geordie Posted November 17, 2003 Share Posted November 17, 2003 So we were jonesing for ice and not content to sit on our hand and decided to see what what recent snows had done to the Motherlode. After a morning of oatmeal and leftover haggis we donned kilts and googles for the windy snowy march in. This time around it was me, Bigwave, J Woo aka Texwood, Shorty and as always Taddy, the super schwacking mutt. JWOO has been "adjusting" to the retail gig and was in serious need of a climbing fix. Dropline was looking great except for the Musashi style approach. Although Sad Ce'bu looked a little less appealing than earlier in the week, Woo decided to give the first pitch a go so that he could inspect the ice above the cave. Could it go with a few pins or was it just a thin verglassed nightmare? The nightmare turned out to be the first pitch. The "good" ice ran out about the time Woo climbed far enough above his only screw to make it worthless. We could see the ice crack and detach from the worthless mud and muck below. Rocks, mud, turf and ice soon hammered down upon us. We could see running water on the "route" amongst the mud and rocks. Woo was climbing scottish style frozen mud and turf was no protection available. However, there was one minor problem. It wasn't frozen. How to describe the mess he was in? WI2X ? Wet Loose 4th/ 5th? Finally he managed his way up the mess, found real ice and then made himself safe. Did anyone else want a go? HELL NO! was the cry from the crowd. Kids let this be a lesson- No matter how much you need to climb ice remember ... IT'S STILL ONLY NOVEMBER!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sobo Posted November 17, 2003 Share Posted November 17, 2003 Just relax a little, geordie. All will be well in good time. I was gonna go up on Sunday to inspect, but I've lived in Yakivegas long enough to know that it woulda been a wasted afternoon. So I hung out with the wife and baby and nursed my hangover from my birthday celebration the night before.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Posted November 17, 2003 Share Posted November 17, 2003 cool! I would save your "approach mojo" for Strobach for a few weeks and try again the first week of Dec. I've been up there around that time several separate years (Sad Cebu, Suddun Change, First on Left, DropLine, others come in earlier than the majority) and though I have never actually climbed mud, its going to remain "thin" until its been cold and there has been some snow .. January? What makes this year different from last year is that there has actually been precip to feed the climbs. Last year it was bitter cold, but no snow until January...bad for Strobach. Anyway, awesome that you are getting out there, its a real cool area!! Alex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigWave Posted November 18, 2003 Share Posted November 18, 2003 She's flowin, and growin!!! Glad we trudged in to dial the approach. Man it's going to be fun later! Props to the volume of screams from Jwoo at the top of the ledge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.