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[TR] Hope - Frost Heave (WI2+ R) - F.A Nov 29/06


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Trip: Hope - Frost Heave (WI2+ R) - F.A

 

Date: Today

 

Trip Report:

So I drove out to Hope today to meet my friend Justin Brown. Justin has done rock and alpine climbing but never water ice. He showed up with a pair of old straight-shafted Grivels with tied webbing leashes. "Ok, let's climb something easy. Warm up, first route of the season, yup!"

 

So pretty much everything in Hope is in and fat right now except for Rickets. JLTR is quite big. Moustrap is solid. But we headed over to the gas pipeline crag on the north side where there is this big low-angle flow set up that I had only seen formed once before.

 

On close examination the big flow does not really touch down, it vanishes into some turf about a pitch up. But a subsidiary flow on the left ran up to more or less the same height so we thought maybe we could climb that and traverse over.

 

frostheavebottom.jpg

JB at the bottom

 

This thing had a short steep start (WI2+) and then a long slabby section with some turf and scary thin ice (WI2R). I had a couple of 10 and 13cm screws mostly in and one tied off 16cm halfway in . At the top there was a comical mantle onto a huge moss blob and then a traverse left to a belay tree (40m).

 

bushes.jpg

Justin finishing the pitch into the bushes.

 

Getting across to the rest of the ice looked kind of sketchy with some snow-covered prickle bushes and bare slabby granite to contend with, also Justin had just bent the tip of his Grivel at 45 degrees

bent.jpg

 

So we decided to call it a day. Descent was a walkoff to climbers left down a ramp. Fun fun

 

Hope might not be in by this weekend because of this warm front coming in but it should still be in tomorrow if you need an ice fix cxlose to Bellingham or Vancouver. Like I said, pretty much everything is in and climbable at Hope*. Bridal Falls area is still forming, only Never a Bridge and the Fox/Webb looked climbable. Bridal Falls itself was running in the middle, Decent Divorce was not touching down on the middle pillar, and White Wedding had 2 or 3 icicles waiting to touchdown. Easy Intro was in but really chandeliered. There was some unclimbed stuff in and fat by the Diviner and Hunter Creek looked fat and sassy except Medusa looked a bit thin at the bottom (maybe harder than 4 right now?) Seabird is in. Tailwind is in.

 

* Hells Lake Falls is forming, looked too thin to lead but could be toproped?

 

Gear Notes:

Stubbies

Warthogs for turf if you have them

Strong rated picks (I can never remember if B or T are the thicker ones)

 

Approach Notes:

Drive Highway 7 east from Hope and park at the gas pipeline. Walk back on the gated road on the north side of the slough about 200m to the obvious roadside ice.

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