Lee Vining Ice.

[syudla]

Bard Harrington and Chouinard is in. Main Wall is not close to being formed up yet. BH is thick and right side routes on Chouinard are thick with some aerated brittleness. Left side of Chouinard is still not formed. BH currently the best.

 

PS Approach is quite sucky!

Edited December 10, 2006 by syudla

[rhyang]

It ranged from frozen streambed

 

To large talus

 

The Bard-Harrington Wall

 

I and my buddy KC headed up the canyon to the base of the BH Wall, and then met syudla, who had soloed up one of the WI3 lines on Chouinard Falls and fixed a nice TR We all got a lap in and I checked out his new Taa-k-oon's. Then we each took a lap on some thin ice near the Tree Route (climbing delicately).

 

Finally we headed back down to the BH and syudla bade farewell while we climbed the first pitch. By then it was 3:15 or so and the prospect of negotiating the talus and frozen streambed in the dark on the descent made us decide to just rap off a v-thread and head back to the motel.

 

Next day we came back amid blowing snow, and started up the talus, which was even uglier with just a few inches of snow on it. We decided to turn back instead of breaking a leg or ankle and went to go look at June Lake. The roadside ice didn't look in, but might have been good for some drytool laps

 

From there we headed to Mammoth where KC picked up some new randonee gear (he muttered something about having to get his wife to start working and/or tutoring college physics ) and then headed back home.

[Dechristo]

Damn, Syudla, it looks from the photo that you're serving in an UN Peacekeepers unit.

[syudla]

un-peacekeepers unit.

 

You calling me a war-monger?

[Dechristo]

more-wanger

[Weekend_Climberz]

Nice WI1+, looks pretty sick

 

 

Nice report

[Erich]

any further news on my old stomping grounds ? are the routes blown out due to warmth ?

 

E ~

[larrythellama]

just bring your slurpee syrup as its balmy down here...tho this weekend you might have better luck with our temps dropping.

[syudla]

Climbed BH wall yesterday. Route conditions remain about the same as original report however the approach trail is much more reasonable being mostly snow now.

 

Edit: Actually after reading my original post its not the same. Left side of Chouinard is now in and BH prolly has more ice.

Edited January 4, 2007 by syudla

[Gidget]

Any new input on the ice conditions at Lee Vining? Heading down for the first time and was wondering how many pitches the climbs are. I have looked some pictures and not too sure on how big the climbs are. Also wondering on the approach, ski in, hike in? Any beta would be great. Thank you.

[syudla]

Climbed there Thur and Fri 3/1-3/2. Routes are in good shape with the main wall being the leanest. Broke fresh trail thur on skis and went in fri on snowshoes. One other party on Fri and they postholed badly without flotation. There will be hordes of folks over the weekend so will prolly be bootable by Sun-mon. Bard Harrington receiving afternoon sun for about an hour.

 

In order of wall length:

Chouinard ~ a short pitch

Main Wall ~1.5 pitches

Bard-Harrington, ~ 3 pitches.

 

Have fun.

[Gidget]

Awesome, thank you.

[Chad_A]

Any new reports? I took a look at the weather; looks to be getting mighty warm down there. Or, maybe it's colder/higher where the ice is...not familiar with the area.

 

Any latest information? Looking to get in one last ice trip on the weekend of the 18th. Thanks in advance for any info.

[rhyang]

The canyon is about 2000' higher than the town of Lee Vining... so it's a bit cooler up there. However, the angle of the sun this time of year is such that in the afternoon the ice can get baked if there's no cloud cover, particularly the Bard-Harrington Wall.

 

Forecasted highs last weekend for LV were in the high 60's (!) Doug Nidever's ice report is here :

http://www.sierramtnguides.com/index.cfm?navID=25

(note that the last update on March 3rd was right after a storm came through - it's been hot since then)

 

[Chad_A]

Thanks for that info. Maybe I'll give them a shout and see if it's indeed out.

[rhyang]

I'm sure there is still some ice in the canyon, but it may not be in good condition. Good for locals to tool on in the morning hours maybe, but not worth 6-10 hours of driving one-way.

[Chad_A]

That's all the information I needed

[Mark_Husbands]

Drove over this weekend from Mariposa. Climbed Bard Harrington and got a bunch of laps on the Chouinard. Surprisingly good shape considering the warm temperatures. Sticky enough but still some brittle surface ice to make you work a little. There was a crack across the BH at 2/3 height, and at about 3pm the sun would hit the left hand wall and send big bricks down from Hobnail Boots or whatever those routes are over there.

 

Worthwhile.

[kurthicks]

not to mention that the temps for rock adventures down there are great right now. One could easily do Lee Vining one day and sport climb the next. the downside is that The Pit now costs $2/night and that the slackline is no more.

[rhyang]

Here's a note from Doug Nidever's ice report (web link above) :

 

Bard-Harrington

In Shape: NO, because we saw horizontal cracks up high on the Bard today (3-17). They were on the right of the flow. The warm temps have taken their toll. Time to stay away from the Bard

 

Here's a pic posted on one of the BH route pages -

 

 

 

[ryland_moore]

BH may be out, but every time I headed to OWG for Spring Break we always took a rest day at Lee Vining on Chouinard. The last time I was there, the upper half had fallen on BH the night before but Chouinard was still fast and plastic.....Just be careful on the approach and don't cut up to Chouinard until after your are out of the BH debris zone.....