I enjoyed the climbing, the day before's climbing reminiscent of climbing in the northeast: windy, snowing, wind chill, butt-ass cold. John and I returned to the Graduate School crag to climb the other WI3, 45 meter route, but instead the anchor issue was a PITA, so built an anchor on a dead tree and climbed what later turned out to be Organic Chemistry WI4.
It was a nice beginning to the day with the sun peeking out sparingly. The park saw about a foot of snow over night and the climbs were a snowy nightmare.
I lowered John into the gorge on a redirected GRI-GRI and he climbed the route with no trouble. I was next and went into the snowy void a little sketched out about the snow and the thought about warming up on a WI4 just out of bed.
When snow covers a route it is impossible to make a good "stick" into the ice because you cannot see where to strike the ice on an optimal point. You spend many many swings of your ice tool clearing away snow and finally letting loose with a stick because your feet are about to blow or your other stick was crap and you are about to fall. Anyway I looked at it, it was a desperate climb and although exciting, and strenuous-very strenuous- it was hard to call it fun, but it was.
During the video I shot at the base of the climb i erroneously called the climb Masters Degree WI3, but I was lowered into the wrong part of the gorge anyway....
Things went bad fast. I spied the 30-40ft section of vertical ice which in this case was rated WI4; a little over my grade for the first climb of the day. The ice at the base was a newly formed curtain of chandelier or candle-wax ice. A nightmare for some, a living nightmare for me on this warm-up climb. lol This ice is new and not really consolidated and filled in solid areas. At any rate, I called on the radio and told John I was climbing.
I got up and soon realized i was climbing on egg shells and about 10 feet up i came off; and I came off unexpectedly. I exploded through the air in a cloud of ice fragments and lightly touched the ground as the rope got tight. I looked at the route and started up again and noticed that the ice was very difficult for me to climb and so I was more careful, but as I put my ice tool into the ice searching for positive placement, the pick would rake the delicate chandelier ice and finally find purchase. This was not fun. I could not get good feet either in this shit. I was about 25-30ft above the crik when I really came off again. This time the rope went "twang" and I hung there in space with one tool still in the ice. I called for John to lower me . I hung there for 5 minutes calling John on the radio. It had turned itself off. I climbed back up to my tool with my remaining tool which with 2 tools is effin hard enough. So i get back up to my tool and john is still belaying me and taking in rope as I ascend. My arms are cooked and my calves are burning as I front point to stay attached to the ice. I come off again but have to hang there to rest...I find a ridiculously small stance for part of my right foot and I cram my left leg into an ice cave behind a thin curtain and grab a big fat ice sickle stalactite to rest.
I call to John on the radio wanting to be lowered so I can reassess the line I took but there was no answer.
Still no answer from the effin radio, so i call out to John to check his radio. Luckily the steep narrow walls of the gorge carry my shrill call to him. His voice crackles again on the radio and fills the walls of the gorge. I explain what is happening.
Again, I strike off to climb the vertical ice above. But this I am about 30 feet or so above the creek and it looks like maybe 35feet of vertical ice to go to the bulge. How the hell am I going to climb this shit as my guns are nearly cooked. I rest and scratch my way up and come off again and have to rest. It is a great thing to be belayed with a GRI-GRI on this climb. The ice quality gradually improves and I get some decent albeit snowy sticks and good feet again. Off I go and make it to the bulge above and to slightly easier terrain.
At the bulge I look up the sea of ice which is snowy. I can see John's helmet about 110ft above me across this snowy ice field to relative safety.
I can' see where i am swinging and you don't want to thrust your tool into snow because when you pull on this it'll rip out and you'll come off....You never ever want to fall on ice while climbing unless it is vertical or you can catch a crampon and hurt your self. The ice is hard and crampons have a nasty way of catching the ice on the way down and snapping an ankle. Nice! So every up ward movement required clearing the snow above to make a good stick that will hold your weight as you climb up....
That's how this climb went. It was fun because i wasn't at work. But the climb required many many more pick swings to get a required stick. I can't wait to return an ddo this gem again because it was so long. Anchor of a tree. 60m rope. All climbs at the graduate school can reach the creek with a 60. belay from the top with a gri-gri.
Vincent
a GRI-GRI, good grief...
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