Any ice in the North Cascades yet?

[CB Thomas]

Has anyone found ice in condition this season? Thinking of heading to Rainy Lake - it's been below freezing for a couple weeks now according to the snotel site.

[genepires]

lots of thick ice on the 10 degree hiking trail up to the pilchuck lookout.

[G-spotter]

Tons of thin ice up high the last few days. These flows as seen yesterday were probably climbable but IDK if they were thick enough for solid screws. The low angle stuff I was crossing in the sun would have taken the odd 10cm screw but still had running water too. Snowing up there right now.

 

[dave schultz]

what is the 10 degree trail on Pilchuck Lookout? Is that the only trail heading up to the lookout? I have never been there, but am definitely looking for ANY ice to climb.

 

Any reports of ice in the Snowqualime area?

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Dave

[laurel]

From last weekend...

 

There is some ice in the Colchuck Lake area. Whether it is "in condition" may depend on your definition of "in condition". We bailed on the North Buttress Couloir because we found walking on loose rock with 6 inches of loose snow to be annoying and time consuming and were not looking forward to drytooling for 1000 ft in a whiteout. After bailing we played around on some frozen-waterfall-looking-things at the toe of the glacier.

 

Paulina playing on some steep ice by Laurel Fan, on Flickr

 

No, we did not actually climb the steep thing. We just poked it long enough for facebook profile photos and made hot chocolate with some of the icicles that fell off. The unsteep thing next to it was more climbable but not to the point of taking screws unless they have started making 8cm screws.

 

(more photos from the trip including overview photos of CBR, Dragontail, and Colchuck if you click through above)

 

There are a handful of TRs from this area last year November... comparing photos, it seems there was more ice and less snow last year.

[Tyson.g]

 

 

 

It's trying.

[wayne]

NW Couloir on Eldorado

Tyson, Where is that?

[genepires]

waterfall buttress area below e face three fingers. near roan wall sorta. His home away from home. Me thinks he has a PO box out there somewhere.