carolyn Posted January 18, 2002 Posted January 18, 2002 Ya, so let the "newbie" shine in me during this post. I went up to Montreal River, Ontario (about 1.5hrs from Sault Ste Marie, MI) for about 5-6 days where I was promised ice. And ice I got! The weekend involved an "ice festival" where climbers, mainly from canada and Michigan gathered to climb. I was the lone Minnesota representative, but found it quite easy to find partners to climb with (thanks to a PNW'er, jay who was in the area visiting! if you read this... I have one of your quickdraws in case you would like it back!) We found an area with some wet, but fat ice - single pitch to start with on Saturday. Moved over to a chimney which was a bit more thin and wet. COming from someone who started on ice late in the season last year and only having the opportunity to climb maybe 30-40ft in height, this 70+ft WI4 climb (I think thats what everyone agreed upon) was definately a fun challenge for me! Another short climb awaited us on our way back to the road which was very thin, but fun. I bit the bullet and stayed past the festival for some classes. I learned a ton! I learned about leading (single and double ropes) and did a lot of following long, single pitches. I climbed on verglass ice, vertical, low angled, mixed, pillars. I received a great deal of info on safety (which is much desired after hearing about so many accidents as of late). I realized what type of clothing works best for me and what i need to change in order to spend hours, even days on the ice. Oh! And other than a little tweaking left to do, my my boots are working great! Thanks to those who offered suggestions in a past post! One day we rode by snowmowbile about ten miles, then snowshoed a ways in order to gain access to a new found area of cliffs overlooking lake superior. AMAZING! Walls and walls of climbs - single and multipitch, tons of variety. Never climbed. I made my first attempt at true winter camping, where I set my tent on the shores of lake superior for the duration of my stay. For the most part, it went well. However I did begin to feel a bit clausterphobic after a few nights in the tent(please tell me that passes w/time and experience) and woke up one morning not being able to feel my f'in toes! I know there are places with bigger/longer climbs, however I found a climb does not have to be BIG in order for it to be hard (even for those with years of experience and great skills). Guess the midwest isnt all that bad! I have a bunch of pics but dont know how to link them to the post, so feel free to pm me and I would be happy to send them your way. Quote
Ibex Posted January 18, 2002 Posted January 18, 2002 quote: Originally posted by carolyn: Guess the midwest isnt all that bad! Well, the midwest certainly has its ups and downs. Last weekend my friend Ryan and I went to Sandstone MN and Duluth MN to do some ice. Sandstone was drippy, but certainly thick enough for climbing at the most prevalent spot back in the corner. Duluth was really melted out, and we got a TR set up above the longest remaining route, but my friend pulled off a HUGE chunk of ice (the last 10 feet of the climb). We should have known better, the surface of the ice was very mush "sno-coned" and really hollow sounding. So, my apologies to the city of Duluth, who's ice climb we tore down.... This weekend, three of us are heading up to Thunder Bay and Orient Bay to do a little ice. It is the first time any of us have climbed with Canucks, so it should be interesting. take care Shawn Quote
Dru Posted January 18, 2002 Posted January 18, 2002 "I'm buying". thats all the language you need to know to climb with Canucks. You will make many friends! Quote
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