genepires Posted January 31, 2002 Share Posted January 31, 2002 Went up to snoqualmie pass a couple of days ago. -Kidd falls was in but mostly snow covered. Only about 20 feet of bubbly ice exposed.-name unknown but the creek that drains off source lake and down the valley. Heard it was good but it is now very wet and mostly covered in snow too. Anyone know the name?-Source Lake Line looks to be in very good shape if you are willing to make the hard slog up the hill to get there. Solid looking and blue, maybe 2 pitches. There looks to be a more moderate line to it's left. More steps and snow covered ledges.-bryant buttress has two short climbs in descent shape. There are two bad ass ice spears coming off a big overhang. Looks like they never touch the ground, falling off before it can touch down. If a rope was anchored from the top and the icicle could "grow" down the rope, we would have a little vail of our own here. Having said all this, especially with the snow falling, it is bit of a grunt to get to some of these places as the snow was fluffy and deep. I was sinking up to the knees even with descent size snowshoes. Also of course, watch avi cond. if you go to the climbs above sourse lake. [ 01-31-2002: Message edited by: genepires ] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al Posted January 31, 2002 Share Posted January 31, 2002 I was also up at Alpental Valley on Tuesday to check out the ice. Where you with the party of three that came to the falls? I was the guy on top when you arrived. The falls (I don't know the name either) looked pretty thin, what was exposed - the rest buried by snow. There is another ice line that comes off the second cliff band as one travels the trail. Right in the middle of that band is a cleft(again, I don't know the names)with a reasonable looking line. I first saw this on the 18th, before the big dump. Never having climbed ice in Alpental, I was sure this was an established route, being so obvious. It starts with about 30' of 50 deg. smear, then goes vertical or near to trees above, about a rope length. The upper half was snow covered so couldn't tell about ice, but lower vetical section clean. I have picture taken Tuesday. I then went to Commonwealth to check out two places. The triple waterfall above PCT was not "in". The lower falls not set up enough as usual, middle not at all, but upper frozen solid. The other place is a smear about .1 mile south of this. I climbed the lower half two years ago with John Brace, but at about half rope length when my left crampon came off I baled to left and set up rap. We top roped that lower section. I have pictures of this too. It shows the lower section bulging with ice, the middle to upper completely covered, and the final top section a solid pillar about 15' high to the top of the bluff line. Talking to different people, no one seems to have heard of this line. Like all ice around here its very ilusive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
max Posted January 31, 2002 Share Posted January 31, 2002 quote: Originally posted by Dru: fixing a rope to seed a pillar has been tried and does not work. in fact one time at johnston canyon, it ripped the anchor out that the rope was attached to! I'm pretty sure this is the technique (sucsessfully) used on the Fang and Rigid Designator near Vail. I think steel chain and some big-ass trees are used. http://images.climbingboulder.com/ice/3/the_fang.jpg [ 01-31-2002: Message edited by: max ] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vegetablebelay Posted January 31, 2002 Share Posted January 31, 2002 Last year for the ice competition in Ouray (maybe they do it every year), they made a hanging icicle that competitors had to get on after a thin mixed spot. They made it using thick chain and a sort of upside down metal Christmas tree and hung if off of one of the bridges. Spray it with water for a few days and presto. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dru Posted January 31, 2002 Share Posted January 31, 2002 quote: Originally posted by max: I'm pretty sure this is the technique (sucsessfully) used on the Fang and Rigid Designator near Vail. I think steel chain and some big-ass trees are used. http://images.climbingboulder.com/ice/3/the_fang.jpg [ 01-31-2002: Message edited by: max ] how come when it cracks in half at the end of the year, there is no chain exposed then? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted February 1, 2002 Share Posted February 1, 2002 quote: Originally posted by al: I was also up at Alpental Valley on Tuesday to check out the ice. Where you with the party of three that came to the falls? Yep. I was there with Gene too. Damn it seems like everywhere I turn in the Cascades there is a cc'er. You should have come up with us to Bryant Buttress and helped break trail through the powda. There were some worthless skiers/snowboarders who followed in our hard earned tracks. It was well worth it. Hung out in a little ice cave and got to scratch up an untouched piece of ice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Posted February 1, 2002 Share Posted February 1, 2002 good to hear people are getting out. On Tues mvs and I went up to the climb under the chairlift at alpental ski area for a fun and exciting 25-30m or relatively snow-free ice. Pretty good stuff, despite the traffic it sees! Alex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al Posted February 1, 2002 Share Posted February 1, 2002 You should have come up with us to Bryant Buttress and helped break trail through the powda. I tried to get your attention when I got down but you scooted fast and couldn't hear me. I was wanting someone (I didn't have my gear) to check out the ice coming off the second cliff band, in the center. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taz Posted February 1, 2002 Share Posted February 1, 2002 alex, can you see the ice from the parking lot? is it on the left or right of the chair when heading up? grade? check it out... post number 1 mutha fuckas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lambone Posted February 1, 2002 Share Posted February 1, 2002 'Bout time you came outa the closet... No you can't see it from the parking lot. It is to the left of the main quad, I forget the name. There are some photo's on Lorens web page- www.cascadeclimber.com I don't know what it looks like now though. Probably a good idea to check with ski patrol to make sure its cool to climb there. Or go on Monday when they are closed. Have fun [ 01-31-2002: Message edited by: Lambone ] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dru Posted February 1, 2002 Share Posted February 1, 2002 fixing a rope to seed a pillar has been tried and does not work. in fact one time at johnston canyon, it ripped the anchor out that the rope was attached to! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taz Posted February 1, 2002 Share Posted February 1, 2002 outta the closet eh? you mean like this... that tickle your lamb-bone??? better keep it on the LD, lots of military types round here, thay don't like that sorta thang Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J_Fisher Posted February 1, 2002 Share Posted February 1, 2002 Re the rope/chain thing: I didn't see it for the designator, but there is very definitely a steel cable (not a chain) that the fang forms around. It's anchored to at least one big tree. And as someone else indicated, the Ouray Ice Park seeds routes this way pretty commonly. The Johnston canyon episode doesn't show it "doesn't work", it just proves you need a strong anchor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Posted February 5, 2002 Share Posted February 5, 2002 taz, you can't see it from the parking lot, its at the top of the quad chair, on the left. It is WI4, around 30m. We roped up at around 7am and were off the route when the mountain opened. I know there has been some recent discussion on the spectacle nature of doing this route and I agree: doing it during business hours just increases the chances of access issues in the future. Climb it early before work, or climb it on Mondays. Went up to Alpental valley today. It was warm in the valley, cold at the base of the Tooth. Alpental Falls buried, Kiddie Cliff buried. Bryant Butress has ice thats longer than Kiddie Cliff and now a well-packed trail to the base. Some of the more remote climbs would take major work to get to through this snowpack. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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