Guest Posted February 18, 2001 Share Posted February 18, 2001 Preston Falls, Tyee Falls, McCrea Creek Falls, and some of the fangs on the southwest side of the river beyond McCrea Creek have all been climbed by white punks on dope. You're going to have to try harder for first ascents in the Entiat. Hell, even Number 1 MC was seen there when he was young. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retrosaurus Posted February 20, 2001 Share Posted February 20, 2001 Climbed Zenith at Banks Lake today. It is the climb misnamed as Absent Minded Professor on page 98 of Selected Climbs in the Cascades: vol 2 . Climbed in two very long pitches with a 60 meter rope. A shorter rope would not have reached the belay. The first half of the first pitch was solid hooking up steep blobs with some fun overhanging moves for 100'. Solid screws somewhat difficult to find. The pillar above here is much narrower than pictured and chandeliered. The final 15' of the pillar had that clear look of fragile young ice and ended with a small overhang before the angle eased. 30' of WI 3 leads to the belay. The ice on the second pitch was phenomenal. I usually need to go to the Canadian Rockies for solid blue vertical plastic pillars like this. The second pitch is also over 50m, although this would not be a problem, as the final 70' of the route is WI 2. You can walk off right on the entablature ledge, which gets very narrow for one section. As Allan was following the second pitch we got shelled when a 15' section of the tube 8' in diameter released from 200' above. It landed on the top of the climb, 50' to my left and pulverized on impact. Allan got pummelled pretty hard by the ice avalanche, but did not fall and was not injured. This is a serious threat on several climbs in the Columbia Basin in warm temps, esp. later in the day, and even at low temps if sun reaches the threatening ice. (never take the word of a white punk on dope) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 20, 2001 Share Posted February 20, 2001 Any recent information on ice conditions at Banks Lake? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retrosaurus Posted February 21, 2001 Share Posted February 21, 2001 As of Monday: The Cable is still in. The top is somewhat thin and hollow. H202 is in but looking thinner and ratty. Just north of H202 , the climb with no first pitch and no name is still there and the upper tiers look fat from the road. The Emerald is in. Zenith is in and spectacular, but the crux pillar is somewhat thin and fragile. There are a lot of pillars that looked to be in good climbing shape, although most of them top out in shrubs. I did not get a look at the Punchbowl area. Guiness is in although toping out is difficult to do safely. This week has been cold only at night, so I'm sure the climbs have suffered some. But there should still be some fun climbing to be had there. If I was going to climb there I would make sure to start climbing early, to take advantage of cooler temps, esp on climbs with threatening ice above. [This message has been edited by Retrosaurus (edited 02-21-2001).] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Posted February 21, 2001 Share Posted February 21, 2001 Just a note on the climb "just North of H202 with no first pitch and no name". This route can be gotten on by traversing and climbing the horribly loose 4th class rock on the left side, in 55m, to a belay on ice. I recommed small nuts, bugaboos, and a #3 camalot, as the pro is there, and you will really need it. Fun excercise though! Alex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 22, 2001 Share Posted February 22, 2001 Anyone have recent information about Leavenworth area ice? Is Drury Falls still doable? How about 'Hubba Hill' or anything off Icicle Creek area? I am trying to decide whether its worth risking the drive to Leavenworth this weekend? We were looking at doing Colchuk Glacier as a backup plan. Â Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott Posted February 22, 2001 Share Posted February 22, 2001 . [This message has been edited by scott (edited 05-23-2001).] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul_detrick Posted February 23, 2001 Share Posted February 23, 2001 For what its worth,Bruce White and I climbed this route,(the one north of H2O2)awile ago and were calling it Salt and Peper. We used warthogs in the frozen mud,(some rock)and pitons for the rest,great climb. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 23, 2001 Share Posted February 23, 2001 Any recent reports on ice conditions at Banks Lake? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul_detrick Posted February 23, 2001 Share Posted February 23, 2001 Althougt I havent been out since last Sunday,it has been real warm here,(I live in Ephrata)the ice should be ok for 1 more weekend. Most of the unusual lines will be in poor shape. If it stays this warm I give it 1 more weekend.The punchbowl will be around awhile. (yea)I hope that helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retrosaurus Posted March 1, 2001 Share Posted March 1, 2001 Climbed at Banks Lake on Wednesday 2/28/1. First ascent? North of Devil's Punch Bowl, just south of Osborn Bay Lake, turn east on a public fishing access road that follows the south shore. An aesthetic trio of pillars is visible on the rimrock. We climbed the middle one. WI 5 ~100', short screws very handy near the top. Belayed from equalized sagebrush well back from the top of the climb. Rappelled 115' to the base from a large ponderosa pine ~100' to the right. The right-hand climb has also been done, but not by me, and looks to be a bit easier. The left-hand climb is definitely more serious; steeper, longer and more technical. Its top is somewhat thinned and may not protect well. Does anyone have other info on these climbs? I propose the name "Electric Avenue" for this area as Electric City is clearly visible from the climbs. Suggested names for the climbs: " Kilowatt", "Megawatt", and "Gigawatt". There is STILL a lot of climable ice in the Columbia Basin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mvs Posted March 1, 2001 Share Posted March 1, 2001 Peter Chapman and I climbed the ice formation below Source Lake this morning (that avalanched on Mike and Ray in December). A big chunk had fallen off in the last few days. Possibly earthquake tremors? The ice is rotten when approaching the tree with orange/red slings, but takes good screws before that. --Michael Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Posted March 1, 2001 Share Posted March 1, 2001 Posted to R&I Ice Conditions. This is a mirror post should people search this site instead of that one. Pacific Northwest ---date climbed: February 28, 2001 It is the end of February and only the beginning of the end of one of the more strange, but still fruitful ice climbing seasons on the PNW. - Lillooet: Conditions have been very good on many of the area classics, including Synchronicity Bridge River climbs. - Whistler/Pemberton: Has been getting warm, but ice still exists South of Pemberton near Green River Thriller. Another week? - Banks Lake, WA: Many climbable lines still in, including a fat Devil's Punchbowl. Might have to thrash some alder to top out though. - Strobach Mountian: no report - Alpental: A surprising amount of short to moderate length water ice things still around the upper valley. NY Gully on Snoqualmie was climbed in "very little ice" conditions last weekend. N Face of Chair looks mixed, NE Buttress has a fair amount of loose unconsolidated snow on it as of last weekend. - Drury Falls: was fat 2 weeks ago, now is slush. - Levenworth in general: thin or not in. - North Cascades: throngs of PNW climbers wait in eager anticipation for highway 20 to open early this year due to lack of significant snowpack, which may result in several more weekends of good ice for those willing to drive and hike a bit. Cheers, and Happy Spring! Alex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul_detrick Posted March 2, 2001 Share Posted March 2, 2001 Retrosaurus, nice climb, Bruce started up that one but backed offed. I led the one on the right,it was hard enough for me. We did it about 5 weeks ago and were wondering the same thing. Fred went looking around and found it,so we went back the next day, we crossed over that stubble field,did you see it posted? Fred said he did"t see a thing. We were thinking the Quad Pillars for the area but I have not thought of a name, if it were a 1st. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retrosaurus Posted March 2, 2001 Share Posted March 2, 2001 Paul, Yes, it's definitely posted, and no I didn't see a thing either, especially if the sheriff is the one asking. I can't wait to give the left hand route a crack. Those things drive me nuts, especially when there is no history on it. Sanity is the only thing holding me back. What a pity. Looks like it will have to wait till next year for fatter ice up top. Sanity sucks. There is still quality ice in Tumwater Canyon. Interested? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul_detrick Posted March 2, 2001 Share Posted March 2, 2001 Retrosaurus, I did"t think anything was in there. Jeff says your off during the week which is bad for me, but I'm open on weekends, what did you have in mind? Paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbb Posted March 5, 2001 Share Posted March 5, 2001 Alpental ice is still in and pretty fat considering... Things were getting a little slushy, and the spindrift avalanches caused by wind and skiiers weren't ideal, but still the best conditions I've seen in WA in the last month. Best bet is for stuff on the east side of the valley, obviously. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jon Posted March 5, 2001 Share Posted March 5, 2001 Oh shit I'm going to piss people off. First I put a popup on the front page and now I'm closing this thread. Here is my reasoning though, and another person suggested this to me. Instead of continuing putting all the information for all of Washington ice in one thread, why not put it into a thread for each area. That was kind of the idea from the beginning but we never took charge. So here is my idea. The next person who posts for an area start a thread for that area in the correct region in the proper Route Reports Forum. There is already one for Banks Lake in the Central Washington Forum. One could argue that having it all in one place is better, but then you are stuck skimming through all the reports to find the ones you are interested in. I leave this thread open for another day in case there are some serious objections. Jon  Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retrosaurus Posted March 5, 2001 Share Posted March 5, 2001 Jon, What I would suggest is a waterfall ice climbs section under the route reports forum and then topics could be posted by area under that. That way It would all still be in one place but could easily be scanned for a particular area. If you are looking for waterfall ice it would be rather inconvenient to have to review each region of the route reports forum to see if some one has posted an ice report. Retro Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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