Happy Holiday Climbing!
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John L enjoying fat and plastic ice on Sister's Left (WI3+, 125'). |
It's been an intense winter already- with back-to-back snow storms, high winds and extreme thaw-freeze cycles. But of course...that's good for growing water-ice. John L. and I climbed in intermittent rain today as a good thaw settled in, but were rewarded with a couple of pitches of superbly fat and plastic ice in Cascade Pass (Sister's Left WI3+ , Sister's Right WI4). Local's call the great plastic ice on the first day of a thaw after a good cold spell- 'hero ice.' After we had our fill of rolling, steep bulges and every pair of gloves we had were soaked, and with the temptation of a warm truck only a couple of hundred feet away- we called it a day, psyched that we had still gotten out to climb.
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John L finds steeper plastic ice on Sister's Right (WI4). |
With modern clothing and equipment, and an open-minded approach to the possibilities, there's a lot to do here in all conditions. As for the holiday crowds...haven't seen any yet- we've still had the place mostly to ourselves (so far.) I learned a hard lesson about ALWAYS having spare camera batteries and missed some great shots climbing with Emilie on Positive Thinking at Poke-O-Moonshine on a (relatively) warm and clear day. But since then I've been diligent about recharging and having back-ups- and managed to get some more recent images:
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John L. finds lots of ice and snow on Multi-Gully (WI3+, 225'). |
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All good things must end. Rapping back down Multi-Gully. |
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Emilie starts up another mixed line at Chapel Pond. |
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Emilie on the crux mantle, Pussyfoot (M4+), Chapel Pond. |
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Nick and Max enjoying snow, ice and a taste of exposure on Chapel Pond Slab. |
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Nick and Max, living the dream. Chapel Pond Slab (WI2-3, 700') |
