Finger of Fate

The Finger of Fate East Face was so good it deserved its own entry. On our last day James and I went to do the FOF car to car. The route gets no hype what-so-ever but it really deserves some. The first two pitches are the business ringing in at mid 10 and mid 11 but they get five stars out of four. Perfect hands, perfect corner, perfect gear, it has it all.



The roof on the second pitch.





The route takes the right facing open book.



James following the spectacular first pitch.



James nabbing the best part of open book route, the double cracks.



James "holding up" the summit block.

Poco's Sawtooth Sandwich Extravaganza

After a seeing a soggy forcast for our intended Picket's trip, Chad, Donn, James and I headed instead for a week of alpine rock in the Sawtooths, ID.

Donn had a score to settle with Warbonnet Peak that included an injured climbing partner and a $10,000 rescue. We spent a day approaching Warbonnet, a day on the climb, and a day out. A nice and easy schedule. Everything went perfectly except for Chad's new boots which rubbed his heels raw.

After getting out... and maybe indulging in a few, James, Donn and I went to climb the Stur Chimney on Mt. Heyburn. It's one of the Sawtooth Classics at only 5.4 and a worthy route, though only two pitches. Best part is the blue TCU I snagged without a nut tool mid-route.



The spectacular 5.6 finish to Warbonnet. You get a bolt that wouldn't hold your hat and a pin that even sweet baby Jesus-lying in a manger watching his Young Einstein developmental tapes, learning about shapes and colors-couldn't make hold a fall.



Donn on the summit of mighty Mt. Heyburn.



Approaching Warbonnet.



The best part of the Sawtooths (besides a Poco Sawtooth sandwich, Chad)... the boat ride.

Beckey-Chouinard Beta Photos

Right off the belay from pitch 4 as per the Atkinson-Piche guide.




Pitch 6. You can see this feature very prominently on page 276 of Atkinson-Piche.



The Great White Headwall. Head for the chimney dihedral on the left. Lost in the Towers follows the crack going up and right.



Here's the route's crux. Make sure you have a #3.5 for this one, I'd probably throw in a big hex too. We did it with just the hex, but it didn't go very smoothly. My buddy got lost on the next pitch (#11) heading too far left. You want to move right into the obvious left facing corner. Pitch 12 can be hard with a pack, but after that you're nearly home-free.

Looking over the Atkinson-Piche topo again, I'm pretty sure we neglected to do the 20m rap after pitch 15. That probably accounts for most of our difficulty between the top of that pitch and the summit.

Also, when approaching the first pitch of the route stay on the right side of the ridge crest, we stayed left and it probably cost us 1/2 hour.

The Blue (Ice) Canadian Rockies Part 2

On our fourth day in a row we needed something a little bit more moderate. Guinness Gully is a great long WI4 that we had both done before, but neither of us had climbed Guinness Stout WI4+ which stands above the Gully. Chad led pitches 1 and 3, the ones he hadn't done before, and I led the 2nd pitch and the Stout, ones I hadn't climbed before. Chad leading the thin first pitch.



Day 5 was a needed rest day.

On Andy and Jared's last day we headed out with them to climb in the Ghost River Valley. A 4x4 truck is mandatory to get in here so Chad and I laid in the canopy on the bumpy ride in. Andy and Jared went to climb Hydrophobia WI5+ and Chad and myself went for the ultra-classic, The Sorcerer WI5. Can you find the line?



The Sorcerer is simply the best ice climb I've ever been on. Better than Kitty Hawk, better than Polar Circus, better than the Weeping Wall. The two pitches consecutive vertical pitches lead to some amazing exposure. The ice was very "airy" and you could find hooks all the way up. Here's me following the last pitch.



We took one more rest day and reloaded for our final climb: Carlsberg Column WI5. It was actually the first time we had seen anyone the entire trip. We didn't have to wait to climb but we did end up taking a much harder and steeper line because they claimed the easy one. It might have been the fatigue at the end of a long trip, but it felt like the most difficult lead I'd ever done. Lots of ice mushrooms and chandeliers and a long steep finish.



Our line was one the right side of the long central column feature, up through the bulges and mushrooms.



Given that I'll be getting one week off in March for the next couple years. This is going to be a yearly trip. It's the best time of year for climbing and its right when you're at the peak of your fitness and abilities.

The Blue (Ice) Canadian Rockies Part 1

Spring is really the best time to go ice climbing in Banff. There is more daylight than the winter months, warmer temperatures, and very few people. In fact we climbed nothing but classics and saw only one other party the entire trip, never put on a belay jacket, or turned on headlamps. It was perfect.

After getting a good avalanche forecast for the Icefields Parkway, we decided to climb Kitty Hawk, a classic WI5, to start things off.



The climb went down in two pitches. Typically there is a WI3 pitch at the bottom which we climbed solo. Also, there is a final WI3 pitch at the top which we skipped. The final crux pitch starts out on ice mushrooms which aren't normally part of a WI5's repertoire but are standard ground on harder climbs. The ice was great and the mushrooms were stable, but it made the climb seem much steeper. Here Chad finishes off the first pitch.



After driving 5 hours to-and-from Kitty Hawk we needed a closer objective. Spray River Falls fit the bill. We knew there was a boot-track in place. However, the snow was completely baseless and it was a miserable approach. The climb is avalanche threatened so we were paying close attention to the conditions. A snow squall came in and we rapped off the climb. Then the snow squall left and we went back up, just to end up bailing before the final curtain. Its a great climb, but best done before snow falls so you can approach easily.



After two hard days with lots of driving and approaching we needed a real low commitment day. Haffner Creek is a ten minute walk in and the climbs are all one pitch so you can bail very easily. Here's Kyle tackling one of the hardest climbs in Lower Haffner.



Me on not the hardest climb in Lower Haffner.

SLC

In the grand scheme of things, the PNW has some pretty bad snow. It usually falls as half-rain and rides like mashed potatoes. Going to Utah is heavenly, the snow is consistently amazing. Jake and I rode a couple days at Alta. The first day they "only" got 6" overnight, but if rode like a foot. We got over 20 runs in. The second day they received almost 2 ft. the day/night before, freaking incredible.



Jake tracking up the powder.



The cold temps which make for such nice snow, also form up some ice. Utah was having a good year, Maple Canyon was fat, and apparently, it never is. Here's Frankenchrist wi6. I've never spent so much time psyching myself up for a lead, but in the end I bailed partway up.



Andy "warming up" on Get Whacked wi5/6.



We opted for a shorter drive the day after Maple Canyon. Stairway to Heaven is only 45 min. from town. Not bad for a nine pitch wi5. It was warm, which pretty much sums up everyday I've ice climbed this year. I truley believe I am an ice jonah, if I'm coming to town, you might as well break out the beach blankets. Andy on pitch 4 of STH.

NE Ice

The Northeast was having one of its greatest seasons in years. Temps were cold, everything was fat. In fact there was a subzero high on Saturday and I was arriving on Monday. By that Tuesday it was 65 F. Not cool. The January thaw had hit and it lasted only for the duration of my trip. This was all about salvaging something, anything. This was our first day of ice, climbing at Dracula at Frankenstein, NH. Notice how delamed it is as Andrew tops out?



The look of abject terror on my face upon finishing the lead.



This is the start of Elephant's Head Gully at Smugglers' Notch, VT. It had an "alpine" feel with the wind and the snow. Also, we used stoppers, cams, pitons and screws for protection. Actually a very fun route on a day when pretty much everyone was getting skunked.



Here's the direct mixed finish we took. Just a thin vein of ice, then shaft torques and turf sticks to exit. Very cool.



On the warm days we did some mixed climbing on road cuts. This is Cascade Lake (?) at the Keene Valley, NY.

Cody Ice

Between Banff and Vermont I had a week and a half. Just enough time to pick up a few shifts at work and sneak in another ice trip. Cody was having a banner year and I couldn't resist. Here BJ and Jennifer cross the frozen Shoshone River to climb High on Boulder.



Marcus leading the 3rd pitch of Moonrise.



BJ reaching the top of the money pitch of High on Boulder.



Here I am starting Left Ghost, one of my favorite pitches.



BJ on the sharp end of the ephermal first pitch of Moratorium.

Another Canadian Rockies ice trip...

My family rented a condo in Canmore during Christmas. I knew that I wouldn't be able to be in the Canadian Rockies and not sneak away for at least one climb. Luckily I met a couple guys off gravsports-ice.com and we planned to run up the Icefields Parkway and climb Mixed Master. The guidebook touts it as the best mixed climb in the Canadian Rockies and it didn't disappoint.



The end of December is a tad late to climb Mixed Master as it tends to come in early and then fall apart as the season progresses. So, we got the climb in spicy conditions. The first pitch which was supposed to go at WI4, formed up as a thin vein of ice, overhanging in sections. Here Pierre tackles a steep section on the first pitch.



Anton leading the first pitch. He definitely had his head screwed on for this lead.



Here's a shot of the leftward rock traverse. The feet were almost entirely sloping slabs and the handholds went from nice edges and pick torques for your tools to stellar laybacking with hands. Unfortunately this pitch ran a tad long, forcing Pierre and Anton to simulclimb. In the process, Pierre took a block of ice to the face. The blood started pouring out and the decision was made to head down. All in all, its a great climb that I would love to finish when I make it up to the Rockies in early season again.

Parting Shots

Sometimes things just don't go as planned...



Before an aborted attempt on Taulliraju.

Murchison Falls after the approach, and just after some avalanche activity...

After taking a wrong turn in the N Cascades (It's amazing how you can try to convince yourself that your not lost)...



After failing on a 5.11 in Indian Creek...

Tuolume Meadows

My Dad, Hank and I drove from Portland to Reno, met Floyd and made our way down the 395 for a little early fall backpacking. We planned on taking seven days to go from Toulumne Meadows to the top of Half Dome and back via a circuitous route. With the exception of PM rain storms on our last two days we had absolutely perfect warm weather.

Unfortunately for my back, I couldn't pass up some of the peaks we were going by, so I packed a rope and rack for a little Sierra granite.




Floyd and Hank nearing the pass near Volgesang Camp. We went a couple extra miles the first day and camp lower down, at Emeric Lake.



We climbed the Cable Route on Half Dome from our Mud Lake camp (named in memory of the two water filters it killed). Strange to go from complete solitude off the beaten path to the hundred or so people we saw at Half Dome.



Here I am low on Tenaya Peak. I came in cross country from Upper Cathedral Lake joining the route a few pitches up and finished it solo in 15 minutes. The route is fantastic with good friction, great cracks and flakes to yard on. Views of the Cathedral Range all the way to the Ditch.



Here's the route I climbed on Tenaya Peak. Tenaya Lake is below.



Upper Cathedral Lake after one of our PM rain storms.

The Mountains Don't Care

Training is the only edge we can give ourselves in the mountains. All the ambition and desire on earth won't keep you alive when the storm comes in and your too far up to go down. There are no shortcuts. You need to give yourself an edge at home because the mountains don't care.

The Mountains Don't Care

For Time:

Squats x 100

Pull Ups x 30

Sit Ups x 100

Deadlifts x 100

Pull Ups x 30

Back Extensions x 100

Lunges x 100

Pull Ups x 30

Calf Raises x 100

Plank L x 30sec

Plank R x 30sec

Push Ups x 30

Tricep Extensions x 30

Pull Up Lock Offs to failure