Uphill from Silverton is a beautiful area of long ice climbs on both sides of the road. Whore House Hoses, Stairway to Heaven are among the classics. Beware however, avalanche risk can be tremendous. Some of these fine classics are in the sun and some are in the shade. Routes here can exceed 1000ft in length.
Getting There
Hwy 550 south of Red Mountain Pass (S of Ouray) to Silverton. Continue up the main drainage and only significant plowed road uphill as far as you can. Hike the rest of the way on the road. Avalanche debris may cross the road. Climbs are obvious from the road. Beware of avalanche slopes on the way in and out!
Classic, stepped moderate. Beautiful, big, fat, blue! 900+ feet. Just pick very stable snow conditions for this one. Go up the road past Silverton to Eureka as far as it is plowed. This obvious line lies across the drainage. Contour 20 min to the base. Belay out of the line of fire.P1. 1st pitch is 60m of fat blue gets you to a good stance. 55m gets you to a tree belay. P2. Fun, thinner variations right exist on the 2nd pitch. P3. 3rd p...[more]
Climbed "Tempered by Fire" in the Eureka area on 2/8. It's in fat and is fairly easy. "Stairway" looked awesome and "2nd Gully" looked very good, too. Most of the other climbs in the area are hard to get to right now due to three feet of trapdoor sugar snow. Got great local beta (and stayed in a nice room) from Jim Weller, owner of the Weller House Hotel, right on mainstreet (970)387-5334.
2nd Gully on 3/2 was great fun. Four mellow pitches of WI 3- gets you to the top. Three double rope rappels off of trees gets you back down. About a 30 minute hike in. The Eureka Boarding House is now open and catering to ice climbers (although I'm still partial to the Weller House in Silverton). Enjoy!
There is some ice left. Tempered by Fire was a blast last weekend. The road is clear, so you can drive right up to it. Sadly, Stairway is not totally connected.
Eureka
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