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2006-2007 Season (archive)
2007-2008 Season (archive)
2008-2009 Season (archive)
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Conditions update, 04/03/2009
This update is from the first week of March. Yes, I know it's the first week of April! Spring is here! The weather today is amazing! Go skiing! Go rock climbing! While fantastically overdue, I'll throw this last update out there for completeness. Thanks to Tod and Jessica for the updates!
Canadian Rockies: Some reports coming in the last couple weeks reminded me that 3rd week of March in Canadian Rockies is still prime ice climbing season. I should've remembered, several of my own trips have been at this time of year! Oh well. It's in, go send!
Strobach Tod B and two others went in the first week of March, and still found lots of climbing. First on the Left in with narrow pillar start. Upper pitch only left side in. Sudden Change in better than usual. Sad Ce'bu first pitch to cave reasonable, after that questionable. Lots of running water. Dropline looks in and solid. Ice Dreams in, top thin as usual.
Leavenworth: Hubba Hubba great condition, Left of Hubba Hubba great condition!
Mountaineers Creek: Great condition!? Mr Seattle and surrounding routes in and fat.
Alpental: I believe NY Gully and Pineapple Express because our "Route de jour" tours this year!
Conditions update, 02/28/2009
Yet another mostly dry spell, with one wet cycle thrown in the mix that dropped several inches of snow down to sea level mid week. What an amazing winter we've had! Thanks to Mark S., Thomas R and Micah L. for reports! As I write this it's becoming "seasonably warm" in the Seattle area, and my tulip bulbs have emerged. Smells like Spring.
Canadian Rockies: Mark reports "Things are pretty fat, and since there's been so little snow, even the most avalanche prone climbs remain safe. Gibralter is fat. Everything near Field is pretty fat, although the first pitch of Guiness is a little hooked out.".
Leavenworth: Thomas R and Micah L climbed what seems to be a new route? in Tumwater this past week, at two pitches of WI 2+. Pictures below. If you recognize it, let me know.
Alpental: NY Gully and Pineapple Express are in once-in-a-decade shape and have seen numerous repeats now, and one very large leader fall that resulted in (thankfully only) fractured ankle.
Tumwater, new route report.
Tumwater, new route report.
Conditions update, 02/18/2009
Another dry week with only one day of precip. Our ice season closes out it's second solid month with lots of opportunities still to climb in lower BC and Washington.
Lillooet: I spent 4 days in Lillooet this past weekend. There is no snow on the Duffy or in town, though its very cold. 8'F in the morning two days in a row up higher. Belmore and Isadorth both in, with Isadorth being an easy 2+ solo in it's current shape. Belmore certainly looks like it would live up the to "Slog of the Titans" label! Rambles is all in. Shreddie and Closet Secrets not even a trace. Carlsberg in. Synchronicity in but anemic on the bottom of the main curtain and sun affected. Loose Lady in, in tough shape. Phair Creek no access, beware first hill is completely iced. Cherry Ice in,Honeyman in, though spitting on the left. In 3+ shape. Bridge Creek all out except Capricorn and Nightngale. Pemberton The Plum in, Valentine in.
Vantage: Fuggs and Frenchman both out.
Banks Lake: Thanks Tom L! Summer Falls is out. H2O2 in solid shape, Zenith in but thin in center and likely hard 5 shape. Punchbowl and Trotsky's in and solid. Electric Avenue climbs not touching down.
Leavenworth: Hubba Hubba is in. The Smear is in. Drury not in. This Too Shall Pass up at Lake Wenatchee in. Timequake not in. David and Kevin found several ice climbs, incl. a two-pitch rig that they sent, by Stuart Lake up in the Enchantments when they opted for plan B on a planned alpine trip.
Alpental: Several areas of good ice in the upper valley. Flow Reversal is in, above Source Lake. NY Gully was repeated again this week, in super-fat good condish with a direct start. North Face of Chair is in.
Strobach: More folks have gone in to explore this season. It's been a low-snow year in the Cascades and that definitely shows in the shape that Strobach is in right now. First on the Left in but hard start, Ice Dreams in and fat, Sudden Change still in, Primus Sucks WI5+ shape. This route tends to stay around the longest because it gets no afternoon sun. Bleeder Project and Tower of Power in but in harder than normal? shape.
Conditions update, 02/9/2009
This will go down as a very dry, fair weather winter. Seldom does one get so little precip and so many blocks of stable weather! This week we have a major cool-down showing up, with snow on the ground in Seattle again Monday and Tues. After a precip event tonight, the long term forecast is again for generally dry and partly sunny conditions.
Strobach: Marcus D. and Nate F. went in and climbed Sudden Change of Plan and the meat of Dropline in a daytrip to Strobach. Conditions were generally OK, but climbs were suffering from sun exposure and warm temps, with Dropline running a bit of water. Primus Sucks only the upper pitch is in, approach from mid-route bench. First on Left Very thin on start of pitch 1, but rest of climb is in. Sad C'ebu was running significant water with middle of upper ramp absent. Ponderosa Pillar appeared to be missing about 30% of the thin ice and verglas that covered the route in Craig & Bryan's recent photo. Bleeder Project suffering from sun exposure.
Alpental: Not Quite a Plum is in. Pineapple Express was repeated again this week, in super-fat good condish, by Craig G. and Wayne W.
Conditions update, 02/04/2009
Things had cooled down again and lots of folks have gotten out and gotten some in the last week. Thanks to Craig G and Josh S for updates!
A new warmer and wetter cycle is here again the last day or two. Watch the av conditions before you head out.
Mazama: Dave B reports on 1/31 that The Standard is in and fat. The Bear looks to be in from the road. Goats Beard not in. Childs Route above the Mazama store is "sunbaked and thin".
Entiat: Craig reports that What do Ardevoirs Eat? is in and looking good. Tyee Falls is also in, but as reported earlier has private property issues so best left alone unless you know your way around those parts or are tight with the landowner. There is some unclimbed/unreported ice in around Mile Post 19, and again a nice looking line off the road around Mile Post 21.
Banks: Paul D has been out climbing and reported that the moderate standard Devil's Punchbowl is in, with the usual objective hazards. Zenith is in. Cable out. Paul climbed what may be the FA of Summer Falls, a fat though short 3.
Alpental: As of 2/1, Alpental Falls is in. Almost everything in the valley is in, including the seldom-formed Alpental Stasse pillar. Source Lake Line is in, and climbed by Wayne and SuperDave. Pineapple Express and NY Gully on Snoqualmie, West Face of Guye - Improbable Traverse, as well as NE Buttress of Chair, S Face of the Tooth, and Bryant via a scramble route were all climbed recently. Stellar Falls up at the ski area is also in, but fragile. So, yeah, things are really pretty good very close to Seattle!
Vantage: Frenchmens is out, Fuggs Falls is in as of 1/30.
Strobach: Craig G and Bryan Schmitz sent the FA of the route immediately left of Bleeder Project, at 65m WI5, naming it Ponderosa Pillar. Ice Dreams, The Tongue (a short 3), and Robot Waitress (a short 4) were all climbed during the same trip. First on the Right in but thin. Watchtower not even close, there hasnt been enough moisture to fill it out.
Conditions update, 01/23/2009
Sorry it's taken a while to post an update, but you haven't missed much. As usual, our three weeks of glory ended abruptly with a big warmup. Interestingly, the dominant weather pattern the last week or more has been high pressure but lack of cold. This weather pattern always happens at some time during the winter, and is characterized by stable weather, an definite inversion, and dry conditions, and usually little wind. These are Spring conditions temperature-wise, and make committing to things that require good weather, fairly high altitude, or dry conditions generally easy.
While this pattern frankly sucks for lowland ice climbing, it is good for getting into the mountains. This past week saw numerous ascents of Mount Rainier, a First Winter Ascent of Backbone Ridge on Dragontail where Ade Miller's tenacity has finally paid off (he also has the FWA of the neighboring Serpentine Arete from several years back), and last but not least a fairly uneventful fifth(?) ascent of the North Face of Colonial by locals Colin Haley and Mark Bunker.
I don't have a whole lot to report on the ice climbing front, as not many people have been sending me updates, almost everyone I know is injured, and I have not gone out personally for a few weeks. The uninspiring weather makes one far less likely to find good ice, and as a result there are far fewer people willing to go poke around.
Mt Baker: A friend climbed Mt Baker via Coleman-Demming and reported routes on Colfax are in fine shape. PanDome Falls has also been climbed in recent weeks.
Leavenworth: rat reports that there is still a bit of thin ice to be found around town. The Drip is gone, Rainbow falls is running, Careno is thin, Millenium Wall was fat but wet on Thurs 1/21/09, and Mountaineers Creek looks "lean but intriguing". Based off of what I've done at Mountaineers Creek, this could be a great time to go there and mess around with mixed climbing, as the routes are generally easily approachable from above, and if you bring some gear you can build an anchor just about anywhere.
Alpental: Alpental Falls is out.
Ellensburg: Umptaneum is out.
Vantage: Frenchmens is out, Fuggs is likely out but I am not sure.
Strobach: Climbs were in but not as fat as 2006-2007 or 2007-2008 as of 1/6/09.
Strobach, Motherlode area. Left to Right: Dropline, Unclimbed, Unclimbed, Bleeder Project, Ice Dreams.
Strobach, Dropline (WI4+/5)
Conditions update, 01/03/2009
See Recent and Current Conditions Pics.
Happy New Year! We can say we've already had a legitimate two whole weeks! of an ice climbing season this year, which already surpasses some years!
With the new year come an ice climbing tragedy here at home in Washington. Please be safe out there; you can get swept off a route and climbs can collapse under you, be conservative.
I-90 Corridor: Franklin Falls has been climbed recently. Otherwise, lots of new snow and crappy avalanche conditions make going elsewhere a good option this week.
Mt Rainier: Skookum Falls may still be in, but this is the same area where Megan K. died this week so you should be extremely cautious if you decide to go out there. This is a large falls that will likely kill you if it comes down while you're on it.
Leavenworth: The Drip is still in. The Pencil and Drury Falls both in.
Moses Coulee: Craig G climbed Sundance Kid today, looks fat and sunny! Billy The Kid is also in.
Conditions update, 12/28/2008
Another week of cold weather and lots of climbs have seen traffic. On Friday a new weather pattern arrived and all our snow in Western Washington started disappearing. By Sunday morning it was all gone. This warm weather pattern is here to stay for a while. We'll see how things shape up in the coming week.
Black Ice Drytooling Crag: CYA was still visible from the road, however it was fairly warm at exit 38 Sunday afternoon, so I'm not sure how long this will stay around. Unnamed seemed buried in snow.
See Current Pictures of various climbs discussed above.
Mt Rainier: Skookum Falls is in, and has seen lots of traffic. On Sat Dec 27th it was still very leadable, but with a fair amount of snice due to the constant recent snowfall. You can cross log bridges under the route instead of approaching up the long road.
Ellensburg, Vantage: Frenchman was mostly formed Sunday morning, but was very wet even in the morning when it was approached by a party of 3, and by afternoon had a very large hole in the top. I and a partner climbed Fuggs Falls on Sunday; it was really fat and in very nice shape. There was a nice technical finish up the left side! It was 24 degrees when we arrived at the base, and 40 degrees when we left the route around noon. Running Gear Death Wall was dry.
Leavenworth: The Drip is in and looking fantastic!
Banks, Blue, and Park Lakes: No report.
White Pass, Chinook Pass: Thanks Ty for the update! Climbs looked good Friday and Saturday, including the Practice Wall, one climb on the Great Wall, and Horsetail Falls. It started raining at noon on Saturday.
Conditions update, 12/20/2008
Saturday afternoon and night brought another round of serious snow (for Washington lowlands) to our area. And now, Sunday afternoon, it's totally dumping again here in Bellevue! From the absolute feeding frenzy of posts on http://cascadeclimbers.com/, lots of folks have been getting out and about and are enjoying the great climbing! Thanks for all the great pics, posts, and especially to those of who sent me updates direct (Dan H, Dave B, and others)!
I-90 Corridor: Black Ice Drytooling Crag: CYA, "Unnamed", Here Today, Gone Tomorrow (HTGT), The Yellow Pillar (new route). Upper Curtain at Amazonia coming in.
Up valley: Franklin Falls is close but needs more time. Its just been not cold enough/too much flow for it to form well. Keekwulee falls is semi-formed, but needs more time. Same as Franklin, too much water, not quite enough cold. Both have recent visits so getting there will be easier. Bring snowshoes.
Snoqualmie Pass: Alpental Falls and neighboring climbs have ice.
See Current Pictures of various climbs discussed above.
Mt Rainier: Skookum Falls is in, and has seen several ascents last few days!
Ellensburg, Vantage: Thanks to Kevin and Craig and other intrepid ice seekers, looks like Umptanum Falls is forming but not quite there as of 12/19/08 and both Frenchman and Fuggs Falls are in at Vantage. Running Gear Death Wall was dry.
US 2 Corridor: Bridal Veil Falls at Index is in. Be careful, portions of it have collapsed at times during the week. There is a smear on the Upper Town Wall that isnt climbable but sure looks cool!
Leavenworth: No report since last.
Entiat: McCrea Falls, which is on private land. Please ask permission if you go. Preston Falls, which is on private land and it sounds like the landowner doesnt want climbers.
Palisades: February Falls. I am almost certain this is on private land, but I am not sure who you ask for access.
Banks, Blue, and Park Lakes: Paul D posted that he had driven up from Ephrata to Coulee City, and that not much was in. Cowgirls was closest. Thanks Paul!
Whatcom County: Darin B posted some tantalizing pics in the cc.com gallery of some ice he climbed today.
Conditions update, 12/17/2008
Despite the somewhat warmer weather today in town, it never got above freezing at the Black Ice dry-tooling crag up at exit 38.
Snoqualmie Pass: Went up to Black Ice today and watched Loren and Dave climb CYA while approaching the area. Plenty-O-Gear up there to rap from! They also climbed Here Today Gone Tomorrow later in the day. Looks like a worthy p2 on that one! I went and soloed "Unnamed", about 150 feet right of the CYA climb. Definitely a thrutch getting up to the ice, but once there the sticks were good and it was fun. Top-out up left by a tree has an established anchor. See Current Pictures of these two climbs.
Conditions update, 12/16/2008
With the cold weather comes the full-on frenzy to find out what to do for the weekend! Or midweek! Or RIGHT NOW! I drove up to Alpental today and a friend drove around in Leavenworth and the Entiat looking for things to do. Bottom line: this has been a dry fall and there just isnt much surface water to feed the ice climbs even with the cold. So stuff that is forming is thin.
SW British Columbia: You can bet your bottom dollar everything that has any kind of moisture is forming fast! It's times like these that I wish the Cascades were limestone!
Leavenworth: Roadside climbs in the Icicle are not yet in. Rainbow is closest to being in, but didn't look leadable, not much ice.
Entiat:
Snoqualmie Pass: In a word: thin. There are perhaps a few inches of light snow on the ground at exit 45, and only about a foot of snow on the ground at the Pass. This just really isn't enough to bulk out the climbs. I didn't get up to Franklin Falls, but the Tinkham Road was fine even for my low-clearance Jetta, to up to a mile from the Falls. See Current Pictures of the general conditions!
Columbia Gorge: Of course in cold weather like this, the Portland-based climbers are happy they don't have to drive forever for some ice. Marcus D posted these conditions today:
Cape Horn Gullys: Yes
Salmon Run: No
Strand: No
Pete's Pile: No
Starvin' Marvin: No
Ainsworth Left: No
Lower Mist Falls: Yes(but why?)
Kearney Route: No
Pump House Blues: Yes
Tatras: Yes
Black Dagger: No
Crown Jewel: Yes
Tunnel Vision: Yes
Conditions update, 12/14/2008
OK, it took a while but the cold weather is finally here! Over the last few months we've seen a fairly dry Fall, with really nice Autumn color - perhaps the best in years! - but not as much in the way of precipitation and until last week, almost no snow below 6000 feet in the Alpine.
SW British Columbia: As of the weekend of Dec 6-7, things are very meager even for this time of year. Typically by the first weekend in Dec, you can get on some decent ice at the Rambles and at Marble. However some friends took the gamble last weekend and didn't find much leadable ice. Some things were forming at Marble and there are now enough bolted "mixed" routes at Marble that you can drytool there even when the ice is not in, though, so if you don't mind the drive, you're sure to find a hotel room this early in the season!
Washington Lowlands: It's been far too warm, until today, to think about water ice in the lowlands. This week, with a semi-Arctic airmass parked over the region, should bring rapid formation of some of the perennial water flows. Some of the routes I've been thinking about are things like Umptaneum out near Ellensburg, Fuggs and Frenchmans out at Vantage, Bridal Veil at Index, and also and waterfalls down near Mt Rainier. Drury is a higher volume flow, but you can use Drury as a barometer for how things are coming along.
I don't think some of the snowmelt-fed falls, maybe like Hubba Hubba and alot of the routes at Strobach, are going to do so well with the cold, due to the lack of snow before this system arrived. As people start getting out we'll see how well that theory gets tested.
The desert stuff, like Banks Lake, I am not sure how it will do. It depends a bit on the water table and how much moisture is seeping out of the alder-choked cliffs right now. Devils Punchbowl, for certain, will form. Most other things are not quite so reliable after just one week of cold, though.
Washington Alpine:
Some really stellar efforts in the last few weeks and months, with several other parties getting up and down the Cosley-Houston on Colfax, as well as a superbe solo effort on the Coleman Headwall - with forced bivi - and two fantastic new early-season routes
Dragontail's NE Couloir, which is found uphill towards Asgaard Pass from the Hidden Couloir and provides moderate snow climbing to two mixed pitches to the top. Climbed by quite a few parties in the the past few weeks, including one solo.
North Face of Buck - Buckshot by Rolf Larsen and Dan Cappellini. Attempted several times in the past few years, this is a fantastic looking route with moderate approach in dry years such as this. Those guys rated a conservative IV, WI4+, M5, I've been to the base of this face and it's pretty damn big so don't underestimate this outing.
Conditions update, 10/22/2008
Cosley-Houston on Colfax was climbed by several parties this past weekend, in WI4+ shape. Good job gents, let the season begin!
Conditions update, 08/25/2008
Only 3 months until ice season!
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