At the lower tier the main line Strait Up was in o.k. shape and was led several times. All the flows right of it were fat and pretty fun. All the fun pillars normally formed up on the left end were completely missing or very very thin. Too bad. In another month I'd like to bring Ice School here but it's going to have to improve considerably between now and then. The weather was cold and cloudy and the ice brittle. Conditions lent to ice shattering off in large solid plates. I spent a few tense moments staring at my tool thinking "don't move" as the ice cracked out from it a foot in every direction. Having a last screw in below my feet made it exciting.
I did manage to get a few interesting pictures... Dom leading 'Main Street' in lean conditions.
The nicest lines of the day were in the upper tier where I'd never actually climbed before. A few nice pillars were led and took very good screws. Each swing of the tool landed with a damp 'thownk', burring itself to the hilt.
A series of Shawn on the left-hand ramp for his first ice lead. Nice work!
Marty grabbing the nice, central pillar:
Greg led a hairy-looking line which started in a steep cave and involved breaking out of an awkward looking ice-chimney. (Sorry... no good photos). This fella has been leading hard stuff all year. Nice work Greg! All done on a un-harnessed belay to boot!
I did manage to get a few interesting pictures... Dom leading 'Main Street' in lean conditions.
The nicest lines of the day were in the upper tier where I'd never actually climbed before. A few nice pillars were led and took very good screws. Each swing of the tool landed with a damp 'thownk', burring itself to the hilt.
A series of Shawn on the left-hand ramp for his first ice lead. Nice work!
Marty grabbing the nice, central pillar:
Greg led a hairy-looking line which started in a steep cave and involved breaking out of an awkward looking ice-chimney. (Sorry... no good photos). This fella has been leading hard stuff all year. Nice work Greg! All done on a un-harnessed belay to boot!
It gave me a chance to test out my new boot liners. Several years ago my dog ate what must have been all the tasty parts of my mountain boot liners. Ever since I've been looking for an affordable replacement. Finally last week I had some luck and scored a pair on Ebay from a French military surplus dealer. They were a perfect match and only set me back 25 euros, including the international shipping. Score! They worked perfect. The only downer of the day was that my ice pants managed to get shredded mantling over a dead log. I need a good seamstress now and a huge patch of Gore-Tex. Any ideas anyone?
It was absolutely a stellar day! A great day to be outside with an amazing crew of people!! :)
ReplyDeleteI like Marty's Santa Helmet. It's awesome.
ReplyDeleteI don't like to know you were above your last ice screw. You should remember your wife reads this.