angle ice by snow. We headed out the Leavenworth where we knew there would be cold temps and less precipitation. (And more options for ice.)

Our original intent was to climb Hubba Hubba. But with the recent snowfall and the thin looking first 15', we decided in the car not to climb it and to head for a new route, The Goatee. This route has seen lots of traffic since its first ascent on December 5th. This is probably due to the moderate nature of the climb. The first ascentionists did the climb in three 70m pitches with the first two pitches being WI2 and the third being WI3. And there was a walk off as a bonus. (Although it appears reading the thread that many people had trouble with the walk off.)

We left the car at 10:30am for the long hike up the Snow Creek Trail. We spotted the route a little farther after we expected to, and continued a bit further to make sure we had the correct path up in the snow. After a few minutes of hiking we returned to the location where tracks left the trail assured that this was the correct way to the route. With recent snow coverage (including the few centimeters that fell the night before) the footing was difficult going up. We were watched by a few goats around the time we made it to the climb.

We actually skipped the first step. (bummer) And we started climbing just above it where I led out on a full rope length. This stretch could easily be simulclimbed all the way to the base of the WI3 pitch. Instead, we belayed it and I led it putting in three screws and then bringing Steve up. After Steve came up, he ran up the flat section for a rope length putting in one screw before setting up a belay at the bottom of the steep section. The ice conditions were great. There was a little slush on top from 2cms of snow from the previous night. The ice underneath it was plastic and took pics well.

In about an hour we were both under the crux pitch and we decided that I would lead up it part way and then set a belay so Steve could lead the rest to finish the climb. Due to our late start Steve suggested taking the easier ramp on the right side of the route. I wanted to get on something harder, and went nearly straight up where there were a few convenient ledges for me to set screws. The climbing was difficult. Not so much because of the steepness, but because of my difficulty to swing the tools and keep them parallel. At one point one of my tools pulled from the ice, but both of my feet and other tool stuck. It was a scary moment for both me and Steve. This section also dinner plated a bit and I took a few chunks of ice to the face during the lower steep section. After completing around half of the steep section I moved right and set up a belay. I had numerous difficulties with screws on this pitch because two I had tried to place earlier had ice plugs which I could not remove. And this pitch required one handed screw placements. The other reason for difficulties I am not sure, but I eventually sunk two 22cm screws for the anchor and started to bring Steve up.

Steve came up to my position after cutting his lip on ice he broke off during the pitch. We quickly re-racked gear and he was off to finish the steep section. He placed three screws during the final steeps and then after going out of sight on lower angle terrain he had me take him off belay. (It just was not possible to belay someone that quickly especially with the iced up rope.) After running the rope to the end he set a belay and brought me up.

We were one short step away from the walk off. But Steve encouraged me to go one step further thinking we could still walk off from that position. I hurried up the two steps and set a screw to belay Steve up to my position with a hip belay. (Our tube belay devices were practically useless with the iced up rope.) We assessed the situation and determined we would belay our "walk off" because we were too high and the terrain a bit sketchy with loose snow over rock.

Steve led out a bit and slung a bush and then disappeared out of sight. He put me on belay. As I was holstering my ice tools, I somehow managed to drop a screw down one step below me. I quickly rappelled off the screw anchor I had and then soloed back up the step after retrieving the dropped screw. I then tore down the anchor and started the mixed climbing over to Steve's location. This variation on the walk off really wasted time, and while Steve attempted to coil the frozen rope, I set about trying to find the true walk off. I followed foot prints in the snow until they started going too far skier's right (At least I thought.) Then we saw foot prints going back to the left and followed them. After a short distance I realized they were goat prints and not human, but opted to keep following them as I could see they would get us passed the first step.

By this time Steve was almost right behind me and we came to another step where it appears the goat stopped and realized it couldn't find a way down and turned around. We continued on the goat tracks to a gully and made our way through some bushes on the steep gully where Steve accidentally left behind a biner with three screws on it. Fortunately at this time I was behind him and picked it up. It was getting dark and these things would be more difficult to see in the coming moments. But shortly after coming out of the gully, we had rejoined the base of the route. Once we recognized our footprints from the morning, we stopped to put our gear away and put on our headlamps. This would keep us from accidentally dropping any more gear, and at this point we needed the headlamps to see our way out. It was also around this time that it started to snow harder as we made our way back down to the trail.

The hike out was uneventful. And Steve and I had discussed that neither of us had ever come out on that trail under daylight. We made quick time back to the car and were off back home.

This was a fun outing that would have went smoother had we got and earlier start. Now knowing the route, I would recommend belaying the first step (sometimes called a WI2+) and then simul climbing up to the base of the steep pitch. If we had more time, Steve and I were intrigued by the ice continuing up the gully for what looked like a few more fun steps. It was a nice and enjoyable climb and the best ice I have been on this season. I am hoping to see more like that before the end of winter. But for now, the snow is falling and it is time to get back on the skis.

Pics are here.

Chair Peak - Northeast Buttress - 12.12.09

Elevation Gain: 3000'
~4 miles RT (Not including our little off route excursion.)
Left car: 5:30 am
Summit: ~2:30 pm
Back at car: 6:30 pm
13 hours car to car

I was finally able to make this happen. Although truthfully I had little to do with the planning of this trip. After a few failed (as in not even leave town) attempts of Chair, Scott had contacted me about climbing it on Saturday. Steve was unavailable, and I snapped at the chance. This was actually nice because it meant that I did not have to do the planning. And Scott's plans were in line with what I wanted to do. (A climb of the North Face of Chair.)

We met at the very early time of 4:15am at the Mercer Island P&R. We arrived in the parking lot with one car ahead of us and they left behind us as they awaited their friends (from another car) to gear up. We hit the trail under headlamp at 5:30am. The snow was very firm and Peter started with crampons on. It wasn't long before Eric caved in and put some on. I lasted only a bit longer before I decided it would be easier as well. Before we left the woods, all four of us were on crampons. While it made for surer footing, and faster movement, but it was noticeable to me at least that it required more energy. Also, using crampons on relatively flat terrain hurts my feet.

In what seemed like short time we were already heading uphill from the Source Lake basin. This is where the law of diminishing returns applies to alpine starts.* Peter was the only one who had climbed the peak previously and he suggested we were too far left. I stated that going right would lead us to Snow Lake but the north face did run down to Snow Lake, so perhaps that was correct. We checked the map by headlamp occasionally and wound up at what is probably the very toe of the buttress near Snow Lake. Unfortunately, we didn't like where we were and had to backtrack to get back on course. By this time the sun was up and we could see our objective. We were also able to see that the other party of four had passed us.

We were moving slowly but Scott was still full of energy. He arrived on the ridge before us, and went to check out the north face. He came back saying it was thin and thought that the Northeast Buttress was a good plan even if it meant waiting for the other party of four ahead of us. So we geared up and ate while waiting for the other party to get under way. While we waited, we got pelted with snow from the first party above and two other parties arrived behind us.

There are at least three variations to the first pitch of the route. I'll describe them in the conditions we saw them in. The right variation which follows the summer rock route was very thin ice and snow on rock. The party that went ahead of us placed mostly pitons to protect it. It had a steeper section but most of it was lower angle. The middle variation went up some steep snow to a thin ice slab and then to a steeper step of thicker ice. The left variation which we took crossed a rock rib and then got on some ~60° ice that was good climbing. Since we were there to climb ice, that is why we chose that variation.

After some equipment issues, Peter was the first of our group to lead off. When he went out of site after crossing the rock rib about a half rope length up he was stationary for a while. (When I arrived at the belay I found it was because he was having a crampon malfunction.) He continued up and eventually I was on my way. Followed closely by Scott. The first pitch climbing was enjoyable. The ice was firm and took picks well and soon I was on the snow slope above.

I arrived at the belay and exchanged the rack for a steep snow slog to the next belay. The snow had a sun crust and below that was sugar snow. (At this point I believe we have moved from the NE buttress proper to the East Face Variation.) Footing wasn't great, but it mostly held. If you were kicking new steps into the slope (I was trying to use existing steps) you would shower everyone below you with chunks of the crust cascading down. During my lead Peter took a piece of ice from another party to the cheek and left him with a battle scar. Protection on this pitch was limited. I moved mostly from rock to rock to gain protection. This included my first placing of a piton on lead. Then I ran it out to the next belay.

A good rock anchor was already occupied by the party ahead of us so I had to look elsewhere. We were planning on taking this ice step to the left, so I moved leftward in hopes of building an anchor out of ice screws. The ice I had to use was perforated with at least a dozen existing screw holes. I placed a screw in a new location higher than all existing holes, and then I placed another lower in an existing hole. Since the ice was thin, I had to tie off both of the 16cm screws. I brought up Peter and he began the next pitch.

We were taking the easiest option on this pitch which was a hacked out section of lower angle ice just to the left of a pillar. Peter climbed it well and was soon on the snow slope above. Later, I was yelling that he was running out of rope. Then the rope tightened. I could not hear him due to all the parties around trying to communicate. Fortunately he knew to build an anchor and I did eventually hear him yell I was on belay. This possibly gave me little confidence in climbing the next ice step which I had difficulty with. Partially for not being able to find pick placements, but also because it was a bit awkward. I cleared the ice step with no issues and reached the snow slope above where Peter was belaying me off a picket and an ice ax. (Yipe!) When I got to a rock that he had placed a few cams in, I made that a belay and belayed him to a few small trees so he could belay me up the slope proper.

I continued from that position up a bit more where the slope narrowed on a bit of an arete and reached the false summit. I gave Peter a belay up and we basked in the sun. (The first time I had been in the sun since the start of the second pitch.) The wind in the summit area was strong and it was difficult to eat and organize gear. We waited quite a while before Scott and Eric joined us. Then we all ran over to the summit. Once back we geared up to get down.

Truthfully in the conditions we had we could have down climbed the first gully. But since we had two ropes, we rappelled the gully. The lower gully does not look easy to down climb and required another double rope rappel to gain the bottom. Unfortunately it was off a wonky anchor. Once done with the second rappel, we down climbed the slope below it before it opened into the basin and we were able to hike out. During our descent we shared our rope with a party of two who arrived near the summit after us. This lengthened our descent, and we were using headlamps by the end of the second rap. We then slowly worked our way back to Source Lake and out to the parking lot.

Overall this was a great trip. The weather forecast of afternoon snow never occurred, and we had mostly clear skies during the day. (There were some low clouds on the peak early on and then when we were leaving.) Conditions were good and we all had a great time. My only complaint is that I did not get to lead any of the harder pitches. We all had a fun time and were moderately delayed by other parties. Next time I'll go back and try the north face. While I do not think we did the NE buttress proper, it was an enjoyable climb and exactly what I was looking for. And I think having those options on the route make it what it is, choose your own adventure.

My pics are here.
Scott's pics are here.

*The law of diminishing returns as applied to alpine starts:
While I am a fan of the alpine start, I notice that too many times the start is too early. This can be gauged by the pre-dawn mishaps that occur and possible late day issues. If you wake too early, party members may not get enough sleep and that affects performance throughout the day and may even cause mistakes. Although my hunch is that leaving too early causes everyone to be slower and ultimately you wind up returning at the same time as if you had left later. Another issue is navigation by headlamp. If you know the route, then this is not really an issue. Or if it is a well beaten path or trail, it may not also be an issue. But we had difficulty navigating in the dark and it did cost us the ability to be first on route. So timing is everything to get the most out of your alpine start investment. Too early and you risk mistakes. Too late and you risk success.

Alpental IV - 12.09.09

Adam and I went to do some ice cragging at Alpental Falls. After viewing the falls Monday with Steve, I figured they would fatten up enough for us to give them a go on Wednesday. However, we did want to get on them early as they saw full sun in the heat of the day and that seemed dangerous. We left Seattle around 7am and were in the Alpental parking lot in about an hour.

Another single digit start in the parking lot and after the ten minute hike we noticed that the sun was already hitting Alpental IV on the far left. But after assessing Alpental I-III, we decided that IV was our best bet. But since there was a fair amount of running water behind the ice, we opted to head up through the trees to set up a top rope and climb the pitch. Once above the first pitch, we saw the rest of the falls above us. They looked to be in better shape and I told Adam I'd lead the first bit as it looked we could walk off climber's left if things got a little thin or scary.

I started up trying to climb the fatter sections with less running water. With 19cm screws being my shortest, I was tying off screws because I could not bury them to the head. After the first step, I set up a two screw belay in great ice in a shady corner and brought Adam up. Being on top rope, he was able to take a sportier line than I did. We discussed the next section, and away I went on the next lead.

The next pitch started with a lower angle ramp up to a step with two pillars. The left pillar looked fatter, but had water running under it at the top of the pillar where it meets the rock. The right pillar was chandelier ice and had lots of water running on top of it. I decided on the ramp I would try the right pillar, but upon arrival at it I found it too sketchy to lead. I attempted to bypass this step of the right near a fallen tree. Unfortunately, above the step on the right was only snow and no ice, and it made a difficult transition. I made several attempts at various locations with no real success. Then I went back to the point where the ice transitioned to snow. I could make a step up with my left foot onto a ledge, but it was an awkward high step. I didn't feel comfortable making the move with my last screw below my feet a bit. So I manufactured a screw placement in an ice tube on the surface and placed a screw with a screamer attached. I wasn't sure it would hold, but it was the mental pro I needed to make the move. Once past the move I contemplated the next step.

Once on this step, it is possible to walk off climber's left. But there was another large pillar that I would like to climb. But I was short on screws and decided to head around it to the left to see if I could climb the shorter curtain on the left side of the step. After several attempts to get a screw in the ice without the threads showing I made the decision to head left up some snow to a tree belay. I brought Adam up to my location after he successfully climbed the right pillar.

Since the belay was above the last step, I started the next pitch by traversing the current step we were at rightward. Then up lower angled ice for almost a rope length. The ice was thin, and there were open sections with running water. I stayed left on fatter (relative) ice without getting too wet from the spray. At some point the running water to ice ratio was getting ridiculous, so I exited the trench left and found a tree to belay Adam up from.

After Adam climbed the pitch we hiked down toward our packs and found some nice lines in the woods. We left the rope there and went to eat lunch in the sun by our packs. (Despite the frigid temps, it was quite pleasant in the sun.) After eating we headed back into the woods to top rope a line we thought was nice.

The line was fun and offered the most solid ice of the day. Unfortunately, I got a pick stuck at one point and it really ruined my climb. Adam climbed it and then we packed it in for the day.

Overall, another nice trip in the mountains. I wish the ice was more formed up, but I'll take what I can get. It was nice to be leading on ice. Unfortunately, with my skills and the conditions I was not able to take bolder lines up the route. But ice is what you make it, and there are usually options on wider flows. So it was a good time. The interesting thing about the route we climbed in the woods was that it was narrow and did not offer too much variation.

My pics are here.

Exploration Day - 12.07.09

This was a day I was looking forward to since Thursday. Jennifer was sick all week and I was trying not to catch it while saving energy for Monday. The plan was to go climb ice. Steve and I had loosely coordinated on Friday and the initial goal was the North Face of Chair Peak. Temps have been silly cold. (With overnight lows in Seattle in the 20°s.) During the weekend I saw that someone had climbed it on Saturday. We were on. Until it snowed Sunday. Well that wouldn't totally deflate our plans, but being on the dark side of a mountain with the high temp at sea level around freezing sounded really cold to us. That added to the high winds and possible cornices and bombs that would await us at the top of the face. (The wind chill for Monday at Snoqualmie Pass was predicted to be -11°F.) Rather than hike out there and turn around, we decided on Sunday evening to give the South Gully of Guye Peak a try. There was less of a hiking commitment and the route is wind protected.

Heading up on the road

We had a bit of a late start, and arrived in a parking area on the Oberstrasse. The outside temp was 7°. It took a bit of effort to remove our heavy coats and start moving. At least the sun was out although we were in the woods immediately off the road. Soon we got on a forest road and heading in the general direction of the Southwest Rib. We left the road near the end and headed generally east under the rib. Going was not too difficult with bare boots as the snow pack was firm except for the fresh 5" from the previous day. (Steve and I were regretting not going out to ski instead as conditions were nice for that activity.) We finally arrived at what we believed to be the gully and did some checking to confirm this. However, the gully did not have much snow above our location and we started rethinking our plan. We hiked up to the area where there was less snow (which was in the sun.) The going was not as easy as previous with the increased slope angle we eventually donned crampons. We debated a bit, and then made the decision that climbing snowy rock and a possible loose 3rd class gully didn't sound appealing to us on this day. So we turned around.

Our high point in the gully

The hike out was uneventful, but we got a good look at Chair Peak and could see cornices and thanked ourselves for the decision not to head there. We made a plan that once we got to the car we would go take a look for ice at Alpental Falls. We made the short drive and hiked up the Snow Lake Trail to the falls. Most of the ice was there, but looked a bit fragile, or had running water behind it. While there, we heard a few icicles falling. It was midday and they were in the heat of the sun. We assumed they would look better in the morning.

Checking out the ice

We hiked northwest from that location and found a few short solid patches of ice that we would be willing to top rope from trees. (We had only brought three screws for Guye, so we didn't have the capacity to lead.) Steve then searched a gully while I hacked at the ice a bit to see how durable it was. Due to the deep cold, it wasn't as plastic as I would prefer for ice climbing, but it was solid and climbable. We poked around a little more without actually climbing anything and then headed to the parking lot. I took my watch off below the falls (which were no longer in direct sunlight) to gauge the temperature. By the time we reached the parking lot it was a mere 15°. Steve and I got in the car and headed out.

On the way home we checked out some other areas that we knew ice up and investigated their feasibility for later in the week. We will see.

While not the grand goal I had originally planned, it was a fun outing. We now know where to find the gully on Guye Peak and may return when there is better snow cover. For now, I am excited to get out and climb ice while the temps are low and there is no precip in the forecast.

Gold Lake Drainage Ice - 02.15.09

This is the ice Steve and I found two weeks ago. We were actually searching for this ice. However, when we went to find it, we were a little off route and found the flow we climbed on Ground Hog's Day instead. Steve is unavailable for a bit, and I knew if we got any more snow the climb would be buried for the rest of the season. So I was hoping to get up it this weekend. Julie decided to join me, but had to bail out as her knee was acting up after the Guye Peak foray the previous day. I was fortunate in finding another person to follow me on this adventure with such short notice.

Peter Heinz agreed to make an attempt at the route with me. This was nice, as he owned some short ice screws, and could add to our rack's screamers as well.

We got to the trail head at 7am. We hiked in the road. This time I thought we would find the gully easier. We did, but with a little walking around in the woods first. We ascended the gully, and reached the base of the route in just under two hours from the car. We were able to easily bypass a rock step in the lower gully by entering the woods climber's right of the gully.

I took the first lead. This pitch was exactly how it I remembered it two weeks earlier. However, in a little better shape. A hole that was there two weeks ago looking into the running water behind the ice had a sheet of ice over it now. The sound of running water was not as bad either. I placed a screw in the first step and wallowed through the pool to start the second step. (Unclimbed by Steve and I from the previous visit.) The left side of the second step was hollow sounding, while the right seemed a bit breakable. I gingerly moved up this section, and set up a belay with two ice screws in good, not great, ice.

Peter followed up and immediately headed out on the lead of the second pitch. There was much dinner-plating as I was showered with snow and ice particles. I set the belay off to the side, so I didn't get hit with any of the big stuff. I followed Peter's line up the next bulge through some snow to the belay at some alders.

At this point, the gully split into left and right forks. The belay Peter set up was near the left fork, and there looked like a whole lot of snow wallowing to get to the right fork. So I headed up the left fork. I wallowed through waist deep powder to get to the highest quality ice of the day. (It also felt like the steepest.) I climbed up the patch of ice placing two screws. I had lots of difficulty removing my tools in this section. I'll have to take a look and see what may be causing it. After the ice step, was a deep snow gully that I wallowed up to a tree belay. I brought Peter up to the belay and told him to head out.

He went up the last ice step and set up the belay about a full rope length up. The step was short and not too steep, and then emptied into a lower angle (25°?) snow field/gully. If we continued a bit further we would have ended at a rock wall. We decided it was time to turn around and head down. It was about noon. It was also snowing harder than earlier.

We did a bit of down climbing (hiking really) to a tree where we rappelled over a short ice moss step. We then hiked down some more until arriving at a tree where we set up a double rope rappel that brought us back below the base of the climb.

We hiked out easily, and were back at the car around 4 pm. It was an adventure. I doubt this gets climbed at all due to the nature of the climb being a terrain trap. Mostly it needs dry cold periods to form and stay somewhat safe. The warmer weather we are expecting this week will probably put an end to the route for the season. But who knows? Maybe it won't.

My pics are here.

Ice Exploration - 02.02.09

Steve let me know on Sunday he was available to do something Monday. So we talked about finding ice.

We brought skis along, and our initial intent was to climb some ice in the Source Lake basin. Once we got on the road, Steve informed me he had seen some ice backcountry skiing the day before and wanted to go check it out.

We spied some ice from the road with binoculars. We then made a decision to go find it. So we parked at a trail head, and skied in. We did not take a bearing, and picked our way through some chutes and old logging roads. We spotted a bit of ice on our trek, but it did not look worthy enough to climb. We thought we could go further to find the ice we spotted from the road. We continued across some steep slopes before finding a nice gully full of ice. Possibly three pitches worth.

We set out trying to make a climb of it. Steve led off on the first pitch. The ice was fragile on the surface, and had water running beneath it. In some areas he had to tie off screws because the ice was too thin. He arrived at a cave and belayed me up. Even though conditions were not ideal, I found this ice much better, and more fun than the ice we climbed in Leavenworth in January. I couldn't wait to get out on the next lead.

However, after the first pitch, the upper pitches started getting some sun, and we were having some issues with some ice/snow cascading down the gully. For our safety, we decided to bail off as it was also late in the day. This involved some sketchy traversing through steep snow/ice off to our right. After that, it was a walk off. We hiked down the gully through some cliff bands before putting our skis on and skinning back out. (I think it was uphill in both directions.)

Overall, a fun and interesting day. We explored ice, and possibly got a first ascent. (There is no info in Washington Ice on the area, and I couldn't find anything online.) We are hoping to get back there to finish the other pitches before the next weather system moves in. Hopefully we will.

My pictures are here.

Rainbow Falls - 01.05.09

First post of 2009!

Steve and I gambled on the impending weather doom* to see if we could hit some ice in Leavenworth. Our gamble paid off, as it never went above freezing in Leavenworth, and we even had a "mostly sunny" day.

We weren't sure what was in and what we could climb. So we headed up the Icicle to see what was there. First stop was Rainbow Falls, but we saw another party gearing up, so we continued on the road. We drove all the way to the end of plowing around Bridge Creek. There were assorted ice climbs that were visible from the road. Some not. Most of what we could see would involve wallowing long distances through knee/waist deep snow to get to. Other interesting looking formations involved inconvenient crossings of Icicle Creek. So we headed back to Rainbow Falls.

We parked at the Snow Lakes trail head and walked across the street. The approach was about 2 minutes of deep snow hiking to the base. There was a small section near the right, where the falls were still running. Steeper sections of the falls looks great. Lower angle portions had a fair amount of snow on them. (Maybe 6-8")

The other party was climbing the steeper far right side of the falls. We opted for the stepped middle of the falls. Steve had first lead. He picked his way up a ramp through the middle and topped out. He built an anchor and brought me up. The ice was variable. Some sections offered great ice for climbing, while other sections had little or no ice. Some sections required quite a bit of snow cleaning even as the second. After I topped out, we made the decision to walk off. Our 60m rope would have been too short to rap the route. The walk off was long and through deep snow. Steve and I sometimes went in up to our thighs.

When we returned to the base we had hoped to climb the right side. However, a third party arrived, and were climbing it. So I took the lead on a slightly different variation up the middle. What Steve and I thought would be better ice, turned out to be more of the same. Only steep vertical sections proved to be great for climbing. Sometimes the ice above a bulge was scary and made for unsavory moments. I was a bit tired and gripped when I reached the last step before the top out. I down climbed back to a good screw with a decent ledge, placed a second screw and brought Steve up to finish.

After the walk off, it was near dark and time to go home. We had some frozen gear that we needed to sort at the car and dry out at home.

Overall, this was a great experience for Steve and I. It was our first ice climbing this season. It may have been Steve's first time on waterfall ice as well. It was interesting, because of the highly variable conditions that we experienced. If the ice was better throughout, we would have enjoyed climbing it more, but wouldn't have gotten the experience we did.

My pics are here.
(I've included some of Steve's pics.)

*A warm spell with above freezing temps up to 3700', and rain. Making avalanche danger rising to extreme for 4000' and above. (High avy danger below.)

Ice Practice 08.02-03.08

Ian set up an Ice I and Ice II combined field trip for Sammy. I was the other instructor. Gabriel also joined us to learn. We had the Nisqually Glacier all to ourselves. Weather was cold and cloudy on Saturday, but cleared and warmed for Sunday. We had a fun time climbing some of the ice and teaching Sammy. The Ranger station at Paradise was reporting ~950" of snow for the Winter of '07-'08. There was plenty more snow on the glacier this August than last year around the same time. Ice was not as plentiful, but there was some to be found.

Pictures are located here.