YocumRidge

Is it this time of the year again? No Spider last weekend, but there is this in the CS cirque: And that:

Vodka? Hmmm.....Should've been a pure alcohol. Noblesse oblige.

Yeah, Snow Dome - Currently, Ice Dome The keeper of the city keys Put shutters on the dreams. I wait outside the pilgrim's door With insufficient schemes. The black queen chants The funeral march, The cracked brass bells will ring; To summon back the fire witch.

John, I hear you can ski even faster on ice!

Yes, I took a 15' fall on one of them just two weeks ago on Rainbow falls and the screamer did NOT deploy while it should have. No clues what else did absorb the shock? Life was hard on that funky WA ice! 50' off the ground, 2 screws placed, fell on the second screw (16 cm), led on doubles, clipped separately.

Now Dane you get it where its coming from! Am I the old-school now?

Ha, only in Oregon!

Wow! One would never know I guess. We were actually surprised how suspiciously quiet it was (in summer after all) except for one "end of the world" kind of explosion but were lazy to move our asses elsewhere .

Ivan, still keep torturing poor Beacon, summer or winter? Nice work you guys!

Pete, are you into urban ice now? please...

Thanks. We figured it but were not really enthused to spend eternity digging them out Better yet, these rocks (across the Chouinard falls) have bolts too according to the locals: Must be one of those californikan things...

BD Sabretooth 2010 + LaSportiva Trango EVO GTX = connecting bar is moving sideways (worse on vertical ice). Anyone has this problem? Or my boot is too small (s.39) for proper adjustment?

Thanks to our own Chad Ellars (Lodestone) for his contribution to the ARI as featured in the current issue of Climbing.

Is this for real? YES, this is for real that we went cragging, had a great and painful time climbing the shitty WI4+ in a "bad" form and now have to apologize for inadvertently posting the update on the current conditions which raised more controversy than not. I am still waiting to see how many of you will have guts to have led what Veronika tried her best on and hoping that may be, just may be once in a while you will do your best to refrain from nitpicking and negativism.

Both Rainbow Left and Right and Careno Left are climbable and leadable as of 01/09/10. Telemarker on the Careno Left: Spionin on the Rainbow Left: Tanstaafl on the Rainbow Right: Myself on the Rainbow Right:

Plotz, "I am just a gumby who is trying not to look stupid"!

Yeah, V, that certainly added more to the alpine appeal! Too bad you and Doug were turned away by the highway closures a week before we went there .

Trip: Kalifornikan ice - Lee Vining Canyon - variations on a theme Date: 12/25/2010 Trip Report: Last week Pete (MtnHigh) and I made pilgrimage to a sacred place in Sierra Nevada – the Lee Vining canyon. A vibrant metropolis with nightlife and such for desperate californikans seeking water ice, which is also conveniently accessible from PDX by only a 12 hr drive. So, we drive south, well… MtnHigh does, thanks to the speeding-friendly WA state for my DL still being suspended. To recuperate en route, we stop in Carson City to pay a visit to one of those fine establishments Nevada is famous for. Too bad none of those ice climbs are in . Not a good sign. We continue further to our final destination some 3 hrs away. Mono Lake Basin: Eastern Sierra: Lee Vining Canyon: APPROACH. We wake up to bluebird skies, 70 mph wind gusts, occasional snow dumps at night and high 10s which was pretty much the scene we encountered over the three days in the canyon. Over the month of December, Sierras got 12 feet of fresh snow and consistent low temps. Fortunately for us, the access road to the TH for the canyon was plowed. Unfortunately for us, the postholing in the canyon sucked as expected and the first day we were the only idiots heading up there. To summarise, the approach was a combination of this: Rigging the crossing over two creeks: Steep postholing to the base of climbs: Here is MtnHigh getting his ass up the blonde sierras granite he is so passionate about: ROUTES. While running out of breath in spindrifts at 10K feet, everything we do is as in a slow motion movie. Day 1. We start at the Chouinard falls wall to get warmed up on some easy stuff. Right flows (currently at WI3-) - the easiest we could find: The bottom part was solid and took screws well while the top was hollow that I run out and only tag a tree up top. I wish I had a rock pro on me. MtnHigh follows and is not happy with the pitch. We descend through the avy-prone terrain down and move to the middle part of the Chouinard falls. Next I lead the Classic Curve (WI3), a 2 pitch link-up with a small roof. Fun moves. One of the best lines on the Chouinard falls in the current conditions. The roof can be buried in fatter ice according to the locals. MtnHigh follows, we descend and repeat. MtnHigh’s lead on the Classic Curve: Day 2. With colder temps and more miserable spindrifts, we stick to the Chouinard falls again and get on the left side climbs: I start a lead on the Piolet (WI3+). It feels harder than a day before for my oxygen-deprived brain to make smart routefinding choices and to stay in balance. Almost at the top I end up in some weird crack system with hollow ice where one of my tools blows and I fall on the other. After shaking and crying, I downclimb to where MtnHigh was able to lower my sorry ass. He re-leads the pitch on the pre-placed gear and takes the left variation to the top. A much wiser choice. MtnHigh higher up on the Piolet: MtnHigh next jumps on the right variation of the Far Left 140’ WI4-. A hard lead on the hollow ice, almost unprotectable in the current conditions. Only 3 screws were placed. MtnHigh leads the Far Left: Day 3. Winds subsided so we decide to hit the Main Falls wall with 2-3 pitch lines ranging from WI4- to WI4+ and with a much better ice at that: Having recovered from the epical Chouinard falls, I lead a first pitch on the phattest ice I could find on the entire Main wall – Center Left Flow. MtnHigh comes up: and leads the Spiral Staircase. If you are into thrills of mixed climbing, then do the interesting 50’ granite ramp start like we did. Sometimes filled in with thin ice, it took the stubbies: MtnHigh higher up on the Spiral Staircase: On our way back we have a look at the seriously badassed multi-pitch Bard-Harrington wall but it normally comes in fat conditions only around February (Photoshop CS is however in - the thin streak at the top pitch, far right side): More mixed lines on the north side of the LVC: Next day it rains in the canyon, ice is shedding and another storm system is supposed to come in the evening so we bail and head back home. But the winter bouldering opportunities will always stay there: Gear Notes: A Rack Approach Notes: VW TDI

Nice, Melissa! Does anyone want to head out there tomorrow morning? Let me know. 503-901-3837.

I own a climbers version 4 season double wall 2R Stephenson Warmlite (which is shorter than standard) and I love it. At 2.4 lb, it packs to a size of bivy sack. Designated as a 2 person, it actually has plenty of floor space and is comfy enough for 3 people plus some gear on a multi-day trip. Cooking in the tent is awesome. It is not as tall as a BD Firstlight but who cares if you are gonna sleep in it anyway. I used to have some condensation (mostly on the single wall inserts) but once you figure out how to position the tent relative to wind loading, this is not a problem anymore. A great tent otherwise! At camp Hazard 11200', Rainier, July 2010:

As usual - V, an awesome trip and report! Thanks for the stoke of some healthy albeit brutal ice and painless approaches.

Steve, the Schoolroom did not look strikingly different from the rest. Does it have midpoint anchors? I did not know that. Might take some time to dig them out though, but give it a couple of days and lead it instead The hoof was white and windy!

Today 12/31/2010 Pete (MtnHigh) and I went on ice recon to the Pete's Pile. Here is our summary: [video:vimeo]18337953 Right side of Pete's Pile: Soloable and unprotectable (yet) ice under 30': Mixed lines: Left side: We soloed a bunch of WI3-WI5 stuff that we had to downclimb thanks to the tricky topouts. MntHigh likes traverses: While I prefer the free standing pillars with scary finish: Obligatory shot:

Ryan put together a cool vid of the climb so I thought I post it albeit kind of late: [video:vimeo]18293144