earthly

ps. it'll likely be covered with a lot of snow- which is good- but intimidating. climb anyway. the snow cover is no worse than wet gloves, you'll be amazed at how 'not-bad' the snow covered ice is to deal with. it's going home with no vertical ascent that's a little harder on the soul.

i'm sure it's still in. very reliable ice, when we climbed it last (jan 22)- everything else (duffey etc) had rotted out (cept' the every-reliable-rambles-right). since then, we've watched the temps remain the same or colder. if you're on it, the approach- follow the road or die- isn't that bad. add a day to your trip and build a snow cave at the base, then score the only ascents on most that stuff this year....

Hello all- this is a reminder that the BC MOUNTAIN FESTIVAL and SLIDE SHOW is only 10 days away (Feb 9th)- that is ONE WEEK FROM THIS THURSDAY! at the ANZA Club in Vancouver, BC. So get your photos in now, grab your fellow adventurers (buy them a beer too) and get stoked Here's the evening's lineup so far.... * Raffles and an update by the CASBC... up for grabs are an awesome Arc'teryx Pack, a men's and women's Blurr training top and a sweet Blurr Evilution Pack, and some unbelievably cool stuff from MEC * Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival- sneak preview presentation, select film shorts * YOUR Slideshow and videos from BC and WORLDWIDE covering climbing, kayaking, base jumping, trekking and more... from Australia to Greenland, South Georgia Island to Joshua Tree, Redrocks to Nepal, the Cascade and Coast Ranges, UK to the Rockies, 'aplenty from our very own backyard, and many others * Short talks include recent exploits by Don Serl, about ice and a special presentation on the North Face of Main Street by Scott Close, some 'o the dinosaur days on local rock by Anders Ourum, and a few more quick intros by other brave souls... (have a spiel you'd like to give along with your photos?) * A special on John Scurlock's photography into/around the rugged Cascades * LIFE IN A BOX live music from one of Vancouver's own * ...... amid which we're giving away NUMEROUS outdoor-schwag door prizes (which are really, really cool, and generous from MEC) * and drinks, of course all for a mere $10- or even cheaper at $8 if you include anything from your own outdoor collection- from one photo to hundreds- but submit them NO LATER than Feb 6th Doors open at 6:30p, we'll be rolling by 7... February 9th.... ANZA club.... see you there! submit digital photos: on a CD at our ticket outlets, or, by email to address on poster submit slides: contact to arrange transfer/care ticket locations: get them early @ Sports Junkies, Cliffhanger Climbing Gym, The Edge Climbing Centre, or at the door (will-call OK) *Thank you to those on list who have already submitted- your shots are phenomenal- we are honored to assemble such a great collection of adventures and photography! *

wet? aw, c'mon dru, wringing out my draws only filled a nalgene...

~3 1/2 hours, 1/2 hour to switchback up the steeps to the base; the snow formed a pretty cohesive body except high on southeast-facing slopes where a discontinuous crusty laminae existed 4-5" below the surface. the upper pitch of WI5 continually shed little sluffs and flurries down our backs but was manageable... no sight of slides elsewhere in the valley but we couldn't see much beyond the swiss wall. the ski off the talus cone was excellent.

<ski trail> two weekends ago left a wandering trail through the briar not having been in there before- it filled in with snow anyway... this time we cut a direct line to the wall

Right on, Don- bet it felt good to get the tools wet. Three cheers for the most dependable ice in the Duffey valley!

Climb: North Joffre Creek-Schniedelwurtz Date of Climb: 1/22/2006 Trip Report: There's ice in them thar' hills... Simon and I (Scott) woke early, broke trail up into North Joffre Creek and had a great time on a good long route. the ice was a bit aerated but seems like most routes should last a few weeks at least. here's a pic of the swiss wall- and a pic below of aldergroove (far off- but looks even better than the swiss wall, ie. 'in' and chubby)- my partner in climb and our support staff- wish we had more time to do the other nice lines too (B & E looked stellar) here's our route (schiedelwurtz)- looking down after soloing pitch 1 (below) we roped up for the second and here's a couple shots from the top, after diagonal-lashing two alders for an anchor (yikes) because the ice up there turned to snow and froth (double yikes)- quite a good trip. long trip for a day, though there's a trail now for anyone else interested and should shave a few hours to allow an extra route or two. (ps. any of you not on the ball yet should really hit up the BC Mountain Festival & Slide Show comin' up in a few weeks....) Gear Notes: small nuts for a short mixed section, big nuts to trust the runouts; assorted screw lengths; double-ropes make the raps swift Approach Notes: new trail; park at trailhead, maybe camp night before or plan two nights up in valley

Just keeping the post current, some great shots from all over the world have been coming in. Thanks to all of you, safe adventures-

.....or climb bridalveil falls with the bluebird and hummingbird tubular ice tool hammer/axe set. oh wait. guess 'ol lowe already did that...

have to give the big verify for all route info stated herein. a few of us went on the hunt, ended up scoring some nice lines, again, in the ever-dependable-rambles. we also broke trail into north joffre, which had abundant ice. take peeps.

Attached is the final flyer- we've attracted a few more sponsors- Blurr, Sports Junkies, etc.

It may also be as simple as lacking interest. New generations seem to have a far less durable, persisting tenacity to stick with anything once it becomes too difficult; this is of course a generalization and perhaps best only applied to the fad seekers (of which the adventure sports are choked). As a result, how about the possiblity of mountaineering/climbing as no longer 1) a way to impress women 2) too much of 'yesterday's news'. As a kid, my old man and i were the only ones in our town who did any climbing. Then, through college, a burst of interested climbers appeared, for about five years, then stopped doing much or moved on to other sports. Many of them stopped doing simple camping. Climbing seemed to cycle through a dark, if-you're-not-the-first-ascentionist-then-who-the-heck-do-you-think-you-are? The accompanying rise in base jumping or kiteskiing, etc, might be corellative, and I think- in addition to what everyone else has said- it's a response to the new generation's- our- attitudes and character.

specifically: http://www.ringo.com/share.html?photoId=51720228&id=jwjp96Zba.a0 http://www.ringo.com/share.html?photoId=51720491&id=jwjp96Zba.a0 http://www.ringo.com/share.html?photoId=51721231&id=jwjp96Zba.a0

for all you spouting difficulty with long routes redrocks in winter, check out luisa giles a couple of weeks ago http://www.ringo.com/share.html?id=jwjp96Zba.a0 i believe epinephrine and frogland (5.7) were both styled. take a touque- ps.- treknclime, some of the routes near the mouths in the northern canyons get some decent sun in the winter. can't recall the names, but some great splitter cracks just opposite the valley from the necromancer wall.