Trip: Whitepine - Iced Beef Trip Date: 01/25/2025 Trip Report:
Kevin Alexander and I climbed a snow/ice gully behind Whitepine main wall on 1/25. We think this is a new route. I’ve heard of some ski lines on this face, anyone been climbing up there in the past? Here is a view of the upper portion of the route:
The approach to the base of the gully is a short hike from the road and then it’s moderate snow for ~1,000 ft until the gully forks with steeper ice up the left side. The ice up to climber's left was discontinuous and thin but could form an excellent climb once it's filled in. We found a slide path below the gully that made booting up super easy.
P1-2: From the fork we pitched out two longer ice steps separated by sections of steep snow to a low-angle stance.
P3: The crux. This pitch starts with about 20m of WI-3 followed by lower angle ice and then snow to a belay at a tree climber’s right. A 60m rope got from the base of the ice to the tree belay with only a couple meters to spare.
P4-5: From the tree belay we simul-climbed sections of steep snow, with more WI-2 ice steps.
Eventually the gully flattened out around some trees. We put away the rope here and climbed a couple hundred feet to the ridge, more steep snow with some short ice steps.
We left the road at 8:30 and topped out right at sunset. Walked off and around the back to the NE and then back W along the train tracks. Ended up being 12 hours car-to-car.
We’re naming the route after Kevin’s favorite alpine snack: “Iced Beef”
Gear Notes: Screws and runners to sling trees Approach Notes: Leave the road 1/4 mile past the bridge on Whitepine Road, eventually enter the slide path below the gulley.
