November ice?

[backcountrybum]

Hey I was looking at weather for the upcoming week, looks like it could get pretty cold east of the crest. Anybody think it will be possible to find ice in Levenworth ?

 

-Forrest

[Alex]

No.

 

[sportnoob]

Some climbable smears will probably be in on the some of the northern facing couloirs up high (with a healthy dose of mixed climbing). The question is will you be able to get to them, and at the right time.

[genepires]

november ice needs dry and cold for a week. way too much snow falling means that most lower angle ice is buried where it is cold enough. Not enough time and cold for high angle ice to form reliably.

 

 

[YakCLimber78]

I'm in Yakima and it's over 60-degrees today..... Gonna have to wait for ice.

[G-spotter]

Arctic outbreak is forecasted starting middle of next week, should be climbable ice after 3-5 days. Model certainty only moderate at this time though.

[montypiton]

November ice is pretty unusual around Leavenworth (I've been here since 1980). today on November 17 its raining pitchforks & hammerhandles -- plenty of precip, but way too warm for ice. If you're monitoring weather reports, look for a week of single-digit lows, with highs no higher than freezing. Without a string of days in the low teens to single digits, it won't happen.

-Haireball

[obwan]

Monty and G-spotter are spot on. To be the early bird and get the jump on fellow WI climbers - you have to monitor exactly what they mentioned, and after a few days of the right conditions go awol from work, and go for it!

BTW, I have some good values on the yard sale for getting started in tools & screws.

[Omega686]

Went and checked out Rainier area this weekend and it looks like things are starting to form. After thiscold shape this week lines might be solid enough to play. Looking to go exploring for ice this Saturday after Thanksgiving if anyone is interested

 

Edited November 22, 2015 by Omega686

[Nate G]

Hyalite is in...way in. Things are phat here and it's only a 14 hour drive

[Omega686]

I wish it was the easy lol, work sucks

[Peter Way]

Yeman and I where ice climbing on the cliffs above the Eliot Glacier on Mt Hood yesterday

There is a whole host of lines to be climbed there right now

We weren't the only ones up there

[gotnoname]

anyone been out in Vancouver area? Rambles? Cal-cheak? Coquihalla? Sumallo? Is it worth it heading out this weekend? Any takers?

[G-spotter]

anyone been out in Vancouver area? Rambles? Cal-cheak? Coquihalla? Sumallo? Is it worth it heading out this weekend? Any takers?

 

Expect thin and early season. High elevation and north facing seems like your best bet as south facing stuff is getting hammered by the sun. I might be wrong but I don't think there's been much of an inversion going on. I'm gonna go take a look at Sumallo this afternoon. Rambles might be in as I heard Carl's Berg was forming up on Wednesday and Rambles are shadier. Other early formers that are worth checking out are Isodorth & Belmore (there's a new zip line access across the river to these), North Joffre, Falls Lake cirque, Zeppelin on the Darkside, Once in a Red Moon, Night N Gale, Husume Buttress, Oregon Jack, Phair Creek and stuff like that.

 

It might also be a good weekend to try for something a little bit more alpine like Ghost Passenger or Zero Gully. You can drive pretty high, and below 2000 m there isn't much avvy hazard. But approaching may suck as I've heard there is lots of breakable crust around.

[gotnoname]

Thanks Dru,

 

Don S, Graham R and Fishstick? took me to Zero Gully a number of years back and I haven't done much ice since, like to go back one day.

 

If you feel like taking a noobie out, let me know.

 

Edited November 28, 2015 by gotnoname

[Val Zephyr]

Climbed Hubba Hubba Left yesterday. There was good ice that took stubby screws.

 

Pitch 1

 

Pitch 2

[bellows]

If you're really jonesing, there's a pitch and a half of climbable ice in the Practice Gully at Alpental. It's an easy low commitment trip and good dawn patrol option. I snuck it in yesterday afternoon in four hours round trip from Seattle.

[YakCLimber78]

Well, I guess it's now December Ice.....

I went up to White Pass on Saturday and Sunday, Clear Creek Falls is formed-up in it's early-season form on the right side. Also, there seems like there may be a few flows up at Strobach that are in........ I didn't get a chance to grab a pic, but when I go up this weekend, I'll snap a few and post them for y'all.

[Alex]

hey cool, yes that practice gully right about now is a good ramble when there is not much snow up at Alpental. It is low-flow and low-angle enough to promote early freezes like this!

[bellows]

The Goatee up the Snow Creek Trail was in ok condition on Saturday and is high enough in elevation that it might just survive the warm wet weather this week. Pitch one funky snice/ice. Pitch two mostly snow. Pitch three 30m of fun WI3 making it worth(?) the hike for eager climbers. Beware of sluffs coming down from the gully on lookers right.

 

Millennium Wall #2 also looked in but we didn’t climb it. In retrospect it may have been a better option to run laps on Millennium rather than schwack up and off the Goatee.