BillA Posted March 25, 2004 Share Posted March 25, 2004 Who wants to do it? We can take my truck, leave tomorrow or something and easily be back by Monday. Seriously, I'm bored and unemployed. I need to get out of here... Or will someone be in the area that wants to climb? Save me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glassgowkiss Posted March 25, 2004 Share Posted March 25, 2004 (edited) unless you want to take a ride of your lifetime with an avi or a falling curtain by all means go. this route gets a lot of sun, so do the slopes (all 1000m of them) above the climb. don't forget your fins and snorkle http://weatheroffice.ec.gc.ca/forecast/city_e.html?wjw http://www.avalanche.ca/weather/bulletins/index.html Edited March 25, 2004 by glassgowkiss Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillA Posted March 25, 2004 Author Share Posted March 25, 2004 Oh glassgowkiss, why do you ruin my hopes and dreams? I guess fishstick is just full of shit then. http://www.cascadeclimbers.com/threadz/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/326196/Main/316190#Post326196 Â Why did I move to this dreadful city when I used to live an hour and a half from Ouray and the closest grade 5 pillar was a mere ten minute drive from my house? Damn the pacific northwest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markathome Posted March 25, 2004 Share Posted March 25, 2004 Grab some of that famous coffee and get outta town:  update From Gravsports:    March 16, Parkway, various  Polar Circus is in fatter than I've ever seen it, surprisingly fun and non-baked for this time of year, even the lower pitches are good. Upper and Lower Weeping Wall are both in very fat shape with some sun affected ice. Curtain Call is in interesting but solid shape, it formed "differently" this year (good though). The ice smear at the start of Stage Fright is super fat, making this an enjoyable outing. The first pillar on Seven Pillars of Wisdom has fallen down (you can't see this from the road unfortunately). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrDoolittle Posted March 25, 2004 Share Posted March 25, 2004 Today is March 25th. Conditions tend to change over a nine day period in the spring, IMHO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillA Posted March 25, 2004 Author Share Posted March 25, 2004 I've never seen conditions go from "super very fat best shape ever duuuuuude" to non-existent in nine days. Especially with the weather http://weatheroffice.ec.gc.ca/forecast/city_e.html?wjw being relatively cold at night. But I'm a Merrican with an inferior education and don't understand Celsius, so whatever, if anyone still wants to go, I'm down... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J_Fisher Posted March 25, 2004 Share Posted March 25, 2004 I don't think the point is that the climb won't be there, but that it's in a giant SW facing terrain trap when the forecast is for sun and temps in the high 50s. But whatever floats yer boat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glassgowkiss Posted March 26, 2004 Share Posted March 26, 2004 bill, sorry to put a damper on your plans. my point was there is a HUGEST FUCKING SLOPE above the climb, plus you have to cut across quite big snow slope between lower and upper parts. plus in 10 days the quality of ice can change dramatically. you can most likely still do the sourcerer, also wi5, but hardly gets any sun. wicked wanda in ghost should be still in. so is curtain call. pillsner should be also in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoshK Posted March 27, 2004 Share Posted March 27, 2004 I have no clue what the avy conditions are here right now (seem to be very random from what I can tell) but I can definitely attest to the fact that polar circus, as seen through a 450mm zoom lens is FFFAAATTT. I saw a couple of teams on the weeping wall yesterday and that seemed to be pretty sweet as well. Â The last 3 days here it's been mild but not that warm during the days (was mid 20s to 32 on the parkway yesterday) and cold overnight. I'm not sure if any of these climbs benifit from melt freeze, but I have to imagine to some extent. Lake Lousie got a few inches of snow tonight and the temp dropped real quick...this made for fun times watching the major cluster fuck on the road up to the lake involving 1 stuck car, a stuck minivan, 2 stuck SUVs and a stuck tourbus full of japanese tourists. Definitely the highlight of my trip so far! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glassgowkiss Posted March 27, 2004 Share Posted March 27, 2004 "Discussion: No new slab avalanches were observed in the last 24 hours, but we have seen some point release avalanches to size 2 on SW slopes. One was in the gully above Polar Circus Ice climb. The recent cooler temperatures have helped to improve snowpack stability, but the weak layers of facets lower in the snowpack still persist and are of concern. It remains possible for skiers to trigger these layers on lee features, at or above treeline. The avalanche hazard will depend on the degree of the overnight freeze and how long the surface crusts hold up the following day. Pay close attention to the effects of direct solar radiation and daytime heating to gauge any increase in avalanche hazard. Â Outlook: Partly cloudy skies are forecasted for tomorrow with a slight increase in forecasted daytime temperature relative to today. The avalanche hazard will remain the same for tomorrow with an expected increase in hazard with daytime heating. An early start is advised for any mode of travel. Climbing under slopes exposed to prolonged sun is not advised." Â two things for all you guys used to the coastal snowpack. rockies snopack is much, much more dangerous. a class 2 avi of wet snow maybe won't kill you if you are lucky, but it will fuck you up and fuck you up really good. second- just because climb looks fat from the road doesn't mean it's any good for climbing. usually, by this time of the year it's just sun-baked crud, protection sucks and it is not real fun to get on fucked up hook fest anyway. i don't know how weeping wall could be still good since it was quite crap second week of march?like i said, just because it's still there and people climb it doesn't mean all that much.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoshK Posted March 28, 2004 Share Posted March 28, 2004 Whatever...anything on that parkway is a hellavu lot more fun than any ice you'd find in WA right now. If the guy wants to climb ice I dont see why it wouldn't be a worthwhile trip. If PC isn't safe, you can certainly find something that is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan Posted March 28, 2004 Share Posted March 28, 2004 I'll also agree with the fact that even though the climb may be fatter than hell, do NOT get on it if the temperatures during the daytime are going to be even semi-warm. My partner and I headed out to do an ice climb in the Absoroka Range (southeast of Bozeman} the other day, and I was 10 feet from the top of the 200 foot flow when an 800 foot avalanche prone snow couloir above the flow cut loose on us, depositing WET snow right where we were on the flow. I nearly shit my pants- the avalanche lasted a solid five minutes, the snow just kept coming and coming. Better it be spaced out than all in one dump...but it was fucking terrifying. It was too warm of a day to be ice climbing, but we were enticed by the fact that this climb was FAT and had very good ice. Point being...good ice sometimes isn't worth it this time of year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoshK Posted March 28, 2004 Share Posted March 28, 2004 Good call, but there is definitely fat stuff that is in protected areas. Good to hear you are ok, that must have been seriously freaky. What climb? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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