Over Halloween weekend, I went into Huntington Ravine with Frodo to catch some early season ice. I had watched the weather all week, read the forecast for that weekend, looked at the webcams every morning and talked to a friend of mine I knew was headed in there a day before I was to climb. Conditions looked favorable but certainly nothing was guaranteed. The idea of trying to catch it at the right time was exciting to me. In October and November, its all about planning and timing. I love to hunt for ice at a time when the difference between climbable and non-climbable ice can be mere hours.
After getting a closer look at Harvard slab at the start of Yale Gully, we saw too much water flowing underneath to safely climb it. We explored around the corner and found a great pitch of decent ice in a corner to climb and start up the gully. After that, there were good patches of ice here and there and some of the climbing up high required dry tooling on exposed sections.
Getting in the first ice of the season
Dry tooling up an exposed stretch near the top
A weekend later, I went back in with Jeff Stone hoping for another chance to climb ice. That day, was a no-go as the ice looked too sketchy to climb so we decided to attempt Pinnacle Buttress under 'winter' conditions. It was a very challenging climb, numb hands, breaking the ice off hand and foot holds, dry tooling.. a good honest attempt that ended with a bail off after the third pitch.
Looking up at the start of the second pitch
Over this Thanksgiving break, I headed back into the Ravine, solo this time. I was able to climb Odells Gully, but under brutal conditions.. waist deep snow, rotted and hollow ice and very high wind gusts. It was a struggle and it took me 7 hours car-to-car to that day. In some sections there was potential for both the ice to collapse and the snow to slide underneath me. It required heightened awareness and careful climbing.
Snow tornadoes blowing around at the top of the Ravine
Odells Gully, center of photo
Were any of these weekends worth it? Was it worth it only getting a 100 feet of thin ice to climb? Was it worth it to struggle up three pitches of icy rock only to turn around and rap off? Was it worth the struggle in Odells to top out?
To start off, is this really 'ice climbing'? If I get one pitch of scrappy ice, can I say I went climbing? I've gotten a lot of opinions during the start of this ice season from both non-climbers and climbers alike. There was an article written that made the front page of NEice.com where a climber spotted Frodo and I in the ravine over Halloween weekend and he questioned whether we were 'proper climbers' or 'two unfortunate souls'. I also have gotten a backhanded reply to one of my conditions posts on this Thanksgiving weekend as 'it's still missing some ice to call it ice climbing'. For most it seems, the ice season hasn't started yet. In response to those questions and comments, I not only view my time so far in Huntington Ravine as climbing, but I feel that attempting early season ice embodies the true spirit of climbing. Climbing for me is defined as adventure. Its the unknown.. not knowing what's around the corner, taking the chance of getting totally screwed and finding no ice to climb, not knowing what the conditions are like before setting out but planning and watching the weather days before you decide to climb to figure out the best time and place to go for success. Going out there without guarantees and making the most out of the day is what climbing means to me. Heading into some ice crag with full knowledge that it's in and fat, is it fun? Of course! It's a blast. Is it adventurous? Not so much, in my opinion.
So is it worth it? Was one day out of the three I wrote about more worth it than the other? I put out the feelers to a few of my partners for each of those weekends to see what they thought. One reply that stuck out in my mind was 'I'll go into Huntington Ravine when it's worth the drive'. It was a little taken back, and as I do respect their definition of 'worth it' since they can only afford certain weekends free to go climbing and they want it to be guaranteed ice from bottom to top.. I can't help wondering if they are missing out on a little excitement and adventure. Realistically, I can't afford to head to the big mountains all the time.. if I'm lucky I get a chance to go west for one ice trip and one rock trip a year.. to the North Cascades, Colorado, the Sierras.. and those are great adventures for me. So I feel, in a way, getting up north as much as possible during the early seasons is a way to bring a little of the big mountain excitement into my climbing weekends.
Each of those weekends, the first swings of the season, a challenging rock climb in cold and icy conditions and the struggle up Odells Gully were completely worth it. If I were to shy away from the possible challenge of a windy day or thin ice, or not climb at all until mid-January, I feel a lot would be lost in something I consider my biggest passion. This isn't to say that I seek out hazardous or risky conditions, don't get me wrong. I have a strong sense of self preservation. It's about exploring my limits and experiencing adventures in my backyard. It's about capturing what I consider the true spirit of climbing.
An awesome moment as my shadow passes through the center of a Brocken Spectre on Lions Head after climbing Odells Gully.
After getting a closer look at Harvard slab at the start of Yale Gully, we saw too much water flowing underneath to safely climb it. We explored around the corner and found a great pitch of decent ice in a corner to climb and start up the gully. After that, there were good patches of ice here and there and some of the climbing up high required dry tooling on exposed sections.
Getting in the first ice of the season
Dry tooling up an exposed stretch near the top
A weekend later, I went back in with Jeff Stone hoping for another chance to climb ice. That day, was a no-go as the ice looked too sketchy to climb so we decided to attempt Pinnacle Buttress under 'winter' conditions. It was a very challenging climb, numb hands, breaking the ice off hand and foot holds, dry tooling.. a good honest attempt that ended with a bail off after the third pitch.
Looking up at the start of the second pitch
Over this Thanksgiving break, I headed back into the Ravine, solo this time. I was able to climb Odells Gully, but under brutal conditions.. waist deep snow, rotted and hollow ice and very high wind gusts. It was a struggle and it took me 7 hours car-to-car to that day. In some sections there was potential for both the ice to collapse and the snow to slide underneath me. It required heightened awareness and careful climbing.
Snow tornadoes blowing around at the top of the Ravine
Odells Gully, center of photo
Were any of these weekends worth it? Was it worth it only getting a 100 feet of thin ice to climb? Was it worth it to struggle up three pitches of icy rock only to turn around and rap off? Was it worth the struggle in Odells to top out?
To start off, is this really 'ice climbing'? If I get one pitch of scrappy ice, can I say I went climbing? I've gotten a lot of opinions during the start of this ice season from both non-climbers and climbers alike. There was an article written that made the front page of NEice.com where a climber spotted Frodo and I in the ravine over Halloween weekend and he questioned whether we were 'proper climbers' or 'two unfortunate souls'. I also have gotten a backhanded reply to one of my conditions posts on this Thanksgiving weekend as 'it's still missing some ice to call it ice climbing'. For most it seems, the ice season hasn't started yet. In response to those questions and comments, I not only view my time so far in Huntington Ravine as climbing, but I feel that attempting early season ice embodies the true spirit of climbing. Climbing for me is defined as adventure. Its the unknown.. not knowing what's around the corner, taking the chance of getting totally screwed and finding no ice to climb, not knowing what the conditions are like before setting out but planning and watching the weather days before you decide to climb to figure out the best time and place to go for success. Going out there without guarantees and making the most out of the day is what climbing means to me. Heading into some ice crag with full knowledge that it's in and fat, is it fun? Of course! It's a blast. Is it adventurous? Not so much, in my opinion.
So is it worth it? Was one day out of the three I wrote about more worth it than the other? I put out the feelers to a few of my partners for each of those weekends to see what they thought. One reply that stuck out in my mind was 'I'll go into Huntington Ravine when it's worth the drive'. It was a little taken back, and as I do respect their definition of 'worth it' since they can only afford certain weekends free to go climbing and they want it to be guaranteed ice from bottom to top.. I can't help wondering if they are missing out on a little excitement and adventure. Realistically, I can't afford to head to the big mountains all the time.. if I'm lucky I get a chance to go west for one ice trip and one rock trip a year.. to the North Cascades, Colorado, the Sierras.. and those are great adventures for me. So I feel, in a way, getting up north as much as possible during the early seasons is a way to bring a little of the big mountain excitement into my climbing weekends.
Each of those weekends, the first swings of the season, a challenging rock climb in cold and icy conditions and the struggle up Odells Gully were completely worth it. If I were to shy away from the possible challenge of a windy day or thin ice, or not climb at all until mid-January, I feel a lot would be lost in something I consider my biggest passion. This isn't to say that I seek out hazardous or risky conditions, don't get me wrong. I have a strong sense of self preservation. It's about exploring my limits and experiencing adventures in my backyard. It's about capturing what I consider the true spirit of climbing.
An awesome moment as my shadow passes through the center of a Brocken Spectre on Lions Head after climbing Odells Gully.
