spionin

you know you totally wanted to be there - dodging bullets and icicles! so... does anyone know anything about that climb on top of air roof? or the climb that we got on?

thanks troy! we need to inaugurate the new year by getting on something scary.

no, that's the photo of what we think is Tyee falls, the route we actually got on. the fang looked good, and doug actually thought we should do it. it looked solid (as solid as a described hollow-topped pillar will be, probably). the approach to our climb took us about 45 min through trees and across the river. the trek to the fang would probably go faster. it's visible on the left around milepost 23-24.

...just in case, i intentionally spelled gourmet that way. just sayin'

Trip: entiat valley and leavenworth - 01/02-03/2010 - Date: 1/2/2010 Trip Report: doug hutchinson and i went on an ice scouting tour this weekend in his totally sweet eurovan camper. so we left seattle early saturday morning and drove up to entiat. the ice guide talks about a number of routes along the entiat river road. we drove through a pretty decent fog back and forth, and only saw two routes: the mighty fang and something around mile marker 20, tyee falls? so we parked and shwacked towards the prize. this involved crossing a frozen (??) river, where at each step we got serenaded by loud cracking. we decided to try the right side of the falls, which provided a more continuous line. doug climbed a ways up into an unprotectable shower stall, looked for a decent way up, got bombed by snow pretty well, and finally retreated. i think if the weather cools down the falls will fill in nicely and be ready for action soon. we then drove to leavenworth and checked out icicle creek. both carenos look good. careno right acquired two more solid pillars since last saturday (and alpinedave and zach climbed it in good form) we had a warm, relaxed evening in the camper, complete with with some gor-met dinner (not roughing it) on sunday we decided to do pivotal point. the book says that there's a route right above air roof. this is it (from which side do you approach it?), and it doesn't quite look like wi4: around the bend in the road, and up a canyon is this (more likely to be pivotal): doug jumped straight-on to a central pillar while i decided to lead a line to the right. it looked more "interesting", potentially offering a backstep/stem move, but instead forced me up a narrow chimney and the put me in an awkward position under some hangers (bad move on my part) doug then lead up a narrow mixed gully on the left side of the falls, which looked almost mellow, but wasn't (surprise). he placed 4 solid pins and 2 useless screws. and i'm very glad he talked me out of re-leading it. note the delaminating ice on the right. this whole thing crashed on me. ice in the center of the gully also took off. drytooling and moss-sticking ensued. we'd like to call this line "note to plumber, the sink is too low and water tastes like shit", inspired by an outhouse inscription in wenatchee, and by getting covered in crap while squeezing through the narrow, dirty gully. Gear Notes: pins, screws. Approach Notes: according to the book, with happy music. 2 hours into driving doug declared my musical selection (massive attack) too dark, refused to listen to tom waits, and for the rest of the trip i felt like we were in a vw/apple commercial.

nicely done! what were the temperatures like?

jeez frieh - we need to add an "embarrassed" smiley option to the posting form. thanks for the kind compliment - but i should really credit my discreet partners who don't give away the reality: the sketch, the bailing, the shaking (maybe even crying a little here and there) - that's behind the pictures

troy and i had a mountain glamour shot session up there.

pope, ... i've been trying to come up with a response, and have nothing on this. i'll be sure not to use wool mittens while leading ice.

thanks all - it was a really great day. happy to provide a conditions report. i'm not sure - i had to stop 3 feet below the anchor b/c of the leg. i think the tree is it.

it's such an awesome cragging area, so close! next time, come by for sure! piton - that's awesome to hear, thanks! i tried my friend's cobras, but i just don't dig 'em. he really got the whole rotation around the pinky rest down, but i'm really into the wrist flick. i've heard about the trigger before - it's a grivel slider, yeah? haha. hope he's reading this. the knee is good, thanks. it's taken a beating over the past few years (busted ligaments from skiing, fractured kneecap...) - this is totally mild.

yeah, dave said he's never seen it so fat. it was definitely a great chunk of ice. there a few ramp-looking features up the climb, and they do have some snow on them. so we generally opted to not use them due to uncertain foot and tool placements.

thanks! a friend helped to jerry rig the quark pinky rests on them (drilling ensued), and they've been working quite well! i was concerned about the changed pick angle (the pinky rest causes the lower part of the tool to become pulled back further from the ice), and i do have a hard time pulling the tools out sometimes, but roj s has said that it might actually be somewhat beneficial because of the more aggressive pick angle. they certainly perform for cheap[er] alpine tools! next step - be able to lead that stuff with my Chouinard zeros!

Trip: mt baker - pan dome Date: 12/27/2009 Trip Report: dave (Dave_S) and i climbed pan dome on sunday. the falls are FAT. our route: p1: the ice fractured a lot, while leading p1i took out a sizeable dinner plate, which hit me square in the knee (i had stepped up with my right leg, and it was bent). i finished the pitch, but could no longer really step up on it (or bend it). dave (being a total stud) ran up the more sustained p2. he credited being hung over for his cool head and lack of sketch. i don't know, my hangover didn't have the same effect... but anyways, back to the tr. p2: a group of very polite vancouver-ers top roped the route next to us. here's one of them rapping down 3 feet below the anchor my left foot slipped and resulted in a bend of the injured knee (i'll spare you the transcript of my reaction), and i ended up stopping there. so i guess technically i didn't finish. dave lowered me. thanks to my rad partner - he fetched a helpful ski area patroller and i got carted out to the parking lot on a snow mobile. great day. Gear Notes: screws of all lengths Approach Notes: 10 min walk through the ski area

Trip: leavenworth - rainbow falls/careno falls area Date: 12/26/2009 Trip Report: troy (t_rutl) and i did the right side of rainbow falls right (WI3) and careno falls left (WI4) on saturday. temperatures were in the teens for most of the day and the ice was great, although we began hearing stuff falling off rainbow as soon as the sun hit it mid-day. careno right looked awesome for anyone wanting to climb the free-standing pillar (not me, not this time) careno left was in good shape on its right side, and offered decent pro. we both had a great time, and only saw three other groups out the entire day! (troy took most of these photos - thanks dude!) Gear Notes: screws, didn't have to use any rock pro. Approach Notes: 10 min stroll from parking

pan dome is in and FAT. -veronika

wow, the cloud blanket looks pretty awesome! great photos!

you got it!

too bad we didn't see you from the other side of the valley

thanks for the positive outlook, fat ice is certainly welcome!

Trip: Liverwurst - Hubba Hubba Date: 12/19/2009 Trip Report: troy (t_rutl), steve (coug4) and i toook a little cragging trip to leavenworth. the conditions weren't, uhm, best, but the company was too rad to miss out on. we hiked up through water-logged snow, through a thick whiteout, stared at the gps for a while (it was giving info that firmly conflicted with the analog compass), when suddenly the falls revealed themselves the climbing was alright - the ice was really wet and mushy, hard to protect, but i was able to place a few nuts and a solid pin into the rock. it was nice to sneak in a climb before everything is obliterated by this warming trend Gear Notes: a few stubbies, mostly rock pro Approach Notes: per wa ice guide

i dropped my crampons (wrapped in OR gaiters) somewhere on the way down from chair peak, probably within 15-20 min from the upper alpental parking lot. must have slipped and fell one too many times. please let me know if you find them. the crampons are BD bionic pros, dual point the gaiters are black OR crocodiles, size S thanks!

nicely done, doug!

hey, how's the weather looking? it was getting quite inverted and warm up in the canyon by the time we left (wednesday) - 28F in town, 51F on our drive up to the main lot! hope the ice is keeping stable for you guys.

nice! way to win the prize hope to see you in the hills soon!