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Ice Climbing Guide


DPS

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I was in the neighborhood so I stopped by Alex's house the other night. He let me have a look at the new ice climbing guide. Alex and Jason have done a very nice job at writing a comprehensive guide. There are a lot of great photos from many of the cc.com regulars. Great job guys!

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Yup. The authors worked very hard to make the guide as comprehensive as possible. One thing I like about the guide (aside from my submissions being taken seriously) is each geographical section includes a heading called 'Rumors of Ice' for climbs that don't have much more than a report from someone.

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so ther is something to consider. as we were walking down from Pyramid peak we saw this awsome ice! i't not climbed for sure. it's right from the glacier between Pyramid and colonial. i am not talking some shit smear- it look like Pilsner, was about 50- 60 m tall and veritcal from bottom to the top. In good snow conditions it would take about 5 hours to slog in, but if you brought skis you could ski out in an hour down to Colonial Creek- about 1000m of virgin snow. That whole wall could host about 50 independent mixed lines from 50- 250 m long.

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Jason, it is not a rumor. i saw this line and in my honest opinion it was the best looking ice lines i saw in the cascades. it was late in the afternoon and we were on a go for about 12 hours by then, but climbing that line crossed my mind- it looked that good. You would need a full rack of screws and we had only 3. i am going back there....

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OTOH, the Pilsner-lookalike, like many of the canadian rockies climbs it resembles, is very exposed to avalanche danger, as is much of the approach. the reason it exists is because a huge collection area of snow above drains down through a single trough. not to discourage anyone, just an observation - pick your conditions carefully!

 

colonial04.jpg

one of many avalanche paths you must cross on the approach

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forrest_m said:

OTOH, the Pilsner-lookalike, like many of the canadian rockies climbs it resembles, is very exposed to avalanche danger, as is much of the approach. the reason it exists is because a huge collection area of snow above drains down through a single trough. not to discourage anyone, just an observation - pick your conditions carefully!

one of many avalanche paths you must cross on the approach

I think approach via Pyramid lake eliminates about 90% of this danger. hence my comment about early season ascents too. the climb itself is quite safe though

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Bob,

 

The Rumor sections in the guide really don't include that many rumors. For the most part they include things that people have seen or have heard about that we just didn't have enough information on to provide approach, grade, descent and all the other info a guide usually has. The publisher suggested putting these items -- of which there are hundreds -- in a seperate section which is entitled Rumors of Ice.

 

We are going to be putting together a website with new info on these areas as it comes in over the next few seasons. And in a later edition, hopefully there will be less "rumors."

 

Jason

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Jason and Alex,

You guys are to be heartily commended for the efforts you have put forth thus far in making this guide happen. And you even thought far enough ahead to provide the website for updates and add'l data collection. You guys rockband.gif

 

...sobo

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Jason_Martin said:

Bob,

 

The Rumor sections in the guide really don't include that many rumors. For the most part they include things that people have seen or have heard about that we just didn't have enough information on to provide approach, grade, descent and all the other info a guide usually has. The publisher suggested putting these items -- of which there are hundreds -- in a seperate section which is entitled Rumors of Ice.

 

We are going to be putting together a website with new info on these areas as it comes in over the next few seasons. And in a later edition, hopefully there will be less "rumors."

 

Jason

 

You should call it "Things Mike Layton brough his shit to the base of or drove by and almost got in an accident and wrote long emails to Jason Martin because he won't be able to climb any of them since he lives in portland now so he might as well give em away section" instead of "Rumors". thumbs_up.gif

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One more kudos post. Really great job you guys. I'm hoping that the emphasis on sharing info will help us continue to get conditions reports to really maximize our adventures. Thanks again eveybody that helped out. One question though, why is it that the climb on the cover didn't make it into the guide. The credits say the the cover photo is A.S. on Flight to Mars, but the route is no where to be found in the text. Any info? Thanks again.

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BigWave said:

...One question though, why is it that the climb on the cover didn't make it into the guide. The credits say the the cover photo is A.S. on Flight to Mars, but the route is no where to be found in the text. Any info? Thanks again.

 

From my earlier request of The Guide's status back in July:

 

Alex notes the omission here.

 

Alex said:

Jason_Martin said:

The book should be available at your favorite gear shop in just a couple weeks... That is if you're more interested in supporting the shops than Amazon.

 

Jason

 

I got my advanced copy in the mail and it looks pretty good. It made me really jones for ice season to start. With the weather we've had lately, I'm getting pretty keen.

 

You'll be able to buy the guidebooks direct off the Mountaineers Books website.

 

Ironically, the route in the cover photo isnt in the guide!! hellno3d.gif

 

Comment for BigWave, Alex? Inquiring minds want to know.

grin.gif

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Comment for BigWave, Alex? Inquiring minds want to know.

 

The route never made it into the guide because neither Jason nor I were ever able to get to talk to Sean Courage or Andreas about what they had climbed (or named), nor get photos from either of them.

 

However, when the book project was at Mountaineers Books, Sean sent in a set of photographs to the editor separately from all the others (hundreds) that we had gathered from the ice climbing community over the last few years. His express wish was that they were to be considered for the cover only. This is why there are no other photos from Sean in the guide. Ultimately one of Sean's pictures was chosen for the cover of this edition.

 

Alex

 

wave.gif

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