[TR] Alpental - Alpental Falls 12/3/2006

[Fromage]

Trip: Alpental - Alpental Falls

 

Date: 12/3/2006

 

Trip Report:

Strolled up to check out the falls on Sunday with my homie Jeremy and my fiancee. From below, Alpental Falls/Alpental I looked to be in shape. Owing to my excitement at the first ice climb of the season I gave it a go. The ice was hollow, poorly attached, and was forming thick ice lenses and onion skins over a layer of snow. Perfect conditions! About halfway up I placed a mediocre screw, moved up and left a ways, found a better screw, and took a closer look at the top of the first pitch. It was glassy, chandeliered, dripping with water, and small snow slides were starting to come down off to the left. The sun was out and warming the place up. I downclimbed, pondered gear retrieval, and decided I would just climb back up, clean gear, and downclimb again. In the short timespan this took, the quality of the ice went from worse to even worse. We tromped around in the snow for a while scouting the other routes in the neighborhood, but didn't feel motivated to try anything else. Went home and drank beers.

 

Gear Notes:

Total jing. Best left behind. Bring alpine crampons and tubular picks.

 

Approach Notes:

Snowshoes helpful for the last 40 feet.

[dbb]

sounds a lot like my experience there from several years ago. We had to tunnel though waist/chest deep powder to get to the base (bonehead ice climbers, we should have been skiing!). Found simmilar snowy slab slush, so I sunk in one of my trusty snargs as a bail piece and downclimbed from the base of the curtain. A nice solid yank of the rope retrieved my screw once I was down

 

maybe that's why they call us 'yanks' up north? wish I could join you guys next w/e.

D

 

[Weekend_Climberz]

It would be nice if some of that stuff came in a bit better. I wonder what NY Gulley is looking like??

[Fromage]

Yeah, the folks across the way on the slopes looked to be having a good time of things, and I wished I had skis to get far up the valley fast. At least I had the small consolation of being the only group there.