kurthicks

glad to see you guys got out!

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sure, the biggest face in Oregon! The rock is hit or miss there, some great stuff and some choss. I spied the face below a couple years ago just above Ice Lake. There is some other stuff closer to La Grande too. looked like 2-3 pitches of quality granite.

yea, if it comes down to falling or letting the tool drop for a second, i'll take not falling. wouldn't you?

depends on the terrain and duration of the mixed climbing. shoulder/thumb for short moves, clip 'em on the harness for longer tool-free moves, sometimes just let 'em dangle on the spring leash...

Allegiant had $29 flights each way from Bellingham to Vegas... look it up.

calling Dane... chime in.

Nice looking line.

d, you should come out and climb with me. I've got nothing going except for killing east coast ice. flights from Sea to Hartford should be pretty cheap... feb 24-Mar 4 (or Mar 10) are ~$200 roundtrip... give me a call.

source lake line?

I went out there just after our last Pineapple Express. No deathcicles anywhere and good looking ice. probably the safest time to do that climb.

nice work guys. After copious rains and clear skies, I knew that it was the week this year to give that route a go. Glad to see you got it done.

good news. i'm going to be there in a week, hope they stay in.

Just upstream from the drainage near the Icicle Buttress descent trail, but before Roto Wall? If so, it sounds way harder than when I did it a couple years back. There's also an easy flow (WI2-3, 30M) up the hill just before/downstream Icicle Buttress, near the base of that wall with the multi-pitch slab routes (Fish Wall?). Have you gotten a look at The Drip recently? Good on ya!

nice noah. abiel is typically best (a lot) later in the season...like the end of February or into March. the ice fattens up nicely with spring melt/freeze cycles.

if you're looking for warm, that Montbell does not compare to the other models mentioned. it's a great jacket, but not a full winter belay jacket. for that, the montbell flatiron is more suited. EMS is having a decent sale on puffies. http://www.ems.com/catalog/subcategory_simple.jsp?FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302899673

bluewater 10.5x60m $95 at REI http://www.rei.com/outlet/product/751911 plus get 20% off one item. that's like $79 for a rope.

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Haffner Creek has some hacked out, but easily top ropeable ice and mixed climbs. The Balfour Wall and Tangle Creek out on the Icefields Parkway have easy TRing too, plus it's closer to classic longer ski tours and a beautiful place. The Junkyards in Canmore has lots and lots of moderate ice that can be top roped, but most of it is WI2.

Cool Andrew. You used to work at AAI when I started, i think... Graybeard seems to ring a bell, yea? I'll give you a shout.

Thanks Joseph. I forgot about RC.com, but i've done the other ones with little success so far. Cheers!

Ok, so i'm situated out east for the winter and want to climb lots of ice...but don't have any partners. Anyone coming out and want to climb? I'm in Mass, but will drive to meet up at Willoughby, Smuggs, Conway, Catskills, the Daks, or wherever. Kurt

Relatedly, the White Chuck bridge that connects the two sides of the Mountain Loop road was scheduled to open today.

I've been told that the Owens River Gorge is good in winter.

I'll sell my copy of that book if anyone wants it.