Gilles

Bintapavumabeta? We did Cockscomb Ridge last WE (beta on cc.com), and NR looked pretty straight forward. Snow bridges collapsing on the lower glacier though. Fromage... plutot cancoillotte ou roblac? Gilles

Mt Baker was sunny and warm last weekend. We did the Cockscomb ridge route from Heliotrope (+/- 1h ski up to reach the parking lot, but it's melting fast). The winter approach is in great shape, although there is slab avi in the afternoon. Skis recommended over snowshoes. It is best to rope up for the long traverse below the north face to the pass below the Cockscomb, as the crevasses are opening up in that area. The route itself is in good shape; the cramponning, even early in the morning, is not the best. Skiing down from the summit is great, the Coleman glacier has much more snow coverage than below the north face (no crevasses). All the other routes looked in great shape (Headwall, north ridge, Colfax). Deryk, Marcus, Paul & Gilles

The horseshoe traverse is in good shape, we could skin up right at the car (North Joffre Creek rd). There is no threatening cornices on the traverse if you follow the recommended route from the book. Saxifrage was fun on Sunday, good cramponing early morning and good ski down. No cornices either (on the south side), although there is a big one right on the summit and all over the north aspects. Beautiful views and light the 2 days! Deryk, Pierre & Gilles

It was blue sky started the summit slopes. We could see all high peaks (Castle T, Wedge, Mamquam, and Atwell of course), but didn't see a soul, although it looked like somebody built an igloo on Dalton Dome (?).

Good conditions for Mt Garibaldi, with white-outs coming and going and light snow falling mid-Sunday. We approached from the north; the 3 lakes are still frozen, although you'll have to ski around part of the 2nd one. The snow is good on the summit slope, the bergschrund is not opened yet. The snow is crusty at lower elevation below 2000m, and there is no good skiing to be found in the trees. Quite a few parties on the neve. Gilles & Pierre

I used to own 2 Beal 8.1 ice-line bought in France. They are good, you can clip 1 or both ropes, they wear out fast - not to be used on rock. The waterproof coating degrades in no time. I now own 2 PMI verglas 8.1. Same thing, either clip 1 or 2 ropes. They seem to resist more than the Beal (although if I'm not mistaken, PMI is a joint-venture of Beal and a US company). They're a bit more water-resistant, but I avoid the rock. They all make nice spaghettis very easily.Gilles

The climbs is the sun will unlikely sustain warm temp much longer; Synchro was melting in the sun despite of the low temp yesterday.Stuff like Marble, Rambles and RWW, sheltered as they are, will probably still host good climbing. I don't know for Bridge River area, but if there is any new snow, NightnG may not be the choice.As for Carlsberg, somebody soloed the first 20m on Saturday, so I guess it's in , but I don't know about the higher stuff.Take long screws (for rotten ice) and stubbies. [ 03-18-2002: Message edited by: Gilles ]

Still quite cold in Lillooet!We climbed:- Rambles: in- Synchronicity: in, really pleasant in a sunny Sunday, last pitch tricky to protect (rotten ice) We saw:- Carlsberg: in- Red Wall Wanderer: from the road, the pillar looks fat and blue- Tube: in- Loose Lady: a car parked, first pitch in- Serendipity: not inThanks to the good soul who installed a rope on the log jam on the Synchro approach!Gilles & Deryk

Lots of ice in Lillooet! We climbed:- Red Wall Wanderer: in, excellent to the top of the pillar, more marginal (rotten/sun baked) higher up- Oregon Jack: in, probably WI4. Thin sections with water views , very brittle ice. We saw:- Shannon Falls: lots of white ice - Soo Bluffs: at least one line of white ice- Carlsberg: in, reasonably fat- Tres Brule: first pitch in, top gone- Honeyman: completely in!- Marble: everything looked very good from the road- Crucibles: looks in from the road- lots of ice in the Fraser canyon... on the wrong side of the river- 2 lines beside Bridal Veil falls We didn't see:- too many other climbers, 1 car at Rambles, nobody at Oregon, no cars at Marble or Carlsberg. What's wrong?Gilles & John

Ice-climbing report for the week of Feb17-23 We climbed:-Weeping Wall right-hand: in and fat; upper not there, except the Weeping Tear on the left.-Kitty Hawk: very thin first pitch (only some 9cm screws, rock pros and pitons, and runout), 2nd pitch in-Two O’clock falls: in and fat-Murchison Falls: in, exit pitch rotten with hollow pillars-Johnston canyon: few lines left, big ice chunks have fallen; the main falls on the left are thin, central pillar melting away but fun TR, “easy” lines on the right in-Essondale right: in, dinner plating a lot. We saw:-Beer climbs: Pilsner, Carlsberg & Kronenbourg not in, upper Guiness in (lower don’t know). Road closed as of Feb22 (probably re-open since)-Mixed Master: not in-Polar Circus: in, no pencil-570 and SAR: in and fat-climbs in gullies left of Kitty Hawk: in-Nothing but the breast: not there-Lady Wilson’s Cleavage: in-Top pitch of Professor in (lowers unknown)-Virtual Reality: pillar not there-Pretty Nuts, Riverview: in Gilles & Merran

- Seton Lake climbs: only Fishin' Musician in, but wet and melting fast. P1 WI4 good ice, P2 WI4 rotten ice, P3 WI2+ showery with hole at the top, P4 WI5 short pillar good ice although a bit chandeliered.The other climbs are in for their upper halves, but the lower halves are verglas at most.Beautiful green lake, astonishing setting, better than Louise Falls!- Deep Throat: not in, the first 2 pillars forming the first pitch are hollow and barely bound to the rock. Wading is cold.- Tres Brule: First pitch not in. We climbed to the base of the pillar, it is half a foot wide and chandeliered. Lots of ice falling down. Red Wall Wanderers, on the other side of the canyon, looked blue and fat from there though... We saw:- Carlsberg: people were on it, far from being fat though.- Rambles: 10 cars parked on Sunday ;-) Gilles

I am looking for a climbing partner for a 1-week trip in the Rockies late February. I have gear and lead up to WI5, but I don't have a vehicule. I have been there twice already.

Thanks Dale for picking up my visor. This demonstrate that the visor locking mechanism is not the best around... ...and that we were rushing down. SoS is a great route, and the fording is much easier than Drury Falls! (no boat required).