Argus

I was out climbing at First Creek yesterday. It's totally reasonable to be out climbing now as long as you're in the shade.

There is some cragging at the north end of the lake. There's a place called Kila Crag just west of Kalispell and a place called Somers Dump in Somers at the northern end of the lake. I've never been there, but the name alone makes me question it. There is a small guidebook on these areas available from Rocky Mountain Outfitters. It costs around $5. If I were you, I'd go check out Stone Hill in Eureka MT. Significant amounts of clean quartzite. It's about an hour or so NW of Kalispell. Here's a link to RMO. http://www.rockymountainoutfitter.com

Nice TR Chad. Did you climb that thing car to car? If so, that's a pretty brutal day. Where exactly did the snow line start? I'm hoping to climb the Enclosure Couloir this summer and trying to get an idea as to when to do it. I was actually up in Beehive Basin skiing on Sunday. There didn't appear to be any ice, but the skiing was fun with a foot of heavy new snow. Not too bad for the end of May. Maybe things will work out better for you on the Beehive next time.

VW Here is a sample page from JJ's book. http://www.firstascentpress.com/pdf/Sample-Page-wd.pdf I have climbed the route labeled B in the photo last March, but there was only a little ice in it. It was a lean snow year last year, so nothing probably formed anyway. We dropped our skis off at point A,climbed rock and snow to the summit, then skied the couloir and back to the car. This year there is a ton of snow down that way, so I could see the routes forming up better. You may want to try posting on www.montanaice.com and seeing if someone has been up there. I could give you some names of people to contact if you need more info.