climbingcoastie

My buddy found a nice pair of sunglasses while skiing near Table Mountain out of Baker Ski area. Describe them and I’ll get you his number.

Traveling and currently in the Seattle/Bellingham area and looking for partners. Haven’t climbed much recently so only lead 7’s and 8’s on gear, but willing to follow harder. Willing to to drive just about anywhere in NW Washington especially if I can get 2-3 days of climbing in. Leavenworth, Index, WA Pass, Mazama, Mt. Erie, don’t really care just want to climb as much as possible. Text me at 9o7-9for2-3445

I’m around the area and looking to climb as much as possible. Leading 7’s & 8’s on gear, hopefully harder after I get back into the swing of things. Text if if you want to get out. Pretty open schedule. 9o7-9for2-3445

I'll be in Squamish during those dates, sorry.

I'll be in your area and looking to get out also. I'll send you a message as soon as I get my plans finalized.

I'll be down in the PNW from May 27th - July 11th and looking to get out and climb as much as possible. I'm taking a couple short courses (SPI and Exam) around Bellingham/Seattle area during that time, but free the rest. I'm not the strongest climber (lead 7's and 8's) but looking to push things with the right partner. I do consider myself very experienced and safe though. My plans were to ski some of the volcanos between May 28th and June 10th (may already have partners lined up for some of this). SPI course in Leavenworth June 12-14, possible to climb a day or two before or after. Head to Squamish (campground already reserved) mid June for a week and back down to Washington Pass/Mazama for a week. My SPI exam is July 9 & 10th at Mt. Erie and would love to climb there a day or two beforehand. July 11th (ish) I'll be heading towards California and sporadically climbing in Tahoe until early August. If things work out and we are compatible partners I'm also looking at heading to the Bugaboos sometime in August, but won't go there unless we climb together somewhere else first. If a regular partner doesn't meet me, I'll also be free for two weeks in September. As mentioned above, I'm a very experienced climber and always error on the side of safety (current WFR). More looking to have a good time and climb safe than be goal oriented, though would like to push into the 10's eventually. I'd love to find an equal or better yet a stronger partner, but have no issues climbing with newer climbers. As long as you are honest and upfront about your skills and abilities I'll climb with just about anyone.

Skipped last year, but went the two previous years. Great time! I highly reccomend it. Plenty of ice to keep you busy for weeks. It's cheaper to fly into Anchorage and rent a car and drive to Valdez. Yea, it is a 5hr drive but it would save a ton! If you have any specific questions feel free to ask.

I'm starting to plan my winter/spring trips and was curious when the best time to go to Banff is. I'm guessing mid February - the end of March, but that's just a guess. Any particular websites dedicated to Canada ice or great guidebooks for that area?

The EU has some pretty strict rules about letting Americans work there. Not sure of the specifics, but I'd do more research before buying a ticket.

Sorry about that. I didn't even open the post, just remember seeing the title. Hope you can find something useful.

Check Mountain Project. There was a thread about this exact thing.

Thanks Guys! I think it's finally settling in what we actually pulled off. Of course someone solo'd it in just under 3hrs the following day, so I still have much room for improvement. Here's a link to my partner's side of the story over on MP: Josh's TR

Trip: Yosemite Valley Ice - Widow's Tears Date: 12/31/2015 Trip Report: Great climbing partners always know how to get you out climbing. Three days after we got back from our Ouray trip I get a text from Josh saying: “So serious question…. Silver Strand on the 27th or 28th?” He didn’t even ask if I wanted to go, just knew I would be on board! Problem was Ginny and I had just made plans to go visit some friends stationed in Oregon the 25th-28th. I told him it would have to wait until the 30th-1st and asked if the weather would stay cold until then. His response was “hopefully it doesn’t get too warm”. Now for an explanation of Silver Strand: It is located in Yosemite Valley and only forms up every couple years. It is rated WI5 and is approximately four pitches. It hasn’t seen that many assents and is a sought after climb when it is in. That was about all I knew about the climb when I agreed to go and still pretty much all I know about it. Silver Strand from the Wawona Tunnel I started to get sick on our previous trip and was still not feeling good. I tried doing some backcountry skiing with poor results. I was short of breath and even got light headed for a little bit. Ginny kept asking me to go to the doctor, but I kept putting it off because I didn’t want to be restricted to the house during my days off work. To be honest I questioned if I should be attempting this climb. I was nervous to say the least. We agreed that we wanted to get down to the valley early and get a look at it and possible hike up to the base so we wouldn’t get lost in the dark on our early morning start. We left Sacramento around 7:30 for the three hour drive. Getting there around 11:00 we drove straight to the east entrance of the Wawona Tunnel to get a good look at it. It looked big, but doable. We drove to another area of the park to get a look at it, but in doing so we seen a climb called Widow’s Tears (WI5). We looked at both of the climbs from across the valley and they both looked huge, with Widow’s Tears obviously being longer. We decided to hike up to the base of Silver Strand and set the trail. We went back to the Wawona Tunnel and started up the Inspiration Point trail. After a few minutes we cut off the trail towards the climb crossing an old road. After a while we realized that it would be better to take the old road to just below the climb and head straight up from there. We headed back down to the road where I went to get the car and move it to the Bridal Veil Falls parking area and Josh would scout out the route to the base of Silver Strand. View of the Valley from the Wowona Tunnel It took him much longer than I figured it would and after a while I started to hike up to meet him. He said he went to the base of both Silver Strand and Widow’s Tears. All he really said was “Widow’s Tears looked doable and it took him 19 minutes to get from the base to where we met”. I asked if it looked doable, or doable for us without getting an answer. Seeing that I knew little about Silver Strand before heading down to climb it I knew even less about Widow’s Tears except it was longer and came in less frequently. We talked about what we were going to do for several hours. Our biggest fear was to climb into crappy ice and not be able to retreat if we wanted. After dinner Josh said that he wanted to give Widow’s Tears a try. Hesitantly I agreed not really knowing what I agreed to. Widow's Tears We woke up at 5am and had breakfast, packed up our camp, and headed to the parking area. When we arrived there was a van in the parking area and a few explicative’s came out. We changed into our boots, grabbed our packs, and took off up the trail. Just before we turned off the old road to go straight up I noticed a headlamp up the hill. Knowing that whoever was in the van was also wanting to climb Widow’s Tears was disheartening. We continued hiking up hill towards the base. It took us about an hour to get there. Josh got to the base before me, as always, and was talking to two people from Reno that was gearing up to climb. I’ve always said I’d never climb behind another party while ice climbing, but for some reason didn’t put up too much of an argument when Josh said he’d still like to climb it. When the other party’s leader took off running up the first pitch, I figured they would be well ahead of us in no time. Josh and I solo’d the first pitch and the low angle ice between it and “the start of the real climbing”. When we got to where we would rope up the other team’s leader was off to the right of the thin first pitch working his way up the rock. He was having difficulty getting gear in and was moving slow. Seeing as they were the first to the base of the climb they had the right of way and we intended to give that to them the entire climb. After a good while Josh asked if they minded if we started up the ice, but allowed them to pass latter on. They said go for it and up Josh went. Josh used just about every bit of rope (a common theme for both of us on this route) and took a little bit to set up the anchor. The other party asked if I would be mad if they started up the ice while he was building the anchor. Giving them the right away that they deserved for getting to the base first I said of course not. Josh got the anchor built and I headed up the thin start. Josh on the first roped pitch When I got to the anchor I took all the gear to lead the next pitch then waited for the other team’s second to get to the anchor and for them to move on. Their leader told me I could climb through and after waiting a little longer I decided to. I had a awkward traversing start to over where they set up their anchor then a short headwall before some easier ice. As I passed them and was slightly above I somehow slipped and one of my tools came out of the ice. I’m still not sure how it happened but all I could do is try and hang on to the one tool stuck in the ice. Somehow I managed to hang on, regain my composure, and continue the pitch. I came up just sort of a huge ledge and built an anchor and brought Josh up. He continued to the ledge where we took a short break. Somewhere around pitch 3 or 4 I took the next short pitch off to the left of the flow as the section above was steep and I didn’t feel like leading it. Josh had an impressive lead on the steep curtain above and ended up building an anchor with a hanging belay to bring me up. Some how the next few pitched kind of blur together and I’m not sure how many we did or what the climbing was like, except that it was never easy climbing. When we got to where we thought we were two pitches from the top both of us were pretty worked and were cramping up in different areas of the body. My forearms and biceps were cramping and Josh’s calves. Josh had yet another impressive lead up some deceivingly steep ice up what we hoped would be close to the end. He brought me up and I took off gunning for the top of the climb. As it was about to get dark I remember thinking “don’t put in screws as it will just slow you down”, but then I would look down and realize I was 25+ feet above my last screw and would stop to put one in. If that last pitch would have been a single pitch climb someplace else I probably would have no problem soloing it, but after 11 hours of climbing I wasn’t too sure I’d make it. I ended up not making it to the top and Josh got the top out. It wasn’t much of a pitch as it was mostly snow covered ice and rock, but he was thankful to get it. A few pitches from the top. We were both exhausted and I even told Josh “fuck this sport, I’m selling my ice gear” as I was walking the flat ground to the final anchor. There wasn’t much of a celebration; just a limp wristed handshake and we started to pack up for the walk off. My feet were killing me, but we made it back to the car almost exactly 16 hours after we left. We chugged water and Gatorade and started the drive back to Sacramento arriving at 1:30am on New Years Day. The next morning while doing research on the climb I found out that it has been called the longest continuous ice climb in the lower 48. It was first climbed in the 70’s and took three days to complete. My hat is off to those guys! I also found out that only a handful of people have completed the climb. I’m not sure how two average ice climbers were lucky enough to make it up such a climb, but we did it. Several people have asked if it was fun and my answer is a simple “no”. In the few days after the climb I have told several people that I never want to climb it again. They have said oh you’ll look back on it as say it wasn’t that bad and you actually had fun. I honestly don’t think that day will ever come! Am I glad I did it? Yes, sort of. Will I ever climb it again? Possibly. Will I ever say it was fun the first time I climbed it? NEVER! Gear Notes: We brought too many 16cm screws as we were intending on climbing Silver Strand. would bring more 13's and even a few 10cm screws Approach Notes: Easy to find, just look for the big ice!

You might want to check out alaskaiceclimbing.com starting in November. Looks like I'll be back up there this spring and looking for partners also.

A little more work and an actual climbing trip added.

Thanks! I'll try and bump it every few posts.

I decided to start a blog documenting my van conversion and climbing adventures along the way. Obviously it's a work in progress. Hope you enjoy it and let me know what you think: Climbingcoastie's Blog

Chris, Not sure I met Mcalpine. I'm sure I seen him and probably even chatted, but couldn't be 100% sure. Well worth a trip fourteenfour!! Alaska has so much ice that people in the lower 48 don't know about. Still plenty of FA just waiting for someone to get to.

Trip: Valdez - several Date: 2/13/2015 Trip Report: After last years Alaska trip we decided that there was so much ice in Valdez that we would skip climbing in the Anchorage area and spend the entire time in Valdez. We still wanted to hit the born again Valdez Ice fest over Presidents Day weekend, so we skipped out on work on Friday and flew out that morning. Researching rental cars I found out it would be $110 a day to rent a car in Valdez or $210 for the entire week out of Anchorage. This added with the extra cost into flying into and out of Valdez made the decision easy. We flew into Anchorage and would be driving to Valdez. Becky, Josh’s wife, was going to join us for the first part of the trip this year. Because she wasn’t staying the whole time her ticket was to fly into and out of Valdez. The three of us left Sacramento on the same flight. In Seattle Josh and I were flying direct to Anchorage while Becky took the “milk run” through Juneau. This would allow us to arrive in Valdez all about the same time. Turns out our flight in Seattle had mechanical problems. After the delay we all ended up in Anchorage within 5 minutes of each other. Becky decided to join us for the ride instead of flying to Valdez. When reserving the rental car I opted for a compact, thinking the only time the three of us would be in the car together was headed to the climbs and back. Once seeing the rental car we all laughed. It was more of a roller-skate with a steering wheel than a car. It took us a while to get everything packed into the car and we headed out calling The Mosse’s Tooth and ordered pizza for the road. The drive was uneventful and we got into Valdez around 10:30 that night making for a long day. Day 1 It was the first day of the ice fest, so we headed out to Keystone Canyon early and jumped on some topropes that were set up on the first pitch of Bridalveil Falls. During our first lap a few others started showing up. By the time we got our second lap in it was down right crowded, so we decided to head out to 19 Mile Wall. When we got out there we got excited to see that there was a trail heading up the hill. Unfortunately that was short lived as we noticed it was a snowshoe trail and we didn’t have snowshoes. We post holed up the hillside for about 45 minutes to the base of Oosik (WI4 90m). I set up a top rope on the bottom 30m and we each ran a few laps. Becky told Josh and I that we could top out if we wanted to. Josh gave me the lead and I continued above our anchor to increasingly steeper ice. After getting to the car we decided to see if there was anything open to climb. We headed back into Keystone Canyon and seen Triangle in the Cleft (WI3 30m) was free. Becky stayed in the car while Josh and I headed up to it. Josh took the lead up some thin ice. He got up about 20 meters and decided there wasn’t much worth climbing above him. He put a couple screws in and lowered off. I climbed up to the screws and decided to continue up just for the hell of it. I found a couple v-threads and brought Josh up. We rapped back down and headed to the car. We went to the Fest party that night at the Visitor’s Center where some awesome prizes were given out. We split before the dance party began. Bridalveil ® & Greensteps (L) being attacked during the fest. Bridalveil Falls with Glass Onion in the upper right. Woman's clinic on P.O.S. Me leading Oosik. Josh nearing the top of Oosik. Day 2 We woke up and headed into Keystone Canyon hoping to get on Hung Jury (WI4 55m), but when we got there we noticed a couple heading up to it. We decided to climb Horsetail Falls (WI3 80m) because Josh and Becky had never done it and it was right there. I gave Josh the lead as I lead it my first trip to Valdez several years ago. It was pretty much an uneventful climb except for one 15’ section leading up through a couple bells. When we were rapping as we reached the top others showed up to enjoy the topropes set up by the Fest Crew. We cleaned up and headed over to Hung Jury where the first party was just topping out. We decided to start the climb under the bells instead of on the right side. Josh started up, being protected by the bells as the party above rapped. When they started below us Josh waited for them to get all the way down to the river so we wouldn’t knock ice down on them. While Josh was leading another party showed up, they went to the right side and impatiently waited for us to finish. Constantly looking around the corner and up at Josh, trying to rush us. Once Josh made it to the top me and Becky started climbing. I love this climb and you can’t describe what it’s like climbing through/around the bells. We made it down and headed to the car. As we drove by the climb we all had a good laugh as they guy that was in such a hurry for us to get done wasn’t going any faster than Josh was. We headed to Hole in the Wall to get on one of the climbs that we didn’t climb last year Dire Straits (WI4+ 50m). Josh decided to give me the lead even though this was the route he wanted ever since he seen it last year. I left my hardshell at the hotel and the climb was running with water. I gave it a go but was soaking wet and miserable about 30’ up. The climbing got a little harder just above me so I slung an icicle and equalized it with a screw and lowered off. Josh pulled off an awesome lead and finished the route. I was so wet I didn’t want to climb it, so he rapped off a v-thread and we headed to the hotel. That night was the bonfire at Nick’s place. It was defintely an Alaska size fire! Becky on Horsetail Falls. Hung Jury from the river. Josh and Becky gearing up to climb Hung Jury. Horsetail Falls being attacked for the fest after we got off Hung Jury. My attempt at Dire Straits. Josh preparing to rap Dire Straits. Now THAT'S a fire. They counted 160+ people that attended the fest with 15-20 of us from out of state. Day 3 We headed out to Bear Creek in the rain and got on Rain Check (WI4 90m). If you read last years report you know that we started up this climb and backed off do to fatigue from climbing for 9 days straight. We thought the name fit as we took a rain check last year on it and it was raining at the base. I took the lead and got to where the top splits into two curtains. I set up a belay and brought Josh and Becky up. I continued the lead up the right curtain to the spruce tree at the top of the climb. Standing under the tree belaying them up was the warmest and driest I was all day. While belaying them up I counted 3-4 slides coming down the hillside further up canyon. Once we were on the ground we were all soaking wet and decided to call it a day. I needed that lead after backing off the climb yesterday. Josh rapping Rain Check. Day 4 We woke up early as Becky was flying out that morning. The weather had other plans and the plane couldn’t get in, so she was rescheduled for that evening and we went climbing. We headed into Keystone again and headed up to Simple Twist of Fate (WI5- 75m). Josh lead the first pitch that was mostly snow slogging. He gave me the second pitch that was steep blue hero ice. It was a fun and challenging lead especially with the water trickling down it. Once Josh and Becky came up we rapped down and headed over to P.O.S. (WI3 25m). Josh lead up and slung a top rope and we each ran several laps on it. Josh ended up leading the steeper section for the last climb of the day. We headed to the hotel and got cleaned up before driving out to the airport again. This time after waiting for two hours the plane never left Anchorage. Welcome to traveling in Alaska!! Josh and Becky coming up Simple Twist of Fate. Day 5 Again we woke up early and got Becky the airport, this time she made it out. Josh and I went straight to Bridalveil Falls (WI5 185m) from the airport. I lead the first pitch making a detour way to the left to avoid a waterfall dripping down the side getting to the bolts behind the second pitch curtain. Josh combined the second and third pitch which started with an exposed step around to the front side of the curtain and upwardly traversing right. I lead the third pitch, the “killer pillar”, which was far less intimidating this year than the name implies. Josh finished the climb with the fourth pitch and we rapped off v-threads. We were both stoked and adrenalin was flowing, because we decided to find some more ice to climb. We headed up towards Thompson Pass, but by the time we got there the adrenalin wore off and we decided to call it a day. Bridalveil Falls from the road. Josh approaching the top of the first pitch scouting his lead coming up. Josh starting the second pitch of Bridalveil. Me on pitch three. The "killer pillar". And another. Oops! I have always been told this was next to impossible. Glad this happened on the third pitch. Day 6 We started off by hiking into Sheep Creek to check out a couple climbs. We were amazed with how little ice there was in there was compared to last year. Spring Loaded was pretty much non-existent. We dropped our packs a ways in and skirted around some avalanche debris to take a look at some ice further up canyon. I had an uneasy feeling while we were up there. After scouting around and getting back to our packs we decided to pass and head up to Thompson Pass for some roadside climbing. Nothing to tall but exactly what we needed. We each did 5-6 routes, one would lead it, we’d pull the rope and the other would lead it with screws in place and get lowered and immediately run up it on top rope, then the first person would go up on TR and pull the anchor, making for a lot of climbing for only a few routes. On the way back we took a good look at the slopes above Sheep Creek discussing the avalanche potential. Got to love those approaches in Alaska! Views weren't bad either. Day 7 The avalanche conditions went down from considerable to moderate so we discussed going back to into Sheep Creek. We decided that as long as the sun stayed behind the clouds we would be good. We hiked back in and looked at Tsuri Gane (WI6- 170m) and Secret Journey (WI5 170m). We decided to jump on Tsuri Gane as we felt we needed to climb it early before it warmed up. Josh took the first pitch with snow covered rotten ice. The second pitch was pretty mellow and a lot of snow slogging. Once at the top of the second pitch we could see the hollow pillar wasn’t formed (not that we would have climbed it anyway). We decided to traverse to the left onto Tokyo Express to finish. Josh had a stellar lead on the third pitch used to traverse over. More rotten ice covered with snow, only steeper than the first pitch. Once I got over to Josh I took the “easier” line to the top of Tokyo Express. Josh on the traversing pitch three. Apparently the ice on the right touches down and forms the top of Tsuri Gane. View from the top of Tokyo Express. Josh rapping Tokyo Express. Our backpacks far below. Day 8 We left Valdez for Anchorage around 9:30. We ran into all kinds of weather on the trip; snow, freezing rain, rain on top of compacted snow, and blue sunny skies. It delayed us a bit but we got to town in time to swing by AMH, the Mosse’s Tooth, and even caught a hockey game before calling it a night. Day 9 We were at the airport by 9:30 and had an uneventful flight home. Gear Notes: 10-12 screws Approach Notes: Alaska Air & Dollar Rent-a-Car Snowshoes would have made it a lot easier to get to some routes!

It seems to stop me at 24 pics a day.

Seen this yesterday and it motivated me to go for a bike ride. I think his quote "the type of movement is less important than moving its self" really is true. Like Will said, at this point you just need to "move". The Stair stepper is my choice of torture in the gym, but just getting out hiking would be the best option. I'm not real familiar with your medical issues, but swimming and biking sound like your best bet until you get healthier.

Trip: Five days in Bozeman - Several Date: 12/15/2014 Trip Report: This trip got planned during a climbing trip to Woodfords Canyon over Josh’s birthday this spring. We agreed on dates for this trip and for another trip to Valdez in February. Our plan was to drive out from Sacramento leaving early the 13th. My wife ended up in the hospital for the previous week, so Josh and Becky left that morning. Even though my wife and the nurses said I should leave; I just couldn’t with my wife still in the hospital. She was released Saturday afternoon and I ended up flying up to Bozeman on Monday the 15th getting there around midnight. The first day I was there (Tuesday the 16th) we just went to Genesis I (WI3-WI5, 20m) . It was my first ice of the season and Josh had no problems throwing the lead to me. I climbed the left side at WI3 as I placed a few too many screws trying to get my confidence back. After a few laps we moved the rope to the right to top rope steeper terrain (WI4) After several more laps we moved to the far right side and top roped yet another 3-4 laps. When we were done we went back to the hotel, cleaned up, and then headed to the Montana Brewing Company for some beers and pizza. My first climb of the year on the far left. The views from the base of Genesis I. A party climbing on the steeper section of G1 She told me I couldn't beat her to the top, so I stopped and took a few pictures. Wednesday Becky flew back home and me and Josh got a later start. We hiked up to Genesis II (WI3+, 50m) where Josh led the right side as another group was on the left. While Josh was leading two guys from Oregon showed up. We chatted for a while before I headed up. They decided to start up the left side once the first group came down. Once we got down we hiked over to The Hangover (WI3, 50m) where three guys were making a photo shoot out of it. We didn’t expect them to take as long as they did so we waited to jump on it. Once they were down I lead up the easier lower section placing few screws, as I was feeling more comfortable. At the top there is a steeper section that I backed off of and went around to the right, as it was less steep. Josh followed without incident and we rapped down and headed over to Upper Green Sleeves Left & Right (WI3, 60m) . Josh lead the left one and I lead the right one. Both had tricky dirt/root climbing towards the top that both of us found interesting on lead. We called it a day and went for burgers at Montana Ale works. Josh waiting for The Hangover to open up. Sorry, no other pictures today. Day three we planned on doing Mummy Cooler II. We stopped in the Amphitheater on our way up and Josh lead Thin Chance (WI3, 15m) and I took Fat Chance (WI3-, 15M). We got up to Mummy II (WI3+, 45m) with no one around, what an amazing setting! Josh offered me the lead as he knew it was one of the climbs I wanted to do but I passed, as it was his turn. He took one of the steeper lines up the center for a great lead and climb. We took a break for lunch and were looking at The Scepter (WI5, 30m). The top was pretty steep, but hacked out and the bottom looked fun and challenging. After him hawing around about it Josh said “if you don’t lead it, I will” that’s all it took for me to tie in and start up. Looking at it from underneath was completely different than looking at it from a ways back. Just under half way up there was a bulge that proved much harder than it looked. Being several feet above my last screw it was pretty intimidating. After clearing the bulge there was a good rest before the steeper upper section. I’d have to say it was one of my top three hardest leads ever, but glad I did it. Once we finished it Josh decided he wanted to lead it and agreed that it was quite a move on lead. We headed out and went to one of the best pizza places I’ve been to, Audrey’s. After pizza we went to Lockhorn Cider House recommended by a Nick in Valdez, awesome place with great cider! Josh with The Scepter on the left and Mummy Cooler II on the right. The bottom part of The Scepter. The hard move was going from standing on the mushroom on the far right to the one above it. Friday we headed up to Unnamed Wall with intentions of getting on The Thrill is Gone (M4, WI4, 35m). It looked much harder than the M4 rating and we didn’t think it protected as well as it said, so we passed. There was a solo climber on The Fat One (WI3, 45m) so we continued on to The Elevator Shaft (WI3+, 75m). Josh lead it as I was still feeling the Cider House from the night before. The center section was pretty thin with visible water running behind it, making for a more interesting lead than it looked like. After following and rapping we pulled the rope and I lead it. We then headed over to The Fat One. I got the lead and I took the steepest line that was near vertical. While putting the second screw in, my feet blew and I almost lost it but held on to my tools. It felt so good getting that screw in and clipped! I finished the route without incident. With nothing else in the area we were at a loss for what to do. After some discussion we decided to go to Paradise Falls. We hiked down and drove to the other parking lot. We were expecting a flat easy hike, but were surprised that it wasn’t flat. After hiking up we found that the climb wasn’t in enough for our liking so we headed back to Genesis I to get some laps in. Elevator Shaft For the last day we decided to hike in to Dribbles (WI4, 155m) as we were hoping doing the long approach would help us avoid the crowds on the weekend. It seemed to work as there was just only party at the base when we showed up and they were the only ones we seen while we were there. Josh gave me the first lead as this is where him and Becky went the first day they were here and the fest was going on and they top roped the first pitch. For some reason I decided to break my rule and follow up behind the other party. Luckily I didn’t get hit by anything, but it sure made me question why I decided to follow up behind them. Josh chose an impressive and sustained line for the second pitch. After Dribbles we walked back down the trail and up to the Winter Dance area where I lead Over Easy (WI3, 40m) and Curtains (WI4, 25m). Josh on the way out. We headed home the following day running into a pretty bad snow storm driving down to West Yellowstone and getting back to Sacramento around 8:00pm. Thanks again to my wonderful wife Ginny for letting me gallivant around the country chasing my obsession, especially while she wasn’t doing so great. Approach Notes: Alaska Air & Josh's 4Runner

Thanks! Yea, me too. I'd really of liked to get into Hunter Creek, but we made the best of it. I think next year we will probably head straight to Valdez. There is just so much ice in that area. I'm surprised that's all that happened to those guys! That would be a lot of ice coming down.

No problem, glad you liked it. Sad thing is there is so much more ice in Valdez it's crazy!

Trip: Alaska Ice - Many Date: 2/7/2014 Trip Report: Its awesome having a partner that all you have to do is mention a climbing trip and they are in! Not sure how it came up but I mentioned to Josh that I’d like to go back to Alaska and do some ice climbing and he said he was in (knowing little to nothing about it). Searching the forums I found out that they planned to resurrect the Valdez Ice Fest over President’s Day weekend. I told Josh I’d like to try and attend to see some old friends, he said no problem and the only thing left was to decide if we wanted to head up the weekend before or stay the week after. We chose the weekend before, as we would get more days of climbing in. With a plan of climbing around the Anchorage area for 5-7 days then head to Valdez for the fest. As usual with every trip I plan to Anchorage to climb, it warms up right before I get there. This time much more than usual, basically everything was melted out or inaccessible around Anchorage and Valdez wasn’t fairing much better. Then came the “damalanch” that blocked the road to Valdez. A week before we left we questioned canceling the trip and heading to Bozeman or Ouray, as either was about a 16-hour drive. Luckily temps dropped over most of Alaska. I got mixed reports, but figured we could salvage some ice climbing even if it meant staying in a lodge and spending more money. Day 1: I met Josh at the airport around 6:45pm after cutting out of work early for our flight to Anchorage via Seattle. We landed in Anchorage around 3:00am and caught a shuttle to the hotel for some much needed rest. Unfortunately the rental car counters in Anchorage close at midnight and don’t open until 5:30. Day 2: We got moving around 8:00, dressed and packed to climb, then took the shuttle back the airport to pick up our rental car. A quick stop for breakfast (unfortunately my favorite bagel shop had closed) put us heading towards Eklutna Canyon around 10:45. Getting out of the car at Thunderbird Trailhead was a shock for two guys living in California! The car thermometer read +11. We slipped and slid our way up the trail, as river access wasn’t a viable option due to the warm temps. Finally getting down to the river going across the ice was a little unnerving at first and any noise made our hearts drop. Hiking up canyon there were climbs in that I had never noticed before. I decided I’d take Josh to one of the most climbed waterfalls in Alaska for his first climb up there. RIPPLE (WI3, 60m) was about the thinnest I’d ever seen it but had plenty of ice to climb. We had made a deal on a previous trip that I would get the first lead of this one, but after thinking about it I gave it to Josh as I’d led it every time I’d climbed it. Pretty uneventful and a good first climb of the trip. Me at the base of Ripple We then moved up canyon to ANNIE GREENSPRINGS (WI3, 20m). Again Josh took the lead and enjoyed the steep ice saying, “I think this is the steepest ice I’ve ever led”. After I followed we rapped and Josh asked me if I wanted to lead it, of course I said sure and got my first lead of the trip (dropping a screw along the way). We then headed down canyon planning on hopping on TJ SWANN and found a party on a climb I’d never seen before, they said it was called ASTROTURF. There was a party on TJ so we continued down canyon to another climb I’d never seen called CHAM RIPPLE (WI3, 25m). I asked Josh if I could have the lead as I’d never climbed it before and he obliged. It was a fun lower angled curtain up to a steep pillar. I got to the top and set a top rope. We each did several laps and decided to head out. Josh and Cham Ripple We debated if we should just hike the trail out or attempt to head down river and climb out on MAD DOG (WI3-4, 25m). We decided we would give Mad Dog a try and would just walk back to the trail if the river wouldn’t let us get to it or if it was too thin to lead. After navigating a couple open pools and my foot punching through the ice we made it to Mad Dog. It was pretty hacked out but leadable. I dropped my pack and set up another top rope and lowered back down. We ran 3-5 laps on it, playing on the mixed ground on the left for some of it. We then grabbed our packs and climbed out and headed to the car. After driving into Anchorage we got our room on Elmendorf, cleaned up, and went to get the best pizza and beer in the world at the Moose’s Tooth!!! A hacked up Mad Dog Day 3: Despite bad reports we tried to get into Hunter Creek. We only got about ¼ mile before realizing our hopes didn’t meet reality and headed to the Beer Climbs. When we got there, there were a couple people climbing on the right (fun) side of Henry's (WI2/3, 50m) and a team roping up on BLITZ. We asked the party on Henry’s if they cared if we climbed the left side, they said no problem so I headed up, hoping that the party on Blitz would be done about the same time we were. Embarrassing as it was I dropped another screw on some way too easy ice and uneventful besides that. After rapping, the other party was still on Blitz so Josh took the sharp end for another lap on Henry’s. Again we rapped and found they had only made it up half the climb and seemed like they were more into talking to each other than climbing. Another party on the right side of Henry's We collected our gear and headed to PILSNER PILLAR (WI4/5, 50m). Josh got introduced to Devil’s Club on the hike in and wasn’t happy. The Pillar was a little more than we wanted to lead so Josh led up this fun little flow that went up a slot to the left of the Pillar. We set a top rope and rapped, kicking hard on the way down to make sure it would say put on the climb. We each did several laps on either side of it with Josh playing on the mixed lines more than me. It was some steep ice, that’s for sure. Afterwards sushi at Dish in Anchorage. The route we climbed to gain access to Pilsner Pilsner Pillar Josh on Pilsner Day 4: We got up fairly early and stopped by the Alaska Railroad office to pick up our permits for climbing on their property. These permits are required and please don’t climb on railroad property without one as this is a great privilege that can be revoked. After another quick breakfast we headed down towards Portage hoping we would be able to climb something along Turnagain Arm. Unfortunately there was just enough ice for Josh to see how much potential there is, but nothing climbable, so we continued down to the Portage River area to get on the Five Fingers. Five Fingers area Portage area got noticeably more snow than Anchorage and finding the climbs and a parking area were a little difficult as I’d only been there once before. After parking along side the road we trudged through knee/thigh deep snow to the base of the RING FINGER (WI2/3). It didn’t look that interesting so we moved left to do THE PINKIE (WI2/3, 20m) and Josh led it. It had several areas of wet crappy ice and snow covered ice with water running behind it, but was still a fun climb on top rope for me, not sure how Josh felt about it on lead. We cleaned about a pound of tat from the anchor and left a new cord when we rapped. We then moved right to FIRST FINGER (WI2/3, 50m). We ended up getting to the climb about 60’ higher than the base so instead of rapping down for some easy ice Josh decided to head up from where we were. It was a little nerve-racking watching him traverse out over the snow-covered rock with no pro, but fun solid climbing after that. On the rap down we grabbed our packs and headed for the right side of the base where we took cover from the snow in the trees for a bit and warmed up. I then led up the right side to a near vertical pillar and nervously started climbing. Topping out and having to get to the anchors finding nowhere for pro and needing to cross snow covered rock/moss was not what I was hoping for, but oh well. Josh coming up the right side of First Finger View from on top of the Fingers At dinner we talked about what the rest of the trip would hold. Up to that point we planned on spending some time at a friends cabin near Caribou Creek and climb until Friday then head to Valdez. The high for that area was forecast to be -9, yes that’s a high of –9. Being Californianized the previous two and a half years that didn’t sound like fun, so we opted to go straight to Valdez. As climbing in Valdez was what we both really wanted to do from the beginning. Day 5: We left Anchorage and head to Valdez stopping in Caribou Creek to climb KID'S CORNER (WI3). Leaving the car was hard at -1 and a slight breeze. We dropped down to the river and started hiking upstream with a constant breeze with some stronger gusts. When we tucked into the trees that led to the base of Kid’s the wind disappeared and felt noticeably warmer. Having climbed Kid’s every time I’d been to Anchorage I let Josh lead all three pitches. I absolutely love this climb!! It follows a slot canyon up three distinct pitches with mellow walking/scrambling in between. It reminds me of a miniature Cody, WY; or at least what I would expect Cody to be like from the pictures. It was also my first “true” ice climb as all I’d climbed before were small flows on Kodiak. Man how ones perceptive change! We continued on to Valdez getting there just before dark allowing us to see the cleared Damalanch and all the ice in and around Keystone Canyon, both were impressive!! Me gearing up at the base of Kids Josh leading the last pitch of Kid's into the sun and wind. Bridalveil Falls from the road with Glass Onion on the right Keystone Greensteps from the road Day 6: We woke up to cold temps and high winds, so we decided to go to an area called Hole in the Wall. The wind was blowing so hard when we left the car I jokingly make the comment that “I hope the car is still here when we get back” having two tires on ice and two on gravel. We ended up making a wrong turn and hiked up a trail a little too far before realizing it and dropping back down to the river bed and following it to the climbs. Once the climbs came into sight the wind died down and both of us were focused on SKI RACE (WI3, 100m). We geared up and I took the first lead, stretching out the rope to a full 60m. Josh followed and moved the belay up to the left to get out of the fall line. Once on route we decided that we would do the right side, which is actually another climb, called SECOND COMING (WI4, 100m). I took of climbing up some cool formations to the pillar. I climbed about halfway up the pillar to a platform that formed back behind the formation. I sunk a 16cm screw, threw on a double runner and a screamer, and continued up. The whole time thinking, “this is WI3?? Holy shit, if this is what WI3 is in Valdez I’ll never climb 4 or 5 around here!” This is a thought that stayed with me right up until I looked up the climbs to write this report. Josh followed and when he got to the top I asked him if he thought I dodged a bullet climbing the top half of the pillar. His answer was a resounding YES. When we threw our ropes they got tangled behind the pillar in a cave near the platform and Josh had to climb into the cave to untangle them. We threw in a V-thread and continued down. Josh on the approach to Second Coming/Dire Srtaits Josh at the belay Me leading out from the belay Josh went to look at DIRE STRAITS (WI4+, 50m) and was contemplating climbing it when he realized only one of his ice tools were on his harness. Not wanting to climb the committing pillar again we both prayed that he lost it in the cave. With three tools between us and the cave over 60m from the ground our only option was for the leader to take both tools and the follower only having one, so Josh headed up. Climbing the bottom half with one tool was kind of fun, actually. I got to the V-thread/anchor and swapped gear to let Josh continue up. Luckily he found his ice tool in the cave and rapped on a V-thread to the belay and on to the ground. After that unplanned climb we decided to pass on Dire Straits and climbed some no name WI3ish climb up a gully with no anchor noticeable around the top. [video:yahoo] A windy walk back to the car Day 7: Looking at the weather that morning the winds were still blowing so we wanted to say out of Keystone Canyon. We decided to head to Sheep Creek to see what was there. The approach was easy and we decided to give a climb a try that had a big section of beautiful blue ice about half way up. We climbed up the bank of the creek and up to a rock outcropping to the right of the climb. We unpacked and geared up. Wanting to lead the beautiful blue ice above I let Josh have the first lead. Thinking he would take the easiest line up I was surprised when he got me on belay and I got out from behind the rock. He went straight up a thin curtain/pillar with little to no protection. I was a little nervous following it, I couldn’t imagine leading it. We swapped leads and I headed up climbing over several steep steps. I got to thinking I was going to get to the base of the section I wanted to lead and would run out of rope. I got close to it, but not quite to the base of it and got to looking at where Josh could get to while bringing him up. When he got to the belay he realized he would get the “good” section, he offered it to me and I told him he earned it after leading the first pitch. We figured he would get to the top of that section, if not just shy of the top. He headed up and stayed towards the left. Josh ran out of rope just over half way up it and set a belay. I took the fourth pitch and crossed moved up and right, both of us thinking I’d get to the top of the climb. I ended up on some old hollow ice that was left from before the warm spell. Wondering if it would collapse beneath me I tiptoed past it to the new solid ice. Just after climbing up the steep section I looked over my shoulder and took in the view, something I had neglected to do earlier on the climb. Absolutely beautiful! I belayed just below a Y in the ice and brought Josh up. I gave him what little gear I had and told him it was his choice which way to go. He picked the right side because it had fewer alders in it, though it was a little steeper. With four long pitches below us and 7 days of hard climbing behind us it took both of us longer to finish that last pitch than it should of. Three 60m repels got us to our packs. Once in cell range we looked up the name of the climb SPRING LOADED (WI5, 375m). No wonder we were so tired! Me and Spring Loaded. We basically went strait up from where I am standing. Me leading the 4th pitch of Spring Loaded View from the top Day 8: Rest day. Hahaha yea right! We did plan on making this a rest day, as we were still tired from the day/week before. We drove out to Keystone Canyon and found the wind to be a little much in the morning but suppose to die down later in the day. So we drove back to town and hiked into Mineral Creek hoping to get on some of those routes out of the wind. After hiking about two miles we realized there was nowhere to cross the creek. We discussed our options, climb some short low angle ice on our side of the creek or head somewhere else. We decided to head back out to Keystone and see how the winds were. They were still blowing but we hoped that a climb called P.O.S. (WI3, 25m) would provide some climbing protected from the wind. Getting out of the car the winds were blowing every bit of 40mph, but as we approached the climb we got into a small-protected area at the base. Josh asked if I wanted the lead, as he knew this was the climb that I had my only lead fall on several years ago. Saying I needed redemption he talked me into it. I set up a top rope and we each did several laps on progressively steeper ice. Once we climbed every line possible we headed down the road and met Nick the one planner that didn’t pull the plug on the ice fest. He was belaying someone on top rope up the first pitch of BRIDALVEIL FALLS (WI5, 185m) and welcomed us to use any of the anchors that he set up the night before. Josh led up to the anchor and set another top rope. We climbed several laps on each rope meeting other locals as they showed up. That was a lot of climbing for a rest day! One of the may flows in Mineral Creek Day 9: We woke up early and headed out to Keystone to get on HUNG JURY (WI4, 55m). A climb I’ve wanted to get on since the first time I saw it several years ago, but didn’t feel like I could climb it. The wind was blowing pretty good as we walked across the river to the climb. The “bells” are much more impressive standing under them than they are from the road. Josh gave me the lead; probably because I talked about wanting to climb it from the first day I met him. It was an amazing climb. There was only one spot where I was concerned, I swung my tool into the top of one of the bells and heard a hallow cracking sound. All I could think was who would get hurt more, me falling on lead if it fell off, or Josh standing somewhere below me. I gently crossed over it, leaving it attached and continued to the top. Hung Jury from the road Hung Jury from the base Once down we joined the group at Bridalveil for multiple laps on the first pitch for us. Several acting tired after a couple laps and asking how many we had done, only to look at us funny when we both said 10-12. DAY 10: We wanted to climb something new and then join the festivities in Keystone later in the day so we decided to head to Bear Creek and climb RAIN CHECK (WI4, 90m). I wasn’t feeling great, so I was more than happy to let Josh take the lead. He headed up and with about 15m of rope left I started to get hit with light sluff. It lasted about 20 seconds and continually got stronger, it ended up pushing our packs down the hill a bit and burying me to just above the knee. Glad I had my parka on with my hood up or I would have been frozen. I asked if he was OK and he said yes and he was off belay. I headed up the steep shitty ice and got to the belay and took all the gear, neither one of us all to eager to continue. I made about two moves off the belay and decided it just wasn’t my day and we headed to the fest at Bridalveil. I think I only climbed one or two laps while Josh played on a mixed section for a lap or two. Nick had an Alaskan size bonfire going on that just got bigger through the night. So big we ended up in t-shirts for part of it. Rain Check DAY 11: It was the last day of the fest and planned as a dry tooling day at Tunnel Wall. When we arrived someone was leading a route on the right side of the wall. We all stood in the parking area with our parkas on watching and cheering him on. He got to the top and set up a top rope and several headed up to the base of the wall, some starting up a new line, others just hanging out. When I finally headed up I could see that the wall was much steeper than it looked from below and decided I wouldn’t be trying it anytime soon. Josh patently waited for a free rope that never came and we decided to hit the road for the 5-6 hour drive back to Anchorage. We hit the Moose’s Tooth one last time and headed to the airport for a shower at the USO and to catch our flight. Our flight left Anchorage at around 2:00am that night and got into Sacramento around 8:00, early enough for me to catch a couple hours sleep before heading to work. Thanks to Ginny and Becky for letting us head to the Last Frontier for 10 days of climbing. We ended up climbing somewhere around 5200 vertical feet of ice in those 10 days. Another special thanks to Nick who not only kept everyone up to date on the conditions in Valdez, but threw one hell of a party and ice fest. I already have plans to attend next year’s fest!! Gear Notes: 11 screws got us up everything we climbed If you can get a copy of the books "Fat City and Urban Ice" and "Black Ice and Blue Gold" you would have info for a lifetimes worth of climbs. If you can't get a copy alaskaiceclimbing.com has most of the climbs on it with condition updates in the forum section. Approach Notes: Alaska Airlines and Dollar Rent-a-car