CO Front Range: Ice Condition Reports ('08/'09)

yep, report I got was contributory warming from the use of heated driveways; or the fact that some hot women were climbing up there in recent days.

I thought that it was the large amount of "smug" building up above Vail that melted all of the ice. Those causes you mentioned must have contributed as well.

youtube.com/watch?v=H5rQM_H…

smug -- typically that only affects the nordic track & while I agree your hypothesis has a certain amount of merit, it pales to the aspen area; though certainly, it may indeed be a contributor. I think what needs to happen, I should receive a federal grant for more study, costly, yes, probably $18M should do it; but it is well worth the expenditure.

Maybe that's why the only ice in Vail is around rich women's ring fingers...Agreed, 18M per year would be a start to uncovering the climate/social change effecting our mountain towns in CO.

J. C. Wilks wrote:Any word on the Crypt?

I was up there on Saturday, 1/17/09. The ice is not as fat as in the last 2 years, but it is steep and virgin. It took some cleaning of overhanging ice by my partner Jay Eggleston just to get picks in. Neither of us wanted to try leading the thin column.

Thanks Doug and Rick!

As for Vail, my hypothesizefiction published in the journal Siense states that the ice is melting from the sun reflecting off of all the lip gloss up in those there parts. However there is enough ice on the shoulders of some Vail residents that, should it become contagious, by means of a mutant strain of virus making human to rock, ice transfer possible, the season may yet be saved.

Mark Nelson wrote:or the fact that some hot women were climbing up there in recent days.

If only this were true :(

Keep Vail Ice pristine & do your part:

youtube.com/watch?v=Y5kLtdU…;feature=related

Or suffer the consequences:

youtube.com/watch?v=UhtITYm…;feature=related

We climbed Grace Falls today.

The climb is in, but it is harder than it looks. In many places on the main flow, the ice consisted of a relatively thin shell, with snow under it. Sometimes there was good ice under the snow, sometimes there was just more snow. It was one of those climbs where I was glad I wasn't leading. I didn't get any photos of my partner, Steve, leading it, because I was too worried about making sure the belay was good.

If you climb this, make sure to belay off to the side.

I know they removed the pipes in CCC but is there any climbable ice at all? If no one knows I can take a drive up at lunch and check it out if there is interest. Let me know.

I saw some ice in CCC a little over a week ago but it looked pretty thin. Maybe the recent moisture has added some volume?

There is some ice now on the lower part in CCC. I could not see the upper curtain from the road at 45mph though. However, the lower ice is not in shape to climb. It looked like large hanging daggers that were not touching down yet. That's the view I got last week. I forgot to look at the stuff on the west side of the Little Eiger wall.

I've been wanting to hike up there just to get a close up view. I'm thinking of going to Moffat Tunnel ice on Sunday...worth the trip?

As of Saturday, CCC was pretty thin with water flowing under the lower falls.

We met a party at Silverplume on Saturday that said there were 3 parties at Moffatt the prior week and that's with one side flowing.

Yeah, I just took a drive up there to check things out. Coors Light is just as JFox said. The upper pitch looks very similar to P1. The climb just West of Coors Light is nothing more than a smear of thin ice on the left side of the wall and some ice sickles on the right side. None of it looks climbable and the ice is really thin. Very sad to see it this way when it has been so good in years past.

Moffat tunnel is still in. The conditions don't seem to be changing too much up there. The right side of the flow still has a huge hole in it but the left side is still climbable. I was up skiing that way last weekend and took a look. From where you live Jeff, I would say it is worth it since you are so close. Is it legal to climb night ice up at Moffat?

Tracy Roach wrote: Is it legal to climb night ice up at Moffat?

It's not a park; I figure as long as it's naked climbing, you should be ok.

er sorry, don't flag me; that's clothing optional or kilted ice

Plenty of Phat ice in Rochester NY. Unfortunately it is only 6 feet tall.

edit -- I know it is not on the Front Range.

Egggggggcellent. :-)

Lee Smith wrote:Plenty of Phat ice in Rochester NY. Unfortunately it is only 6 feet tall. edit -- I know it is not on the Front Range.

well add another 5 feet and then you've got some sick moffat conditions; along with a shower.

Lee Smith wrote:Plenty of Phat ice in Rochester NY. Unfortunately it is only 6 feet tall. edit -- I know it is not on the Front Range.

Make the drive to Keene, go into Chapel Pond canyon. Man, this season leaves me missing NE and its plethora of fat, thick, plastic, crystal blue ice therein.