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snow creek wall fa's


cappellini

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in 1978 jeff lowe published a book titled the ice experience. in this book he mentions snow creek wall as a claassic example of winter alpine climbing for this area. this is what motivated rolf and i to go up and climb several years ago. keep in mind the temperature record reveals much better conditions for winter climbing here in the 70's and 80's. this year represents a winter closer to that ideal but not quite that good, and the slab actually sustained thick ice this year.

 

with that in mind it seems obvious that the winter ascents done on snow creek wall this century are no different than those done by the masters of technique(not technology)last century. after all its primarily grade 3 with a couple short grade 4 variations: well within the realm of the masters of technique (not technology).

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Like cappellini sez, they wrote books. Verrrrrrrry old skewl...

 

Interesting that you mention Lowe's book. It was his book, and Chouinard's Climbing Ice that got me started. I still have them both. It's a nostalgia-fest for me to go back and look at their classic gear. Pterodactyls and Hummingbirds. :laf:

 

Shit, I still have my original pair of 'birds hanging in the garage!

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when Rat climbed Drury Falls for the first time Hummingbirds were brand new but he couldn't afford a pair. His partner had a set though. So Rolf climbed it with a pair of north wall hammmers. Pretty core.

 

That asshole is on his way up to Banff today for a week for the second time this season. Punk.

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Like cappellini sez, they wrote books. Verrrrrrrry old skewl...

 

Interesting that you mention Lowe's book. It was his book, and Chouinard's Climbing Ice that got me started. I still have them both. It's a nostalgia-fest for me to go back and look at their classic gear. Pterodactyls and Hummingbirds. :laf:

 

Shit, I still have my original pair of 'birds hanging in the garage!

 

In about 1980 my wife, who was working in a mountaineering shop, gave me a copy of Chouinard's book for Christmas. Inside was a note "You will spend Christmas vaction learning from the author". I spent three days taking an ice climbing lesson from Chouinard and Jim Donini - I can still remember him french stepping up the Smear with one long piolet. Dates me, I guess. And, yeah, I've still got my bambo piolet and my Terrors in a box somewhere.

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Like cappellini sez, they wrote books. Verrrrrrrry old skewl...

 

Interesting that you mention Lowe's book. It was his book, and Chouinard's Climbing Ice that got me started. I still have them both. It's a nostalgia-fest for me to go back and look at their classic gear. Pterodactyls and Hummingbirds. :laf:

 

Shit, I still have my original pair of 'birds hanging in the garage!

 

In about 1980 my wife, who was working in a mountaineering shop, gave me a copy of Chouinard's book for Christmas. Inside was a note "You will spend Christmas vaction learning from the author". I spent three days taking an ice climbing lesson from Chouinard and Jim Donini - I can still remember him french stepping up the Smear with one long piolet. Dates me, I guess. And, yeah, I've still got my bambo piolet and my Terrors in a box somewhere.

 

Very impresive story!

I once met and learned from Jack Tackle at an ice-fest in N. Michigan...that's my closest to a throw-back story (i'm only 26). He was amazing.

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But if they didn't have the internet back then how did they spray about their climb afterwards?

 

punch cards.

 

but i think capellini has a point. we've got all this killa gear sitting around, why isn't everyone climbing snow creek wall? back in the day, even if the conditions were better, they had suck gear.

 

are you wondering why? TECHNIQUE!

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actually, the hammer pictured is not the original, but the second generation "Chouinard Alpine Hammer". The first generation had only five teeth on the pick, and no notch on the underside of the hammer face. I received mine as a birthday gift in 1972, and its still my favorite all-round hammer for alpine use, although it only has three of the original five teeth now.

 

BTW - had a newbie in the Funnel today, and had probably the best waterfall ice I've climbed in Washington - almost like glacier or alpine ice - hard, dry, plastic, superbly consolidated, and fat. Very unusual for around here; season's not quite over yet...

 

Dan is right - Snow Creek Wall is underutilized in the winter. Probably not for long, though, after the traffic it saw this winter. For what its worth, this is also the first winter I've witnessed other climbers in the central gulley on Icicle Buttress. But the word is definitely out now. It's finally gettin' easier to find partners...

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For what its worth, this is also the first winter I've witnessed other climbers in the central gulley on Icicle Buttress. But the word is definitely out now.

 

that's because i "guided" a party up it and reccomended it to another earlier this season. both of whom provided tr's on this and the other local spray site. without the spoon fed baby food the sheep would go elsewhere.

 

lesson: stop posting your lame tr's and they'll all go back to lillooet. nothing worse than pick scars and kick holes.

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For what its worth, this is also the first winter I've witnessed other climbers in the central gulley on Icicle Buttress. But the word is definitely out now.

 

that's because i "guided" a party up it and reccomended it to another earlier this season. both of whom provided tr's on this and the other local spray site. without the spoon fed baby food the sheep would go elsewhere.

 

lesson: stop posting your lame tr's and they'll all go back to lillooet. nothing worse than pick scars and kick holes.

 

I'm sure no one would have realized how fat such a well hidden line was if you hadn't spread the word. :rolleyes:

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There is still a bit of a difference b/w a fat grade II ramp that starts on the rd and your intimidating gr 6 on SCW. Anyone who drove down that rode could plainly see that the buttress was fat this year (much fatter than the past few years I've seen it). I'm sure that cappelini influenced TRs maybe kicked off the onslaught a little earlier, but I find it hard to believe it would have gone unnoticed all season by those less adventurous had it not been reported then. I am bummed I didnt get on icicle buttress this year, because it looked great.

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For what its worth, this is also the first winter I've witnessed other climbers in the central gulley on Icicle Buttress. But the word is definitely out now.

 

that's because i "guided" a party up it and reccomended it to another earlier this season. both of whom provided tr's on this and the other local spray site. without the spoon fed baby food the sheep would go elsewhere.

 

lesson: stop posting your lame tr's and they'll all go back to lillooet. nothing worse than pick scars and kick holes.

 

 

I'm suprised anyone else climbed it since, heaven forbid, it isn't even in the Washington ice instruction manual.

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