LillooetIceFest Posted February 5, 2003 Posted February 5, 2003 Hi, this is Catherine Schulmann I took a ride up Phair Creek today, thanks to the trucks and sleds from Ainsworth. The good news is that the avalanche hazard is low, and the top two climbs, It's Only Phair and A Phairwell to Arms, look decent enough. I couldn't see Phair Game from the road (yeah, probably should have trotted across the canyon). I assume that, like the others, there is a bit of ice there, but it's thin. Nectar of the Gods didn't look like it had reached 35 m, and Airy Phairy is naught but a small chandelier at the top. Just Walkin the Dog is long, but thin, like maybe 1m across most of the way. A Phairly Phast Tick looked interesting, in that it has the widest curtain, but a mile wide and an inch deep - I dunno, does that cut it for you guys?? In addition, around 5 km in Phair Creek road, there was a biggish blob of ice heading up to the left straight off the road sabout 10m. Maybe it's not worth climbing, though as a rank beginner, I'd think about putting on some gear and giving it a try as a warm up to the "real" stuff. Ice bouldering, anyone? Certainly it's not marked on Lyle's map (which I brought with me) Access was fun - it was the first time I had driven a snowmobile, and in parts, where we stopped and kicked rocks out of the way, you could have set up a fun curling game on the road. But I'm assured it's nothing that a quick trip through with a grader can't fix. That's the plan for the Ice Fest. We have some pics from Marble Canyon on Monday, and as I stopped to take a picture, I saw two climbers crossing the lake to the base. So some think it's fine- Kai thinks that both here and the Rambles are good. We'll try to head up Bridge River later today, but before the light goes There will be ice to climb around here for the IceFest!!! There will be clinics!!! Quote
LillooetIceFest Posted February 5, 2003 Author Posted February 5, 2003 Pic of Phairwell to Arms Quote
CascadeClimber Posted February 5, 2003 Posted February 5, 2003 Pic of Phairwell to Arms Might want to double check that one. APTA is WI5 or 5+. Quote
Dru Posted February 6, 2003 Posted February 6, 2003 This is "It's Only Phair" - WI3, 60m I guess this 8 to 10 page book of route ID photos is gonna be pretty interesting then Quote
fern Posted February 6, 2003 Posted February 6, 2003 kinda confusing. Phair Game should be easy to see from the road, it is not up a canyon, it's at the top of an open debris fan across the creek as I recall. Although my memory is 3 yrs old. APTA was harder to see from the road, but It's only Phair was right there. I have no idea what that is a picture of but it's nice to see ice. Quote
CascadeClimber Posted February 6, 2003 Posted February 6, 2003 Phair Game should be easy to see from the road, it is not up a canyon, it's at the top of an open debris fan across the creek as I recall. Yep, you can see it from directly below, though that isn't the best approach. Quote
CascadeClimber Posted February 6, 2003 Posted February 6, 2003 This is "It's Only Phair" - WI3, 60m I really enjoyed this one, though it looked a little different when we climbed it: It's every bit of 60 meters, too. Quote
LYleK Posted February 6, 2003 Posted February 6, 2003 Bernard sent through some pics, I'm pretty sure this one is Phair Game taken today. I know where I want to be... Quote
CascadeClimber Posted February 6, 2003 Posted February 6, 2003 Bernard sent through some pics, I'm pretty sure this one is Phair Game taken today. I know where I want to be... Amen to that Brother Knight! Phair Game is another stellar Phair Creek climb. From late February, 2001: Quote
PaulB Posted February 10, 2003 Posted February 10, 2003 Went for an exploratory drive up the Phair Creek road yesterday. We were able to get to within 1km of the gate marked at 2.5 km from the bridge on Lyle's map. The main Enterprise Creek road was snow free to about 800m, and appears to be getting traffic from logging further up the valley. So, barring any major snowfalls in the near future, you should be able to drive to within a reasonable walking distance of A Phairly Fast Tick, Just Walkin' The Dog, Airy Phairy, etc. If they clean up the road for the ice fest, you'll probably be able to drive right up to the gate. Note that there is some rockfall on the road before and after the bridge which could cut up your tires if you are unlucky. We didn't actually go in to look at any routes, so I can't give any updates on their conditions. Quote
LillooetIceFest Posted February 10, 2003 Author Posted February 10, 2003 Just to let everyone know, we will have the road cleared of snow and rock and open for this coming weekend. Conditions continue to be not the greatest. In town here in Lillooet nighttime down to -5 range and daytimes upt +5 to +8, slightly colder today. Freezing level rising to between 700 and 900 metres elevation during the day (depending on location, shade etc......) The Ice Fest is going ahead this weekend as it looks like there will be climbable ice in enough locations to accommodate people. Sorry about mislabeling the pics, Catherine took them, downloaded them and headed out right afterwards and I confused them then. Bernard Quote
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