Dane Posted January 25, 2011 Posted January 25, 2011 Trip: SLC Utah - Stairway to Heaven Date: 1/23/2011 Trip Report: Every time I am lucky enough to visit SLC I get a terrible urge and want to move there. If you wonder why...it is always sunny when visit and you can ice climb, ski and ride your road bike all in the same day if you were really ambitious. (well every time I've been here anyway And there are a few locals that actually do such things. This is Stairway to Heaven in boney conditions and light for the grade right now on the first 5 pitches.(thankfully!) Here is a quick look at what the locals do before going to or after work...the bastards! Ad this is just the "junk" ice around the city. Cool thing about OR? There are plenty of rope guns running around you can put to work More photos/info here: http://coldthistle.blogspot.com/2011/01/swth-or-slc-metro-ice.html http://lamountaineers.org/NAC/browserf/climbs/stairut/beta.htm http://www.thebackcountry.net/bb/viewtopic.php?p=3155&sid=78c5e5114c418e43657f8f77c5980fa4 http://cascadeclimbers.com/trip-reports/ice/utah-provo-canyon-stairway-to-heaven---provo-canyon--1-22-2008-3201/ With no avi danger this one (and a few other road side attractions) might actually me worth the drive for us. Gear Notes: The usual for the grade and full length rappels. Locals seem a little poor so take some new tat along to reinforce the anchors...seriously. Approach Notes: 10 min approach with the highway below and up to 10 pitches later in the winter. Quote
ScaredSilly Posted January 25, 2011 Posted January 25, 2011 Hey Dane the reason there is tat is cause locals climb it when it is fat, top out, and walk down the trail Off to ride my bike into the office. Quote
Git-er-dun Posted January 25, 2011 Posted January 25, 2011 Dane nice photos did you climb the hole thing? I did it in the 90's great climb............. Quote
Dane Posted January 25, 2011 Author Posted January 25, 2011 We did 5 pitches..which I'm told is the "normal" route. They probably tell all the hackers that to keep 'um off the good stuff. 6th pillar was a little sketchy after the chinook went through. My host hadn't heard of anyone doing it recently. Give it a week or so and I suspect it would be good as well. Quote
Nitrox Posted January 25, 2011 Posted January 25, 2011 When I was out there in December all that had fallen down. I was lucky to get on GWI but that was super thin and run out. Quote
TBay Posted January 25, 2011 Posted January 25, 2011 (edited) nice STH stoke... btw, you dont need tat... you just gotta know where to look for the hardware... some of it is kind of trivial... hit me up on your next go around on that thing, ive got an extra bike. and on a side note, the farmed ice of pitches 6-10 has seen its glory days back in Feb/Mar 06... since then nobody's been willing thrash-up the hate-filled bridalveil gulch and mountainside to asses the carnage done to the hoses during a massive bridevail bowl avi during the 07/08 season... Edited January 25, 2011 by TBay Quote
Dane Posted January 25, 2011 Author Posted January 25, 2011 Dbl rap tat on the tree sucks.. Got an extra 56" This is the 5 pitches we cimbed but obviously with much less ice. Pitch 6 looked very close to being climbable to me (likely was) on the far left. Easy enough to make the pitches longer or shorter as there are many benches between the steps. We just did what seemed natural and found chains. Pretty obvious. Kinda like Professors in Baff but a little steeper over all and out in the air a bit by comparison. The first pitch was by far the longest but not 60m. Raps were all chained except for the tree mid route. Quote
ScaredSilly Posted January 26, 2011 Posted January 26, 2011 and on a side note, the farmed ice of pitches 6-10 has seen its glory days back in Feb/Mar 06... since then nobody's been willing thrash-up the hate-filled bridalveil gulch and mountainside to asses the carnage done to the hoses during a massive bridevail bowl avi during the 07/08 season... Actually, only pitch 9-10 are truly farmed. Back in the early 90s I climbed pitches 6-8 on natural ice. Pitch 6 actually forms up often as does a bit of pitch 8. Pitch 7 is a free hanging pillar which oddly enough was much fatter when it was natural ice. I think that season, 92??? was the first time that many pitches had formed. That said, I have to give kudos to those who did the work for the farming on Stairway as well as to the climbs to left of Bridal Veil. It was great to have some new lines to play on. Perhaps this next fall we will have work party. Quote
scottgg Posted January 26, 2011 Posted January 26, 2011 Nice Dane! I had a friend from NC who climbed this the same time you did.. Quote
Khartoum Wood Posted January 29, 2011 Posted January 29, 2011 ya man rockin that's what I'm talking about nice photos I want to climb there. Quote
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