Don_Serl

They made things faster for us The only other time I've done the West Lion they weren't there(or at least I didn't find them), so I was surprised to see them this time. They probably make things a little safer for the tourists who shouldn't be up there in the first place, although they probably give a sense of false security. In any case, I wouldn't be sad to see them go. i've climbed the west lion in winter about 4 times, and i've never encountered conditions in which the lines were not deeply buried. beside, you climb directly up from the notch, not across the summer ledge where the lines lie. i did do it once in novemeber or some such time, and traversed the ledge (icy) - we just ignored the lines. nobody walking THESE dogs... agreed. the lions only involves 2-3 ropelengths, but u actually are climbing pretty steep terrain which in places is quite icy. harvey goes on a lot longer (abt 300m) but there are only a cpl sections which are steep enough that u have to fully front-point and swing them tools. of course, the VERY best conditions on the ramp (which i got once with Andrew Rennie) find it super-icy, with waterice drools on the steeper sections and on bulges along the sides to 'attack'. then it feels like a 'real' climb... cheers

we went sunday. warm in town, but cool on the mtn. overnite snowline was high on the logging road. even filtered down a bit of snow for a while. for sure bright sun will screw with any exposed slopes, so the ramp might be a good alternative - it's shaded till late afternoon. i wouldn't say conditions are stelar (it's nicer when it's firmer underfoot, for better cramponning), but it's always an enjoyable outing. if u have Alpine Select, there shld be no confusion about the approach, which is well described and photoed on pgs 28-29. walk up the lions road 30-40 mins to the lions/brunswick junction. turn right (towards the lions). walk another 10mins or so, then switchback left. walk NE to the end of the road and the open scree slope above which starts the climb. abt 1 1/2hrs. we were then about 1 1/2 hrs to the top of the ramp, and another 1 1/2 hrs to the top (time for lunch, roping up, etc plus some flogging on final ridge). a 60m rope works fine to keep u safe on the upper basin traverse - it's not really belayed (the second has to walk out about 10m to let the leader reach the trees on the far side) - you just use the trees as 'catchers'... cheers,

...no PROBLEM on missing the summit! (it can't go away) good thing on missing the slide! (you can come back...) (still a spooky snowpack, eh? best to be VERY conservative this spring, i reckon) cheers,

Trip: Mount Harvey - Ramp Date: 3/2/2008 Trip Report: warm weather has settled the snow pretty well, so graham and i went for a look to see how alpine conditions are coming along. snowshoes are still necessary to reach the end of the road. fresh snow cover started at the road-end. there's a firm crust/base, and the new snow deepens to maybe 6" by the top of the ramp, so the climb is more "plugging" than cramponning (not that you can get away without the 'spikes'). i used a single 65cm iceaxe, and i probably swung the axe for a pick placement 6 times on the entire climb - the rest was shaft plunging. we put on a rope for the traverse beyond the top of the ramp, cuz snow conditions are still spooky and the basin is above a VERY big drop, but in fact the snow was fine. the final slopes held a bunch of deep flogging, but they're not long. we cramponned down as far as the road switchback, then the warmth started to allow us to break thru the crust, so the snowshoes went back on for the road out. spring's coming... cheers,

jodo, good route. good rock where it counts, despite the near miss drew and partner suffered. good pro where the rock is dubious. but i don't know where u got the idea it's all bolt protected - you need a full rock rack. i took notes in the guide (Central BC Rock) after our climb - here's a bit of beta: * good description in guide; good photos on pgs 134-135. * there's an old belay 2/3 of the way up p3 - skip it. * the 10c on p6 is in a right-facing corner, and the rock is not the best. but there's good gear... and i think i pulled on a piece here. * the 1st half of the bolt ladder is very steep, probably gently overhanging in part. and pretty featureless. i had heard that Guy had freed it, and frankly i can't imagine how. * we belayed short at the "cave on bolt ladder" noted in the guide to maintain communication. * janez freed the angling 2nd half of the ladder at 11+ - i had to french-free a couple points. * we did not use Jumars - we had light 3-step aiders, and the 2nd just followed by clipping up. there's not much aid, so this worked fine. * belay 9 (our 10) is left of a tree. there is an off-route bolt above and left - the 'true' route passes a 2nd tree to the "arching crack". * my notes say that belay 11 (our 12) was hard to find - "move right". * the correct line on the 10b face was "inobvious" - up a hidden corner. * we travelled 80m on p12, and passed further horizontally left than shown in the guide before climbing 5th class to the high point (our belay 14). then we traversed and descended to belay again (4th class). finally we reached the skyline for our 16th belay. and kept the rope on for 2 final lengths to the top (we were hot, tired, dehydrated, and not at our best). * it was late and in oncoming darkness we went too far west beyond the great gully and missed the top of the north gully descent. the result was a night out (with a crackling fire). study the photo on page 124 well. good luck, cheers,

peter, there are several companies listed in the waddington guide (pgs 24-31), altho i'm not sure how current the info is. i'd suggest phoning those on the list - they'll pass you along if there are other options and they're not serving the camps. keep in mind the coastal forest industry is on the rocks right now, so many camps will be shut down. good luck, cheers, don

Trip: Swiller Pillar, Feb 10/08 - Date: 2/12/2008 Trip Report: We got shut down a couple weekends ago, after putting 4 effing hours into the approach, by failing daylight, failing psyche, and failing gear. Bruce and co tramped up our beaten trail a few days later in an hour and a half and knocked off the route - his comment was that you just kinda had to 'kick steps' for about 20 feet - seemed about right! It was REALLY warm, and we nearly bailed over breakfast in Pemberton after driving thru rain in Whistler, but... well, it wasn't THAT much further to drive. It was solidly snowy at Cayoosh summit, but we soon dropped back into the 'chinook' zone, and it was warm, warm, WARM at Cinnamon Ck parking lot. However, we just thought we'd go up and have a look-see. The creek crossing was casual (I'm now double-bagging with a heavy 'contractors' bag over a normal garbage bag, and that seems pretty bomb-proof), and with the track in it took only 1 hour and 20 minutes to reach the climb. Surprisingly, gaining 600m and getting up out of the main valley resulted in very copacetic temps - just around freezing, with the waterfall totally dry. I cruised up the middle of the first section to the belay behind the pillar, avoiding the vertical lefthand column we'd climbed on the first attempt - the 'business' was to get up the 2nd pitch, not to screw around below. Graham launched out onto the 'junk' section, clipped the back-off sling he'd left 2 weekends before, and just slowly and steadily worked his way up. It was funky hooking and funky feet the whole way, with no ghost of a chance for gear, but it wasn't vertical, and G reckoned it at only Grade 4 - almost certainly 'technically' true, but mighty 'heady' 4! And you DO want to take care - the big runout is straight off the belay, so a whipper would not be much fun for either end of the rope! by 2:30 we were back on the ground, just about the time we'd arrived for our first attempt, and by 4 we were back to the car. we had views of the Tube on the way down, and saw no one. we drove by Carlsberg and the Rambles, and saw no one - there was not even any indication that there had been any cars parked at the Rambles that day! were we the only ice climbers on the Duffey on a weekend in mid-February? unbelievable. but it DID feel like we'd kinda stolen one, given the temps. looking at the 8C days Lillooet is going thru just now, here's hoping the season isn't on the way out quite yet! cheers,

hey, aren't those sarkens? did u miss the recall? get rid of 'em, get some vasaks instead - the front points won't fall off. cheers,

fishstick and others have covered this topic well, but i'll just add that i've sworn by and had great success with overbags over the past 30 years, including spring/winter use in the coast mtns and cascades, plus more exotic loctions such as alaska, kluane, peru, and the himalaya. the overbag system has never let me down (which is to say, i've never suffered a damp down bag with this syetem). i've used VBLs a bit too, cuz they are way lighter than an overbag, and they're useful as an emergency bivy bag too. i find them tolerably comfortable for one night (esp if u do as fishstick suggests and kick the VBL down later in the night), and they certainly do make the whole system warm up faster. one of the problems with the overbag system is lack of availability of an ideal bag - the MEC penguin has gotten quite 'tubby' over the years as MEC chases the mass market and compromises specialist products to lower retail prices. with more specialist insulation batting, a short single zip, a lighter shell fabric, and no hood, my 20-year old overbag weighs 620grams (long); the current long is cataloged at 850gm. and occupies 3/4 of the bulk as well. i suppose there's no much point complaining about 'what might have been' - i've not been paying much attention to the bag market in the past few years, so i'm not knowledgable about what alternatives (if any) are available. you'll probably either have to go with the penguin or do without... cheers,

hey glassy, hope you're having a good winter. actually, despite being responsible for the retention of the "5" in the 2nd edition of the guidebook, i kinda agree with u. i left it 'as is' cuz of the humour value, and i did say "every guidebook needs its sandbag, and this is it". conditions vary, of course, but when we climbed it (1st pitch only! took so frigging long we didn't have time for the 2nd) it was considerably harder than Shreddie (last year, which was probably in 'easy' condition). other people whose climbing abilities and opinions i greatly respect have had similar experiences. i have precious little experience on consensus Grade 6, but I'd say White Blotter falls solidly into the category. people 'out west' just seem to have a fear of dropping 'the six bomb' onto local routes, for fear of being seen as blow-harding and egotism. actually, plenty of Grade 6 around - backed off a cpl things this year that're in much harder shape than either the Blotter OR Shreddie! cheers,

friends there on saturday afternoon - NO cars (count 'em = zero) in the parking lot! WAY too crowded... cheers,

i wonder how many of the people who "climb" the Eiger each year actually CLIMB across the Hinterstosser traverse, rather than swinging like cirque de soleil acrobats on the fixed ropes. ditto for the waterfall pitch. etc... (not that I'm not impressed by a triple bypass survivor in his 70s climbing the route...) cheers,

first a few shots of the Swiller Pillar approach to whet (wet?) your appetite: ...wasn't that FUN?!?!? but, finally, there's the waterfall - NICE! ...and the 1st pitch is pretty snappy... ...but the 2nd pitch seemed to consist of about as much air as ice (oh, did i forget to mention the spindrift that started to hose down?) - so we bailed. then over to Texas Creek. nice scenery on the walk in: Texas Two Step - the same formation as shown in WCI on pg 220. whatever Drew's done further up the canyon, it's not in the guide! (btw, the only ice there at the moment is just BEYOND the 2nd bridge, and is currently not in climbable shape. there is no ice at all just BEFORE the bridge! obviously a pretty changeable drainage...) Graham on the 1st hose - wet but fun: ...and me leading the 20m 2nd pitch: what a contrast between the days! so what are u gonna name 'your' new route further up the canyon, drew? something to remind us all of Texas? like, say, capital punishment? or David Koresh? or George Bush? or the Columbia 'landing zone'? (course, it ain't ALL like that: there's Z Z Top. and steak. and "Giant". and "The Yellow Rose..." etc) cheers,

Trip: Lillooet: Swiller Pillar, Texas Two Step; Jan26-7 Date: 1/26/2008 Trip Report: Graham and I flogged up to the Swiller Pillar on Saturday. The snow was the worst I've ever encountered on an ice climbing approach - it took us 4 hours (!) to reach the climb from the car, and while the somewhat optimistic guidebook suggestion that it's "about 1 hour to the routes" would only be possible in perfect conditions, it IS only just over 1km and 400m in elevation gain. The route started with a 6 or 8m vertical step, which brittle surface ice made tricky. Lower-angled, poorish ice with shitty pro led to a pull thru some mushrooms (luckily with a good screw, at last) and a belay at 30m behind a column. Graham set out onto the second section, but after getting 3 or 4 body-lengths up it, and having placed two screws which mostly just dialed into air, he came down and we rapped off. It only took an hour to flail back down to the creek, but my trash bag waders leaked badly on the crossing out, so the day ended with miserable, cold, wet feet - the perfectly rounded coastal ice experience, all told! I couldn't stand another big flail Sunday, so we went into Texas Creek, which offers a very pleasant ambiance. There is a GUIDEBOOK ERROR in positioning Texas Two Step - it is just around the corner beyond the 1km sign (say, at 1.2km), well short of the 2nd bridge at 2km. We split the climb into two pitches: the 1st was a bit wet, but very entertaining up a narrow channel - MUCH less ice than in the guide photo on pg220. The 2nd step is only about 15m high, and we left the pull-out finish MUCH less bushy than we found it. A single 55m rap took us back to the packs on the snow - the climb is considerably shorter than the guidebook claim of 80m. Highly recommended, however, for parties looking for an aesthetic easy route. We soloed up and down Lone Star in about 10 minutes on the walk out - this probably qualifies as the least significant "route" in the guide, but could be an OK place to take a couple beginners. (Correctly guide-book-placed just before the 1km sign.) Jesse and Jeff got a bit twisted on the approach to Last Call on Saturday, but eventually found the correct approach ramp. They followed this all the way to the ice, bypassing the 1st pitch, then climbed pitches 2 and 3, planning on rapping into and reclimbing pitch 1 on their descent, but by the time they were descending the day was wearing late, and they headed for the car. They found Spray Ck Falls to be "not in" on Sunday, then climbed at the Tube, which reports have as wet but do-able. I'll get you some photos when G forwards something to me. P.S. We drove the D'Arcy road on Sat morning to scope. Roadside Attraction looked do-able, but sported some big holes. Candlewax did not look inspiring. The Plum looked great. Valentine had lots of holes in the 1st tier. There's a lot of ice on the White Blotter cliff, but it looked very 'strandy' and hard from the road, especially the 2nd tier. Since it usually looks OK from the road and turns out to be the hardest '5' on the planet, it's probably in very 'tough' shape right now. Cheers, Approach Notes: gawd, the crust is awful up on the Duffey!

Not the outcome we were hoping for, unfortunately - an email from my MEC employee friend: "Brent Palmer from the Vancouver store advised me Saturday night that Paul Didi from the Vancouver store passed away from his injuries on Friday. From my understanding he was unconscious in hospital and details from his fall are unknown." Damn...

yah, sounds like carlsberg is in great shape. btw, not sure how they got turned around, but some friends of ours walked down the wrong fork to try to get to three ring circus where the road splits 50m off the highway. the left (wrong) fork leads to Walden North and a dam - it's usually plowed. the right (right) fork is the enterprise creek road, which is usually NOT plowed these days (no winter logging), but is the way to 3 ring. this pair then went to Closet Secrets, which they found thin and hard to protect in places, but very good. cheers,

I spoke to an MEC employee about the incident, and this is his reply to me: "Regarding the climbing incident on Mt Harvey. I can confirm that an MEC store employee was involved in a climbing accident on Mt Harvey last week. He is currently in hospital. His family has contacted MEC and asked for the utmost privacy regarding details of the accident and his condition at this time so we are respecting their request fully. They have also asked that no one makes any comments to the media. Myself and members of Lions Bay SAR and North Shore Rescue were involved in the rescue." I presume 'the story' will eventually come out, but for now, that's it... best wishes to whoever it was who got pranged. cheers,

kid, I like your style! to me, your line seems eminently do-able, and reasonably safe. the 5000-foot gully lies entirely below treeline, so doesn't drain BIG terrain, altho it obviously avalanches when it's warm. by the map, this 'red' gully tops out at about 1650m. then you'll find yourself on a ridgecrest for a ways (safe again), NOT on the face beyond as your red line shows on the photo you showed with your TR. then you reach the gap in the ridge where your friends scrambled up right out of the angel basin on snow in summer - you could bail from this point quite easily (and generally safely), coming down the forest east of the angel basin drainage, which you've travelled before. the upper part of the route is obviously the crux, and where the most danger lies, BUT: check out this photo of drew's which was previously posted on bivouac.com. the route-line is the brayshaw-touche climb; the kay-zozykian line is somewhere in the vicinity. the key element in my eyes is that 'your' ridge continues, then butts up against the upper face and turns into a blunt prow (sunlit on rt side). the outflow windloading will be on the RIGHT side of the prow, but with luck you'll find much of the snow stripped off on the left side. if the terrain is too difficult to climb on that side (and it looks pretty darn tricky to me...), you MIGHT be safe sticking IMMEDIATELY pressed up against the rocks on the right side. and if you're with someone, you might even get rock belays. or, it must be said, the windslabs on the right side might be saying "Go Home NOW!" avalanches are always a risk in winter climbing, so if you DO get up there some day, be sure to dig a quick pit with your iceaxe and do (what the pros would call) a profile. all you're looking for is a weak layer that the snow above will slide on - while this is mostly a skier technique, I've done it a few times with my iceaxe - and GONE HOME a couple times as a result. (sorry, but you're young and you're plainly just as keen as hell, so I have to "get preachy" for a moment here) I'll admit to being alive only because of luck a couple times, but I DO try really hard to not get too 'necky'. two thoughts that've stood me in good stead over the years, and that might be worth tucking away in your head: 1. the mountain can't go away, and you can always come back. 2. it's only a piece of f*cking ice! (as a friend advised me as I sketched into more and more serious trouble on a funky waterfall quite a few years ago). you'll get your route! only 1 failure so far. took me 7 tries to climb Rexford in winter, for instance, and you've got a LOT of years in front of you. good luck, be safe, climb smart,

Trip: Lillooet Ice January 19-20, 2008 - Jade Falls; Four Dressed up as Six Date: 1/20/2008 Trip Report: There is a goodly amount of ice up on the Duffey and out the Bridge River, but the temps had been pretty warm for the previous couple weekends. However, this changed midweek, and Graham and I set off for Lillooet at 4am Saturday expecting great conditions. After greasing up at the Cookhouse, we headed out the Bridge, intent on trudging up to "take a look" at the unclimbed pillar which formed this year left of Jade Falls. We found a car beneath and tracks up, so the approach was a casual 2-15, better than the 2-30 we took last year, and way easier than the 3hrs endured by Ade and Mark a couple weeks back. The pair (Paul ??? from Vancouver and his partner) were just starting up Jade, which looked superb. (The main column direct is a solid 4; the easier left side goes at about 3 or 3+.) I won the draw, so racked up and set off up the column, immediately finding pretty sketchy ice and somewhat frightening climbing. I talked myself up to the midway ledge, imagining that the column that led to the overhang would be solid, but it was hideous, and without the reassurance of decent screws there was no way I was going to try to pull the overhang onto the upper vertical sheet. In went a V-thread, and down I came! Luckily, there was an alternative: a skinny little column has formed left of Jade Falls, and Graham set about this. It was pretty near vertical, and very narrow, so it was difficult to get placements and screws, and very tricky to stay in balance. I reckoned he'd done a challenging lead as I followed, even if it was only 15m high. We rapped off a tree to the left, which sported a sling, so obviously someone has climbed this little feature before - anybody got any details? BTW, I've got a bit of an Asian 'head-theme' going for this area, stimulated by the Chinese association with jade, and the pretty little trees framing this beautiful cirque, so I've taken to calling the little column the 'Bonsai' column - and by association, the big, hard one must therefore be the 'Banzai' column! First ascent naming rights, of course, may supercede these choices, but for the time being... Who'd the Canucks get beaten by Saturday nite? Oh yah, LA! At least the pizza was good - the new Pizzarama place just at the start of the Duffey Lk road is really good, btw, altho they don't have a licence yet - but the Boealps guys brought their own beer, and the folks were cool about providing glasses... Once the RCMP and Native cop contingent left... Sunday we headed for Capricorn, and luckily found a track beaten in as far as the lower cirque containing Millars Pillar (which looked positively horrendous, altho I suspect the pair before us fought their way up it) and Four Dressed Up as a Six. (Start as for Hell Ck right side, then beat up and right to avvy track below routes, which is good easy frozen cramponning - only 1 hr). Getting higher, however, we lost the avvy crust, and spent 30 or 40 minutes gaining the next 80m or 90m, so eventually we quit and came down to climb Four dressed Up as a Six. This was hard, but not unreasonable, but I'll admit to being happy the column is only 20m high, and not 40m or 50m! So, only two short routes, but lots of exercise, and stout climbs, so a very enjoyable weekend. Lotsa folks out, so plenty of socializing too. Hope the weather lasts... Cheers, Gear Notes: lotsa screws, hooker, tape. Approach Notes: drive, walk.

hey donnie, looks like it'll be really good this w/e. there is plenty of ice, but there was also plenty of water. now it's gone cold again: -7C last nite in Lillooet, but -22C at the Cayoosh summit at 9am this morning (i.e. Duffey Lk road) and -15C at Carpenter Lk (i.e. Bridge River canyon). and -16C currently at Clinton (i.e. Marble Canyon/Oregon Jack). THAT'll set the area up! thanks for your contribution to getting my kids thru college. now if ice climbing guides just sold in the tens of thousands instead of in the dozens, i'd be sailin' fine! cheers,

donnie, Lillooet 1-2-3... *** check the various reports on this thread. *** check westcoastice.com. *** check weather at: http://www.weatheroffice.gc.ca/city/pages/bc-28_metric_e.html *** check roads at: http://www.th.gov.bc.ca/weather/interior_region.asp (2wd is almost always fine, but you'd be in trouble without chains in a snowstorm.) (drive Hwy 1, not the Duffey Lk road, when it's snowing.) *** stay at the Mile O. *** drink at the Reynolds *** eat breakfast also at the Reynolds *** buy my guide... cheers,

Trip: Lillooet Ice January 12-13, 2007 - various Date: 1/12/2008 Trip Report: lotsa activity: a dozen people from the BCMC at the Rambles (good ice), Jia Condon and a 4-some ditto, 8 people with 3 leaders from the ACC at Marble Canyon sat and various routes sunday, plus assorted other parties. saturday was warmish but fine; sunday got dubiously warm out the bridge, but was still OK up the duffey. out the bridge: *** cedarvale is more hole than ice. *** the walrus avalanched onto a pair just as the second started up; fortunately he was on steep ice and the crap shot over him; a 2nd slide came down while the leader was downclimbing, so he abandonned gear and bailed for the ground as quickly as possible - a good lesson in the hazards of climbing a south-facing route after the sun comes out. if anyone is out that way in the next week or two, i'd hope they be kind enough to retrieve the gear and return it - contact me and i can arrange to get it 'back home'. *** i saw 3 people from washington walking up to Terzaghi falls on sat, but when we followed sunday it was much warmer, and (a) the bottom was gushed while (b) the upper sections dropped icicles, so we went away. *** there was a party on Salmon Stakes on sat. *** the warmth has cleaned off almost all of the ice on the rigth-hand mixed approach to Silk Degrees, which is gonna make it trickier to get on to. *** House of Cards is getting fatter. *** Like a Rocket is getting huge, and Millars Pillar is pretty fat too. *** still virtually no ice on Old Dogs, but Steristrip is probably climbable. *** there is a LOT of ice up on Jade, both right and left. *** i heard a party walked up to Xwisten Steps, found the bottom pitch unformed, detoured around it on the left, and found the next step similarly unformed. *** etc, etc... not much new to report on the Duffey: *** there was a car parked below Loose Lady Sunday. *** there've been several ascents of the Tube - it's wet but very workable. *** there's ice on Duffey's Delight, but sketchy looking. *** ice is fully down on Last Call - climb it while it's in! *** Three Ring Circus still looking good - ditto above! *** lotsa ice at the Rambles. *** Shreddie is pathetic. *** apparently Closet Secrets is in but sketchy. it was VERY warm Sunday, but cooling out again today (Monday), so the ice should not suffer. there are some photos up at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/22355699@N05/ cheers, Approach Notes: crappy snow in the Bridge; still a crust

well, I did some checking, and the Kay-Zozykian line (red) marked on that photo is wrong. Bruce assures me they climbed the true NW face, much as marked by the purple line (later climbed by Brayshaw and Touche), which was my original understanding. their approach was via the gully immediately behind the foreground telephone pole (light blue) - there were 2 roped pitches in "steep jungle" somewhere in there - the rope stayed in the pack for the actual face. so, the layout is: green: main gully approach (best in trees to left) light blue: B-Z approach (winter) yellow: upper N ridge purple: NW face dark blue: summer West bowl (upper part probably climbed earlier via W'ern approach) red: unclimbed cheers,

there'll be about 10 people from the alpine club at Marble Canyon saturday, plus there's a BC Mtn Club party of about a dozen planning on climbing at the Rambles both sat and sun this w/e, so expect to be gregarious, or plan accordingly if you're looking for solitude. cheers,

btw, the SW BC avvy forecast is also on-line: http://www.avalanche.ca/default.aspx?DN=253,4,558,3,Documents&regionID=1 worth checking. climbers don't often get killed in these parts, but it'd be a heck of a way to miss high school graduation. cheers,