[TR] Cdn Rockies- Real Ice 12/22/2005

[layton]

ha! chestbeat? hardly. i am a shit ice climber, not to mention I have not climbed on the frozen stuff (save alpine ice) for over 2 years. we did a bunch of moderate stuff - lady wilson's, midnight rambler, cascade (too much rolly WI2, but fun upper pitches), bridal viel, piss gully, polar circus (up until the pencil then retreated, but really really worth it for those pitches anyway), and i think some more I cannot remember.

 

only a couple of pics of boringness since my poor camera took a several hundred foot fall, bouncing off ice and rock the entire time and exploding into worthless metal and plastic, but that is another sad sob story...

 

cool i would rather read about what people climbed and what routes then enjoyed than pages about of useless drivell...

 

but just to fuel the fire.. I don't climb ice with that many folks and this is based solely on my ice climbing partners. Every partner i have that makes an annual trip to the rockies can lead wi5 versus the ones that climb ice lilloet or in wa most of whom many lead 3's maybe the occasional 4....

 

And the folks that can lead 5's in CA rockies can probably lead WI4's in cody

[DirtyHarry]

In my experience, and granted I'm not a super bitchin ice star, ice climbing in the northwest is way harder than in the Rockies. I could lead 4+ or 5 in the Rockies my second season climbing ice. I have yet to lead a true grade 5 in the northwest. The ice is just shittier, more rotten, more chandaliered, etc. here.

[Cobra_Commander]

plus in the gorge at least, your ropes are constantly freezing to the climbs so that is a drag (budumching).

[JoshK]

Yes, obviously ice quality makes the whole difference. Leading on fat 4 is way less scary than leading on shitty, delaminating sketchy 3.

[Cobra_Commander]

fat 4 with ginormous quark hooks. I've climbed ladders that were harder.

[jmckay]

[swaterfall]

11/25/05

 

[jmckay]

ooohhh! Scary!!!!