TrogdortheBurninator

what was the problem with your boots? I love mine.

Everything N. facing in L-worth (including pearly gates) looked cold and snowy on Monday (although the actual rock is mostly dry). Upper snow creek wall looked free of snow, but Id imagine it still being quite cold with a few inches of snow on the approach trail. There is actually a surprising amount of thin water ice still lingering in L-worth for anyone interested (including a continuous relatively fat but slightly sun baked line with a short pillar section on the upper tier of Drury). Didnt see condorphamine.

Anything in the sun is very warm and nice. Not much snow on south facing exposures, maybe a little more in the valley bottoms. Rock is nice and dry in general, although we didnt chceck out any boulders.

We hiked up with Dan and Kurt and attempted the NE couloir, snow in the lower couloir was good, but after getting a few hundred feet up, everything above us started sloughing, followed by a small, but still scary avalanche. The couloir itself was well consolidated, and felt very stable. The upper slopes had likely been windloaded the previous night. Luckily the lower couloir did not cut loose when the upper let loose. Anyhow, too much excitement for us and we turned around and headed back to the car.

Thanks everbody, Pont Rogue sounds awesome, but it also seems tough to pull off with a tight timeline(and not wanting to drive me ass off). That last response is exactly what im looking for alex. Thanks alot.

Orbitz starting in FEB. $183RT

Any thoughts from anyone on the SLC area, the price is definitely right. Glassgowkiss, it sounds like your major suggestion is that most easy grade climbs in the rockies will be buried and avalanche prone. Any exceptions to this rule? I appreciate all the comments. I dont have enough $$ to travel very often, so id like to get the most bang for my buck.

Im in seattle, but if possible id prefer to fly from here. Driving 2:30 hours to Van + 2 hours from Montreal to the climbing plus flying and waiting, I could probable just drive all the way to alberta and save the money and time. Is Quebec significantly better than Canmore in your opinion? If so, why?

montreal is about $420 round trip, and 9 hours travel time (one stop for that price). Might be harder to pull off with only 3 or 4 days. Good suggestion though.

Alex, in canmore, how necessary is it to rent a 4wd? Also, any reccomendations on cheap accomodations? Any reccomended guide books for canmore with a large selection of easy climbs? Will colorado be a pain in the ass with a tight schedule, and how is SLC compared to Canmore for finding accessible easy grades (1. No comparison, or 2. A relative newbie wont know the difference)

Thinking about going somewhere to climb over presidents day weekend, and looking for suggestions from people regarding reliability and cost. Based on how warm things are around here, probably going to fly somewhere, but the question is where. Mainly looking for easy (grade 2-3) ice climbs of varying length. Only have 3, or at most 4 days to climb. Places I am considering are: SLC - Tickets only $59 each way. might have a place to stay Canmore - Tickets about $250 RT Colorado - Tickets $180 RT to Denver Vegas - Rock instead of ice, but tickets are cheap ($180RT) and I have a place to stay Other suggestions are highly appreciated. Seems like colorado involves a lot of driving after you arrive to make a short trip convenient. SLC seems prety convenient, but dont know about reliability. Canmore seems good, just want to know that the extra $$ is worth it. Might also be worth considering places with a backup plan if weather sucks (maybe good snowboarding or rock climbing).

Hmm, so how do you actually get to kiddie cliff? THe falls we were on was below source lake, probably .1 miles from the lake. If you hike along the river, you cant miss the main falls. THere is also an easier flow on the left that was in OK shape. Maybe this thing hadnt come in before. I think the falls is where the Topo gets steep right at the center of this link. http://www.topozone.com/map.asp?z=10&amp...amp;layer=DRG25

Is that what you guys climbed too forrest, or were you actually on kiddie cliff?

I cant beleive that thing doesnt have a name, it was in super fat, better than any easy line I have seen at alpental. Also, it was 50-60 ft high at a consistent (2-2+) grade, with harder variations. Does it just rarely form because of the high flow, or what. Seems like it would form more often than the Exit 38 climbs which are named in the guide.

Thats where we were, on what I beleive is the beginning of the south fork of the snoqualmie. Like I said, both the map and GPS coords in WA ICE put kiddie cliff up on the actual north facing hill side, south east (~.1 miles) of where we were.

On sunday morning we were climbing the major waterfall on the source lake drainage. I was trying to figure out if it was Kiddie cliff becuase the GPS coordinates in WA ICE suggest that kiddie cliff is pretty far away from where we were. Dont know what the waterfall we were climbing is called, but it was in pretty nice shape (way fatter than any of the alpental falls) save a few follow spots (not bad for pick placements) and a breakable crust around the base. The directions in WA ICE sound like kiddie cliff is on the cliffs on the hill side above the winter trail, however we were below the regular winter traverse. Anyhow, if these falls can possibly hold out through some of this warm weather, it is a nice climb. Otherwise, we will have to wait a few years for this thing to come in fat again. A party showed up as we were leaving, maybe it was you guys.

I'd like to go, call me if you're interested ((206)790-6566 I also PMed you). I dont think Avy hazard should be too bad (although I have peeps and shovel and probe for extra safety). Forecast calls for generally moderate hazard, however at least around alpental falls, there is substantial brush and tree anchoring to help maintain a stable snowpack (especially since the base is only a few feet right now and they only got 4" of new). I'd also be down for leavenworth or anywhere else if you're interested.

The skiing up to the tooth looked very bare on sunday, with hard bunch crust and dirt in places up the source drainage. The tooth basin had some wind blown deposits of nice dry snow, but the majority was ice, punch crust, or large boulders. I would probably wait.

Anybody interested in heading up to the pass tomorrow to climb either NE Buttress on CHair if it has snow, or maybe just the south face on the tooth? If interested, call me tonight at 206-790-6566 Jason

NWAC calls for a substantial decrease in Avi danger saturday and sunday with low danger below 5-6K and moderate above 5-6K. I think the real question is whether it will be cold enough to set the snow well. Which MRNP peaks offer good beginner 70 degreeish snow or ice climbing?

Was thinking NE slab on tooth or NE Buttress on Chair. Fairly easy ratings wise ie 70 degree snow, WI 2-3, 5.6-7

Although last weekend was a wash, I will check again this weekend to see what the experts expect conditions to be this weekend. It looks like the freezing level is supposed to drop to between surface and 2000 ft for sunday. With all this rain today, will that be enough freeze to make for solid alpine snow conditions on something like chair or the tooth? How about something further north on north cascades or 542? Thanks again in advance for any insight or suggestions.

What about the NE Slab on the tooth? Based on the recent photo, it looked well covered, although you cant if there is much ice. How is this route? Is it very difficault, or would it be a suitable route for someone with limited ice experience.

Thanks, Just getting excited to get out.

I really want to get out ice climbing this weekend, but dont know what might be in. Are any of the accessible routes in yet, (Alpental, Leavenworth, Desert)? If not, are any beginner alpine ice routes in shape, maybe SEWS couloir or something. I really appreciate any responses.