Whorehouse Hoses 

More photos and a TR here www.piquaclimber.com/past/whorehousehose/whorehouse.htm

Nice TR and pics....

This is a climb that should not be missed. If you need another reason- it's on Guy Lacelle's list of the Top 100 Ice Climbs In the World! Conditions can vary so Id recommend being a comfortable WI5 climber to do it.

When I climbed it, the right finish had big gaping holes with water running down inside even though it was mid-winter and really cold. The bolt anchor at the top of the right finish is much appreciated as is the one at the top of P1 as belays would otherwise entail dicey tat or a lot of v-threads (equating to a lot of trash in the spring).

I guess I should add a safety note based on an experience I had on this last year. I tried to avoid a nasty slide down the steep little step in the stream bed on the descent after climbing (this is about 50-60 feet from the climb) and "craftily" stepped off the slick packed track to posthole down in soft snow. As I descended the step a large section collapsed under me into the running water of the stream in the gully! I fell on to the remaining edge of ice with half my body in the water. The rock was slick and with the water I was unable to extract myself. My partner realized what was happening and, grabbing my harness, pulled me out. We carefully approached the vertical gap in the step and tried probing for the bottom with our ski poles. Never located it. Id imagine falling all the way in would resemble a nasty crevasse fall or one of those stories of someone falling through a hole in an ice climb and dying of exposure. In retrospect its probably safest when walking over a running stream to stick to the packed path as it is always the firmest and hence safest area!

As of 2010 February 19 this was in fat! At least the first pitch was. picked a bad weekend to go. Avi danger started at considerable and went to high. High clouds in the early morning gave way to heavy snow and wind. We were getting nailed with spindrift from all angles, the worst coming down the climb itself. After getting knocked off by increasingly heavier spindrift we backed off. I bailed about 20 ft from the top of pitch one. Didn't need to get hit again! It was fun but starting to get a little out of hand!

Pitch 1 is a bit longer than 60m, at least on lead. We had to simul-climb for a few feet. Double 60s were fine on rappel.

As of Feb. 2012, the base of pitch 2 (the easy pitch) was a snow bridge above flowing water. We discovered this because my parter punched through when rappeling.

The left fork at the top has bolted anchors and is about 55m long.

Amazing first and last pitch (last pitch some of the finest conditions I have seen - Feb. 28,2013), but I would bring two 70m ropes - the first pitch is longer than it seems.