layton Posted December 13, 2003 Posted December 13, 2003 Thinking of going there instead of Banff. I already did a search. So what's good? How are the approaches? Bunkhouse the place to stay? Local tidbits? Thank you, Mike Quote
rat Posted December 13, 2003 Posted December 13, 2003 lots of really good climbing there. the bunkhouse wasn't open when we were there so we rented a cheap cody motel room w/kitchen---about $150/week in '97 as i recall. the commute wasn't bad (coffee in the morn and beer/whiskey on the way home). there are probably more people climbing there now, especially over the holiday break, but you probably won't be standing in line like in the rockies. approaches can be long (longer than they look) and windy. usually not nearly as much snow as canada but watch for wind slabs. routes aren't all picked out so the grades are honest. we didn't do a bad route there---recommend ice fest, moratorium, and rambling up shank stew. mean green and high on boulder are also classics. have fun and puke blood. Quote
EWolfe Posted December 14, 2003 Posted December 14, 2003 Don't forget your spurs, there, cowboy. Quote
Lambone Posted December 14, 2003 Posted December 14, 2003 Stay at the deer creek campground, and once everything is totaly soaked, get a cheap motel. Cody is about a 45 minute drive out of Shoshone Canyon, so you don't wanna do it everyday. Don't know about the bunkhouse... The avy danger is typicaly minimal, because it is in the rain shadow...but watch for windloaded pockets (oops, rat said that). Carefull on some of the southfacing ice, it can turn to shit on you real quick. Forget rock gear, this place defines frozen kitty litter. The approaches are pretty obvious, carefull crossing the river. Don't trespass on Ranchers property...and be nice to the sheep Local Tidbit: Drive through liqour stores! Horsetail Falls, Moonrise are also good. Broken Hearts is the Classic 6 tiered WI 5 pillar route. Quote
layton Posted December 15, 2003 Author Posted December 15, 2003 I'm going next year. Banff sounds tooo good right now. Just when I thought I was sick of the canadian rockies... Thank you for the Cody Beta. Hopefully it'll turn up in next years search. Sounds f%$ing awesome. I'll definately have to check it out. Got work to do up north though. Rat, don't wory. Blood will be spilt. Are we gonna race each other to get to the climbs again? I'll beat your ass. Necro, see you in a few. I'll give a TR while I'm up there Quote
rat Posted December 15, 2003 Posted December 15, 2003 i don't race. however, old age and cunning will beat youth and enthusiasm anyday. Quote
Lambone Posted December 15, 2003 Posted December 15, 2003 Personaly I think Cody has the best pure waterfall ice climbing in the lower 48 (not that I have clkimbed everywhere). And one nice thing about it compared to Canada is that all the routes are in the same canyon, you can see the climbs and judge conditions with a 10 minute drive down the road. Also, because avy danger is less significant you can do most of the climbs any time they are in. And the camping is free. It is also one of the least traveled climbing ice climbing areas in the country, mostly cause it is in the middle of nowhere. Even during the ice festival, there are plenty of open routes to choose from if you avoid the obvious classics. Ok, that is my Cody shpeal. I like to promote the place because the town benefits from visiting climbers, and could use the tourism flow...kinda like Lilooet. One thing about this area is that is important to respect private property, because most of the climbs are behind private ranches. It is tempting to jump a fence and go straight to a climb, but walking well around a ranchers pasture is worth the extra time and effort if it preserves future access to the climbing. I think most of the locals welcome the climbers, but as they see the number of climbers grow over the years, many may change their attitude...and it would only take a handfull of irisponsible punks to ruin climber/rancher relations. It is the kind of place where if you push them to far you shouldn't be suprised to have buckshot flying over your head. Ok, getting off the soapbox now. Quote
miller Posted December 16, 2003 Posted December 16, 2003 mike, when are you thinking about heading to cody? also, i hope youre just looking for a change of scenery and that youre not expecting to find better ice climbing than the rockies... cheers, todd Quote
Lambone Posted December 16, 2003 Posted December 16, 2003 uh...isn't Cody in the rockies? Sure it doesn't have Polar Circus, but Cody has more Pillers per acre than any ice climbing destination around... Quote
chriss Posted December 16, 2003 Posted December 16, 2003 Check their website for conditions. codyice Stay in town, the morning drive's not bad. There was a guide out about 10 years ago, just a marked up map kinda thing. Approaches are reasonable but canyon is bigger than it looks on the map. chris Quote
Lambone Posted December 16, 2003 Posted December 16, 2003 also: http://coldfear.com and http://southforkice.com Quote
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