Retrosaurus

It is named after a song by "Electric Mud", a high-voltage electric blues band that I was lucky enough to see in the Mangy Moose at the Jackson Hole ski area in February of 1993. This route rarely forms. It lies only a few miles north of Wenatchee. It is VERY roadside; almost zero approach time. Its formation is entirely dependent on sufficient surface melt in the feeder slopes visible above the climb. Most years it does not form at all. The rock of the cliff is terrible. There was no point on the climb at which you could just blast your tools in; there was just not enough ice. High Indiana Jones value. Maybe some year it will form fat and safer. There is a simple walk-off to the right and so the climb could be top-roped. I think it has had only one ascent. Mitch

It is named after a song by "Electric Mud", a high-voltage electric blues band that I was lucky enough to see in the Mangy Moose at the Jackson Hole ski area in February of 1993. This route rarely forms. It lies only a few miles north of Wenatchee. It is VERY roadside; almost zero approach time. Its formation is entirely dependent on sufficient surface melt in the feeder slopes visible above the climb. Most years it does not form at all. The rock of the cliff is terrible. There was no point on the climb at which you could just blast your tools in; there was just not enough ice. High Indiana Jones value. Maybe some year it will form fat and safer. There is a simple walk-off to the right and so the climb could be top-roped. I think it has had only one ascent. Mitch

God bless the pope. You can't argue with divinity.

Baltimore, You are part of the problem, not the solution. If you really believe in what you are saying, then you could effect the problem most positivly by staying off the site. Bye, bye. Don't let the door hit you in the A$$.

Oggy, oggy, oggy. Aye! Aye! Aye!

true. true.

Ock, I climbed there on Sunday. We climbed a steep pillar on the right. What can you tell me about that ice crag? I know this is off topic for this forum. You could e-mail or post a private message. Retro

Iconoclast is a good route that deserves more credit. Do not let Kramar's topo intimidate you. There are some glaring errors. The pitch where you exit the Galaxy dihedral system onto the shield is a bit run out once on the shield, but only at mid class 5. That pitch ends at a gnarled pine as indicated. The next pitch is nothing like indicated. It is a classic little left facing book with a hand crack at the back that goes at ~5.7 and brings you directly to the extreme left end of library ledge. There is no single bolt and no 5.10c and no run outs on the pitch. The next pitch off the left end of library ledge is quality slab climbing and roughly as indicated. And the next pitch is fun too. Even if you can't climb 5.12, it is easy to French your way through. Edge of Space looks like it would be spectacular and I would love to try it some day, as soon as someone yanks those 1/4"ers and puts in some bolts (in the same holes of course) that would hold a falling fat boy. Enjoy, Retro Steve, I work evenings and often don't get home until the wee hours. Retro [This message has been edited by Retrosaurus (edited 03-08-2001).]

Steve, I did this route several years ago. These are the thoughts that come to mind: There really doesn't seem to be a good way to get to the big ledge two pitches up. The RPM start is good, but serious. The Psychopath pitch is very cool; I think it's the best pitch on the climb. There is a 5.10 crux on pitch 4 that has confused me every time. I always got through it, but the solution never seemed obvious. The pressure chamber SUCKS SO BAD!!! Overhanging. Flaring. Squeeze chimney. If you reach really deep into it, you can get a fist jam. But you can't pull up on it. You can only pull yourself tighter into the back of the flare. You can only move your knees about 4 inches because it is so damn tight in there. If you inhale really deep, your torso jams between your chest and back like a balloon blown up inside of a box. You can't fall out, but you damned sure can't go up. Beta: curse, squirm, grunt, sweat a lot, swear some more, repeat for 40 minutes. The only thing worse than leading this pitch is following it with a pack. The exit moves are cool. With the hard pitch variations, the route is solid grade IV. I don't remember anything unusual about the gear required. You will probably want a large rack from thin nuts to four inch cams. (I think I had a four Friend and a four Camalot.) I'm not sure, but I'm willing to bet that the route will stay pretty wet until the snow melts off the top of the wall. Have fun.

A point about V-threads that may not be well known: In good ice when tested to failure, it is often the sling material that fails and not the ice. The point at which the sling fails is the sharp angle where the screw holes intersect. If before you tie the sling into a loop, you saw it vigorously back and forth through the hole, you can increase the radius of the edge that the sling is loaded over and significantly improve the quality of the anchor. I always clip V-threads on lead; usually with a load-limiting runner.

Really? Write her name in the snow? At one go, without a break to rehydrate? What a woman! Bladder of steel.

Jon, What I would suggest is a waterfall ice climbs section under the route reports forum and then topics could be posted by area under that. That way It would all still be in one place but could easily be scanned for a particular area. If you are looking for waterfall ice it would be rather inconvenient to have to review each region of the route reports forum to see if some one has posted an ice report. Retro

Paul, Yes, it's definitely posted, and no I didn't see a thing either, especially if the sheriff is the one asking. I can't wait to give the left hand route a crack. Those things drive me nuts, especially when there is no history on it. Sanity is the only thing holding me back. What a pity. Looks like it will have to wait till next year for fatter ice up top. Sanity sucks. There is still quality ice in Tumwater Canyon. Interested?

Climbed at Banks Lake on Wednesday 2/28/1. First ascent? North of Devil's Punch Bowl, just south of Osborn Bay Lake, turn east on a public fishing access road that follows the south shore. An aesthetic trio of pillars is visible on the rimrock. We climbed the middle one. WI 5 ~100', short screws very handy near the top. Belayed from equalized sagebrush well back from the top of the climb. Rappelled 115' to the base from a large ponderosa pine ~100' to the right. The right-hand climb has also been done, but not by me, and looks to be a bit easier. The left-hand climb is definitely more serious; steeper, longer and more technical. Its top is somewhat thinned and may not protect well. Does anyone have other info on these climbs? I propose the name "Electric Avenue" for this area as Electric City is clearly visible from the climbs. Suggested names for the climbs: " Kilowatt", "Megawatt", and "Gigawatt". There is STILL a lot of climable ice in the Columbia Basin.

I stopped by the hospital today. Mr. Deveney is still in a coma and still on a ventilator. This is not good. The longer he is in this state, the worse the prognosis is. It could have been me any number of times. I lived through a couple myself just this summer. It's a dangerous game that we play. It is easy to forget and it takes an event like this to remind us that we could lose it all at any time. I re-evaluated climbing each time something like this hits close to home. The first time for me was a double body recovery from Dragontail Peak. Two women, both experienced, died on Triple Couloirs. One was found at the top of the couloir, sitting on a coiled up rope anchored to two ice axes, a shard of granite stuck through her helmet and into her head. The other woman had probably anchored her partner and gone for help. She was found on the snow, well below the couloir. She had been crawling with badly broken legs for a long way and died of trauma and hypothermia. I was grateful that they were wrapped up by the time I got there and I didn't have to gaze upon the bodies. I had only to help drag them the four or so miles to the trail head where snowmobiles could sled them out to meet their waiting loved ones. I thought long and hard after that experience; especially about alpine climbing. I still climb. I've since climbed Triple Couloirs. And the routes seem to get more serious with each season. I just wouldn't know who I was if I didn't climb. Lets pray, to whoever or whatever it is we each pray, for this man; he is one of us, in spirit if not experience. It could have been me at any time in the past, or future. Ret

As of Monday: The Cable is still in. The top is somewhat thin and hollow. H202 is in but looking thinner and ratty. Just north of H202 , the climb with no first pitch and no name is still there and the upper tiers look fat from the road. The Emerald is in. Zenith is in and spectacular, but the crux pillar is somewhat thin and fragile. There are a lot of pillars that looked to be in good climbing shape, although most of them top out in shrubs. I did not get a look at the Punchbowl area. Guiness is in although toping out is difficult to do safely. This week has been cold only at night, so I'm sure the climbs have suffered some. But there should still be some fun climbing to be had there. If I was going to climb there I would make sure to start climbing early, to take advantage of cooler temps, esp on climbs with threatening ice above. [This message has been edited by Retrosaurus (edited 02-21-2001).]

I guess I need to apologise for the tone of my comment. Just a sarcastic sense of humor that I can't seem to overcome. But there is more than a grain of truth there. I own a soloist device and have used it. I have friends that use them a lot. It now sits in my closet, still in factory condition. (Ridiculously cheap offers will be seriously considered.)It has serious limitations; but decking out can be eliminated simply by tying a back up knot, which is equivalent to tying off short. Also anyone 100' off the deck on a rope without being tied directly to it, has the survival instincts of a lemming. Sorry, there I go again. But it is true. Rope soloing takes a lot fussing with the system for it to be effective as a self belay. For me it took the fun out of climbing. It is difficult enough to place screws on vertical ice that I would not consider, fussing with a rope solo system. I have nothing against soloing, I do it way too much. But if you are going to solo, you have a responsibility to do it properly. If you are free climbing you need to be very good at down climbing. If you are using a rope solo system, you need to use it properly. With a soloist, this means back up knots, among other things depending on the situation. Most of the procedures are in the manufacturer's literature provided with the device.

Climbed Zenith at Banks Lake today. It is the climb misnamed as Absent Minded Professor on page 98 of Selected Climbs in the Cascades: vol 2 . Climbed in two very long pitches with a 60 meter rope. A shorter rope would not have reached the belay. The first half of the first pitch was solid hooking up steep blobs with some fun overhanging moves for 100'. Solid screws somewhat difficult to find. The pillar above here is much narrower than pictured and chandeliered. The final 15' of the pillar had that clear look of fragile young ice and ended with a small overhang before the angle eased. 30' of WI 3 leads to the belay. The ice on the second pitch was phenomenal. I usually need to go to the Canadian Rockies for solid blue vertical plastic pillars like this. The second pitch is also over 50m, although this would not be a problem, as the final 70' of the route is WI 2. You can walk off right on the entablature ledge, which gets very narrow for one section. As Allan was following the second pitch we got shelled when a 15' section of the tube 8' in diameter released from 200' above. It landed on the top of the climb, 50' to my left and pulverized on impact. Allan got pummelled pretty hard by the ice avalanche, but did not fall and was not injured. This is a serious threat on several climbs in the Columbia Basin in warm temps, esp. later in the day, and even at low temps if sun reaches the threatening ice. (never take the word of a white punk on dope)

From climbingwashington.com/routeinfo: "Some controversy about Cunning Stunt (5.10d) ***, a popular climb in The Country area. This route was recently retrobolted with permission of the first-ascent party, but nevertheless was chopped last summer. After retrobolting and cleaning, the route became very popular; it may still be led on gear without the bolts. Hopefully this won't degenerate into a bolt war. (11/16/2000)"

Oven roasting bags.Thinner, lighter, more durable, more waterproof and cheaper. Keeps your footwear insulation drier on multi-day cold weather trips. Foot care as mentioned by Rob is very important. Your feet need to dry out overnight. You can spend the money on comercial VBL socks, but they won't work as well. [This message has been edited by Retrosaurus (edited 02-17-2001).]

Had a good day on hard ice at Banks yesterday. We climbed what I believe has been called "The Emerald" and locals have been calling "Pillsbury Pillar" (cuz us doughboys can still get up it). Just south of mile marker 13 and behind a guardrail is a small pond and large pull-off on the east side of the road. Park here and traverse slopes north above the pond into a coulee hidden above the road. You can't miss the fat ice climb. A 20' WI3 step leads to a large shelf and a 100' pitch of steep ice, the first 50' of which is dead vertical. Soloed the step and lead a WI5 line up the left, then the center of the falls. Continuously steep and interesting. Placed seven screws on the pitch. Score one for Pop'n'Fresh. Then we top-roped "The Cable." It could be lead, but not by this doughboy. A relentless 150' of dead vertical and overhanging climbing. Twist locks, drop knees, what a treat. This is a long season for the basin. There is still a lot of good ice out there. Just don't fall out of your tools. Get scared; have fun; don't die. [This message has been edited by Retrosaurus (edited 02-16-2001).] [This message has been edited by Retrosaurus (edited 02-16-2001).]

A Crystal Mountain man fell while attempting to rope-solo H202 at Banks Lake; crawled to his car; found by passing motorist; Central Washington Hospital, Wenatchee; critical condition.

Try Central Washington Hospital in Wenatchee. I hear that the victim is there. If he is not in a coma, you can probably speak to him on the phone.