marc_leclerc

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Trip: Agassiz, Hopyard Hill - F.A - O.C.D Pillar 37m WI4 Date: 12/24/2008 Trip Report: So this morning MikeW picked me up and we went over to a roadside climb in Harrison. I led it but Mike started feeling sick so we left.I was trying to figure out what to do as the day was still young but all the low angled stuff I would solo was getting buried in snow. I remembered that on a little hill named 'Hopyard Hill' 1 or 2 km's west of Agassiz's city center there is a NE facing bluff of dirty, crappy rock. On this cliff there is a rarely formed pillar that is usually just a couple of icicles. I thought it might go this year so after picking up a new pair of climbing pants at the post office, I convinced my GF to come out and give me a belay on a pillar. It took a fair bit of convincing to get her to go out in the cold and heavy snow, she told me that I was 'obsessed' to want to climb the route this badly... thats where the name comes from. It took us about 1/2 hour of walking to reach the base of 'Hopyard Hill' from my house and the pillar looked good but quite small. We hopped a fence, crossed a little field and hiked up snow covered rocks and bushes to the base of the climb. We put harnesses on, I racked up, then started up the ice below the pillar. I started on the right side of the flow, climbing a very short step and then a slightly longer steep step above the first. From the top of the second step I headed up and left towards the pillar on thin, but low angled, ice. Once I reached the base of the final pillar I was surprised to see that it was actually about 10m long, vertical, and chandeliered... I thought to myself, 'dammn, I've never lead water ice like this', and was hesitant to continue. I thought of placing a screw right at the base of the pillar but decided to conserve them (I only have 7) for the steep section, plus I needed the long one to make an Abalakov if neccesary. I started up the chandeliered, dripping pillar and got a screw in partway up, I continued up the steep pillar until I got to just below an obvious crux and fired in a short screw. I did a few more moves and got some bomber sticks at the top of the pillar and pulled into a shallow cave. The very top of the cliff was a few feet above me but getting there would require pulling a roof on a 3 inch thick curtain, the shallow cave had good ice in it and I built a solid abalakov and rapped down. My 70 meter rope didn't quite make it so I ended the rap in some bushes to the right. It then started to snow very hard so we quickly packed up and walked home. Overall the route was much better than anticipated, it was longer and steeper than I had originally thought and made for a nice F.A on Christmas Eve.... My only picture of the route sucks... I'll get a better one tomorrow if visibility improves The route from the base, it starts on the right hand side then diagonal's up left to the base of the obvious pillar. I ended in the shallow cave at the top of the pillar. Gear Notes: Screws, V-Thread Tool.... Approach Notes: Just off Mountain View Road in Agassiz, Look for some bluffs facing the road on the hill... the obvious pillar above the trees is the top of the route...

Awesome.... thats pretty cool stuff. Is that one of the ice routes? Or that big seraced face to the left of those route?

The Elmo one is Friggin Hilarious...

Technically you vandalized our truck first.... it was a good try but I think our cartoon won overall.

Matt Approaching 'Never A Bride' Me leading P1 of NAB Matt checks out 'Powerhouse Falls' Beginning of 'Moustrap' (left) and 'Better mousetrap' (right) P2 of 'Moustrap' , this was an awesome pitch on a great climb.... P3 of 'Moustrap' , this section was super easy and we ended up simul-ing a bunch...

IMO Mousetrap and Better Mousetrap look fatter this year... possible more worth the drive out...

I can't say for sure but I'm pretty certain I saw ice up that gulley today....

Trip: Upper Fraser Valley - 'Never A Bride' and 'Mousetrap' Date: 12/22/2008 Trip Report: Matt Kidd came up to Agassiz Saturaday and we went to Bridal Falls and climbed 'Never A Bride' (WI4). We climbed it in two pitches, The first being a 45m WI3, The ice was a bit thin at the ledges at the end of the pitch so I Belayed at a tree to the right of the route. Matt took the 2nd pitch (WI4 with crappy pro)up the final curtains and belayed me from a tree on the left. Two Raps down. Afterthat we drove around then hiked in to 'Powerhouse Falls' but it was getting late and the route looked a bit wet and hollow. We decided that climbing it wasn't worth the dark bushwack out and walked out. On Sunday we climbed 'Mousetrap', a classic moderate near Hope. We hiked in to the base and soloed the first pitch (WI2) I led the steeper second pitch (WI3) on fat ice. Even though it was no harder than the first pitch of 'Never A Bride' the ice was bomber and I placed half as many screws Matt led another easy pitch (WI2) up the narrow gulley, he climbed fast and placed only one screw cuz it was super easy then brought me up. I led off but it was so easy that I told Matt just to start simul climbing and we climbed together to the base of the crux pitch. After a bite to eat Matt led the crux which went at WI3+ or 4-. It stated up a fat steep curtain, then went up some egg-shell over snow (unpleasnt but short) climbed one more short vertical step then up easier (but slurpee-ish) ice to the top. Matt had a belay epic as the ropes were coated in ice from the 'slurpee' section and he had to haul on them to get them through his device. After seconding the crux I led a pitch of powder wallowing/stemming up the narrow gulley, I reached a section with snow over a wet pool, got my right foot wet, and then climbed some steep but easy ice out the left side of the gulley to a ramp. We did a short bush thrash around the snow covered pool to reach the next step. Because my pitch was short and kinda lame compared to Matt's last lead I got the sharp end on the last easy pitch (WI2-ish) From the top of this pitch (P7 or 8???) We took a ramp into the forest on the climbers left. The forest was steep and sucked and I forgot a tool at a rappell. After thrashing and rappelling down by headlamp we reached the base and packed up. On Monday we hiked up to climber's right of the route, crossed the gulley below our highpoint and retrieved the tool I forgot Overall the routes were great, 'Mousetrap' was the better of the two because of length and ice quality (although NAB is completely worthwhile) The only thing that would make 'Mousetrap' better would be more steep sections. Overall it was a pretty awesome weekend! Gear Notes: Screws (shorter for NAB)... tools Approach Notes: Drive, Walk.

Went Back today with Matt and finished 'Never a Bride' I retrieved my screw wich was nice. We did it in two pitches. One long (45m?) grade 3 pitch and a shorteer grade 4 pitch up the curtains near the top. Its in pretty good shape right now, get it while it lasts! P.S- Decent Divorce also looks ine and loks pretty burly to boot! Go get er!

oooooh.... maybe the dudes he was wintessing against killed him b/c they are THE BAD GUYS

Liquid Ice!!!

westcoastice.com

Trip: Fraser Valley Ice - 'Never A Bride' attempt and 'Easy Intro' Date: 12/19/2008 Trip Report: Tyler Linn and I went to try Never a Bride today, Tyler tried to start on the right hand side but eventually bailed due to thin ice. We were running late so instead of trying the left side we drove to 'Easy intro' off Highway #1 and simul soloed the first 3 pitches (grade 2, grade 4+ if you continue to the top) the route was in pretty good shape (although I did dull my tools a 'little). Picadilly Circus and Powerhouse Falls also looked good. Bridal Falls was still NOT in but Whitte Wedding looked pretty good as well as Decent Divorce. So over all it was nice to salvage our day and climb something aven if it was really easy... I want to go all the way up the final pitch of 'Easy Intro' now though, it looked really sweet... Never a Bride Tyler Start up NAB Easy Intro Tyler Soloing Easy Intro Sunset Gear Notes: Stubbies? Approach Notes: For NAB hike up Bridal Falls Trail and walk to the flow just right of the main falls. For Easy Intro park off Highway #1 between Herrling Island and Peters Road

Thanks bud.... hope to get out tomorrow... this could be a total FA binge! BTW... there is a fair bit of ice shaping up out here in the valley.... some of the high volume falls arent yet in but they will be soon!

Jeff Lowe certainly has plenty of Hard first ascents but as you said they are usually on mountains that have already been climbed. Beckey has explored so much and climbed in so many unexplored regions, climbed so many unclimbed peaks and so on.... I mean, Beckey spent a month in the Waddington Range and nabbed the 2nd ascent of Waddington (via the Weissner House)when he was barely older than me... The thing that is really cool about Jeff Lowe is how he really pushed the technical standards of ice and mixed climbing. He was doing the FA's of some of the very first grade 6 ice routes to come about, he brought mixed climbing to the M8 level with his route 'Octopussy' (using straight shafted tools with Alaska Picks) and put up massive ice routes up in the Himalaya's.... Both of them have much respesct from me...

[video:youtube]v=GbsBJmx-m2s

Hope looks pretty sweet right now.... lots to do up here...

Left hand peak is Canadian border Peak, Center Peak is Amreican Border Peak, Right hand peak is Larabee...

Guy on Guy is fucking gross.. but for some reason hot chicks making is is pretty hot...

A wiki would be an excellent idea... instead of alphebetical I would prefer having it broken into regions (Picket Range.. Slesse Group... stuff like that) to sort it all out. But im not against other ideas. Permission based is a somewhat good idea, but I doubt people would go and write retarded stuff for route descriptions...

Drill a massive bolt ladder up blank walls around the death blocks

These drips to the right of 'White Wedding' are unclimbed I believe... I wonder if they will touch down?

My comp wont let me see the pic! WTF.. do you have a link?