JoJo

Greetings! Hyalite Canyon is full on - it was climbing great even before the cold snap. Everything is IN! The cold is giving us a little more time inside to keep planning the upcoming 14th Annual Arc'Teryx Bozeman Ice Climbing Festival, December 9-12. Lots of improvements this year with redesigned clinics, a new killer venue and more top athletes. All hyperbole aside, the Women's Only Clinic on Friday the 10th is blessed with what I consider one of the greatest collections of ice climbers (boy or girl) ever assembled for a singular event of this type. This season we have Caroline George, Majka Burhardt, Audrey Gariepy, Sarah Hueniken, Lilla Molnar, Mattie Sheafor and Emily Stifler. Throw in the free slide show the night before and all the latest demo gear for a grand total of 40 bucks it's the deal of the decade. It's also the only day of the year I wish I was a girl. We still have a few spots open for this incredible day so go to www.bozemanicefestival.com to sign up. Thanks everyone! JoJo Ice Fest Info & Signups: www.bozemanicefest.com Our Blog: www.bozemanicefest.wordpress.com Facebook: Bozeman Ice Climbing Festival Twitter: @bozemanicefest

The face right of the Warbler got climbed this year by some Japanese climbers. http://www.alpinist.com/doc/web10s/newswire-logan-giri-giri There will be a complete Mountain Profile in Alpinist 31. It's at the printer right now! JoJo

All things equal, a vertical V-thread is stronger than the same anchor horizontally placed. This is due to the nature of ice to crack horizontally. My testing in 1989 and decades or experience have shown this. I've used vertical ones for years although more often than not I use horizontal ones just because they are easier for me to connect. Just like a screw, the quality of a V-thread is directly proportional to the quality of the ice, this includes temperature. Cold, dry ice is MUCH stronger than soft, wet ice. A good v-thread, either horizontal or vertical, will be super bomber.

There will be a memorial for Guy Lacelle in Canmore, Alberta, Saturday, January 16th, 2010. It is open to everyone and anyone that knew Guy or was just inspired by the greatest human being I've ever known. Make your plans now and hope to see you there. I will be posting more details as I know them.

Long time Ice Fest friend and athlete, Zoë Hart use to joke about the Bozeman Ice Festival as the Bozeman "Hook Up" festival. See you all in the hot tub!

The road is fine. It's plowed now to the Grotto Falls Parking Lot between December 1st and April 1st. The Gallatin County crews might not get to right away after a snow storm since it's lower on their priority list but it will get done none-the-less. This dreamy situation is the result of several years of negotiation between climbers, skiers, other community members, Gallatin County and Gallatin National Forest. Two years ago the Forest was planning on gating the entire road at the bottom all winter long. To make a long story short, that is no longer the case and it's not only open but also plowed. Thanks to the recent stimulus packages, guard rails were installed along the lower road to keep the yahoos out of the creek and polluting Bozeman's water supply. On that note, the road can get quite slick or if it's snowing hard for the day it can pile up quickly. A good car, snow tires, a shovel and a healthy dose of respect, patience and common sense is still required. The East Fork Road is not plowed but is still open until January 1st. After that you would have to ski into Palisade or Flanders or the other East Fork Routes (the road is a popular XC ski trail so there is usually a good track).

HERE IS SOMETHING FROM THE PRESS RELEASE AND A SCHEDULE FOR THE ICE FESTIVAL. HOPE TO SEE SOME OF YOU THERE! The Bozeman Ice Climbing Festival Celebrates 15th Years Bozeman, MT – Mark your calendar for the Arc’Teryx Bozeman Ice Climbing Festival December 10th through the 13th. Now in it’s 15th year, The Bozeman Ice Climbing Festival has become one of premier events of it’s kind with ice climbers from around North America, from novice to best climbers in the world, convening on Hyalite Canyon and Bozeman to climb, compete, teach and learn from each other. With more than 150 climbs within a three-mile square-radius, Hyalite Canyon, just south of Bozeman, is home to the most condensed, naturally consistent ice climbing in America. Proudly sponsored by Arc’Teryx, the Bozeman Ice Climbing Festival offers daily instruction clinics in Hyalite by some of the best and most experienced men and women ice climbers in the world, including Guy Lacelle, Josh Wharton, Jack Roberts, Joe Josephson, Sarah Heuniken, Caroline George, and many more. The on-ice clinics are just $50 and include all the gear you’ll need, admission to the slide shows, wrap party and gear give-aways. The nightly events at the Emerson Cultural Center, 111 South Grand, are jam-packed with slide shows, films and raffles for top-notch gear from festival supporters including: Arc’Teryx, Mammut, Outdoor Research, American Alpine Club, Northern Lights, Barrel Mountaineering, Black Diamond, La Sportiva, Scarpa, Petzl, Patagonia and more. All nightly shows and gear raffles are open to the general public for a $5 admission. Quickly becoming one of the most anticipated events is the 3rd Annual Mammut Hyalite Ice Breaker. In the Saturday Open division, climbers of any ability can see how many routes they can do in a single day to win valuable gear prizes. The Invitational athletes compete for a chance to have their name on the Grivel Golden Ice Axe, the Stanley Cup of ice climbing, on display at Northern Lights, 1716 West Babcock. The Bozeman Ice Festival's mission is to promote the sport of ice climbing to people of all ages and abilities, to educate ice climbers about climbing skills and safe climbing techniques, and introduce climbers to cutting edge ice climbing clothing and equipment. This year, the Arc’Teryx Bozeman Ice Festival celebrates the recent collaborative efforts between the community, Gallatin County and the Gallatin National Forest to keep the Hyalite Canyon Road open winter long to access the world-class climbing, skiing and winter recreation available there. “It’s really a grassroots community event designed to celebrate the sport and the incredible back yard we have in Hyalite” said Joe Josephson, festival organizer and author of “Winter Dance,” a guide book to ice climbing in Hyalite and the Beartooth Mountains. “No other festival in the country provides such an intimate three-day event where anyone, regardless of their experience level, can partake and interact with so many other supportive guides, gear reps, athletes and like-minded souls. It is truly an unparalleled opportunity to check out and experience the unique sport of ice climbing.” Register online at www.bozemanicefestival.com Find us on FACEBOOK @ Bozeman Ice Climbing Festival Schedule of Events Thursday, December 10th 7:00 am – 4:00 pm The 3rd Annual Mammut Hyalite Ice Breaker Invitational. Hyalite Canyon 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm Demo Gear checkout for the Women’s Clinic at the Emerson Cultural Center, 111 South Grand Ave, Bozeman, MT 7:30 pm – 10:00 pm Mammut presents, “A slide show by Josh Wharton featuring climbing expeditions to Pakistan, Patagonia and Alaska.” Friday, December 11th 8:00 am – 4:00 pm Women’s Only Ice Climbing Clinic in Hyalite Canyon 5:00 pm- 7:00 pm Demo gear checkout for the Saturday Clinics at the Emerson Cultural Center, 111 South Grand Ave, Bozeman, MT 7:30 pm – 10:00 pm World Premier of “The Continuum Project: A film by Chris Alstrin” at the Emerson Cultural Center, 111 South Grand, Bozeman, MT. Saturday, December 12th 8:00 am – 4:00 pm Ice Climbing Clinics at Hyalite Canyon 7:00 am – 4:00 pm Ice Breaker Open Class Competition 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm Demo Gear Checkout for the Sunday Clinics at the Emerson Cultural Center, 111 South Grand Ave, Bozeman, MT 7:30 pm- 10:00 pm Outdoor Research and the American Alpine Club present the Bozeman premier of “Way Point Namibia by Majka Burhardt” at the Emerson Cultural Center, 111 South Grand. Sunday, December 13th 8:00 am – 4:00 pm Ice Climbing Clinics at Hyalite Canyon. 7:00 - ? Wrap party for participants with raffle drawings, contest winners, and more at the Emerson Cultural Center. Details to be announced. The event is proudly sponsored by: Arc’Teryx, Mammut, Outdoor Research, American Alpine Club, Northern Lights Trading Company, Barrel Mountaineering, Pipestone Mountaineering, Black Diamond Equipment Limited, Petzl/Charlet North America, La Sportiva, Montana Alpine Guides, Andes Mtn. Guides, and more. Please register online at www.bozemanicefestival.com Or, call Northern Lights Trading Co, 406-586-2225, 1716 West Babcock, Bozeman, MT

The top of Feeding the Cat is "Mossome!" FYI: When I first published "Winter Dance" no one had ever seen The Matrix fully formed. That is one reason the caption calls it "fat." In fact, it had only been climbed a handful of times as late as 2003. Now it's a trade route, not to mention being more accessible thanks to the road being plowed. It's about every third year or so that it comes in big like this year.

If there was ever any doubt about the ice in Hyalite, check out this stat: At 3:00 am December 1st it was 27.5 degrees Farenheit at 8,100 feet in Hyalite Canyon. At 11:00 pm December 1st it was negative 5.7 degrees Farenheit. From: http://www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/snotel/snotel.pl?sitenum=754&state=mt Bring it on!

Frieh, WTF do you mean getting your name approved on "his" website? Jim Earl runs that thing but I think I do have some level of admin capacity. You having IT problems? Just let me know. As far as the WI 6 in a day clinic... Just sign up and come and ask the guest instructors to help you out. That has always been one of the nice things about our fest. We just all show up and combine the participant energy with the instructors and make the most of it. Lots of one-on-one and just hanging out with everyone. I would think the likes of Guy Lacelle, Jack Tackle, Jack Roberts, Whit Magro, Dean Lords, Sarah Hueniken, Caroline George and Josh Wharton could show us all as much as anyone could in one day (or better yet make it two ;-) Of course, Frieh will be getting cliniced on Thursday and Friday of the Hyalite Ice Breaker Invitational! Indeed, the Men's version is going to be two epic days this year. I project it's going to take 25-30,000 points to win. This is something when you consider "Winter Dance" (overall the hardest route in the Canyon) is the highest scoring route at 10,000 points. Northwest Passage (a M12 on Unnamed Wall) gets 6,000. Think about it! So many routes are in right now, it's going to be epic just deciding the best combination of routes to do! As many of you remember, Frieh and Schmidtzy got third last year. Now that Brian is a full-time monkey for the Man, I've had to put John and Brian on the same non-local side of the event. Thus, they'll have to put their usual man-love on hold as they climb with other hard core locals. Ok. that's all for now. I'll post more info later or if anyone has question about the Bozeman Ice Festival just PM me. Cheers, JoJo

To answer some of the questions posed above: If you are looking at the Bozeman weather, the temps over the last month may have looked sketchy for Hyalite Ice. Quite the opposite! 50 degrees in Bozeman more often translates into perfect temps for Hyalite. It's been going off up there for over a month now. It's the best year in years. It's getting quite cold right now so it's only getting better. Hyalite doesn't get very crowded, at least when compared to most Canadian Rockies or Colorado routes. The Genesis area, Mummy II and Corner climbs get busy on the weekends but the scene is very low keyed with a great vibe. I typically do The Matrix and Champagne Sherbert at least a couple of times a year and I've never seen another person on either. Even the Unnamed Wall is surprisingly uncrowded most of the time. During the Ice Festival Dec 11-13 it might get a bit busier than usual since the clinics take up Genesis 1 & 2 and Mummy 2. But that leaves about 130+ other routes (with everything from WI 2-3 to easy mixed to as hard as you want to climb up to WI7 and M12) for you to go do. The canyon is used by more than just climbers so don't let the number of cars in the parking lot scare you. I did Dribbles last year in March and there were 20+ cars in the parking lot. We didn't see another soul all day other than in the parking lot. Go to the East Fork or the Upper Main Canyon and you'll likely have it all to yourself! Some one asked about south facing routes. Aspect isn't as big a deal here as it is in the South Fork of the Shoshone near Cody. Hyalite Canyon runs north-south. Guy Lacelle and I spent yesterday in Hyalite and I put a condition report up at Montana Ice Dot Com http://montanaice.com/node/1227 with all the details. Hope to see you up there! JoJo

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I have a brand new, never been out of the bag, still has it's tags, MSR StormKing 4-season tent for sale. 4-5 persons. Perfect for your next expedition. I have another one that I've used on 4 month-long trips to the Yukon. Still going strong and will use it again. Deluxe as a 2-person base camp. I cook in the vestibule so in those big St. Elias storms, I never have to go outside except for number 2. Why have a kitchen outside? Any fool can be uncomfortable! They no longer make these and I think they were $800+ new. This one is yours for $500 including shipping, UPS. Will accept PayPal. I have scans of the tags and a photo of the tent in action posted over at Montana Ice: http://montanaice.com/node/936

Overall, conditions in Hyalite are spectacular and only getting better. Plus, after the last road plowing you can now get to the parking lot in a golf cart.

Hard to say if "Home Field Advantage" will still be around in a few weeks. It gets a lot of sun. Last weekend when I was up there, the top ice was already getting smaller. Don't know if the freeze will keep up with the melt. Regardless of conditions, you can still top rope whatever is left, thin veneer in the crack and great cobbles, as well as the TR cobble routes to the right or the left. Climb the moderate mixed, big groove on the right to reach the anchor/tree. The thin ice route in the next alcove above, "Through Four More," is a great, short climb as well.