The 2012-13 Colorado Ice Conditions Thread

Loch Vale vicinity report:

Loch Vale Gorge (from a distance) looked meager.

NW Face of Thatchtop, P1 looks in.

Necrophelia - not much.

Deep Freeze - has ice in the back, but the dagger on the last pitch isn't in.

The Crypt - not.

Womb With A View - not.

Timberline Falls - in, but not fat. Main section is hollow, open spots, climbable to the sides.

10/26/12

Aw who am I kidding, yesterday was awesome up there, I have to add one more.

Thanks for all of the updates everyone, very much appreciated!

Glacier Gorge Report:

4"-6" Inches of snow along the trail, 1'-2' near black lake. Black lake was not fully frozen.

Parking Lot Ice: Not

AMU: Looks to be in from the trail, ice bottom to top. Did not appear to be much snow above or below the route.

Jewel: Thin

Reflections: From the trail, looks to have a fair amount of ice:

West Gully: Looked thin in spots
Stoneman: Just touching down

Black Lake Slabs: Bottom has ice but thin:

Slverton: south mineral creek. Lower direct north face is not in, but there must have been a pronounced freeze line at about 10,500 ft. Because the top pitches are much fatter than the lower few pitches. Same with cataract creek.

Lincoln Upper Right-Side

Entire Lincoln Falls Ice, as of 12 noon Oct 28th. Great conditions, the maintenance work/farming has really paid off, hats off to all involved! Ice growing in places I have never seen in the past

Routes on the North Face of Mt Sneffels are in great shape right now. The "North Central Couloir" (to the left of the North Buttress and the Snake Couloir) is currently 1200' of ice, pretty much top to bottom.

Kevin Gillest wrote: Lincoln Upper Right-Side Entire Lincoln Falls Ice, as of 12 noon Oct 28th. Great conditions, the maintenance work/farming has really paid off, hats off to all involved! Ice growing in places I have never seen in the past

Wow definately a LOT of work going on up there.

Went up yesterday into the Mt. Meeker cirque and climbed the Flying Dutchman. I posted a full conditions report at elevatedattitude.com.

elevatedattitude.com/dailyl…

Lincoln looks great this year! I had no idea there was farming and work being done up there until a friend at work mentioned it. Anyone from MP involved? If so, I definitely will buy you a beer once I get up there and enjoy the fruits of your labor. Cheers!

Anyone been in Fields chimney? Saw that Phil ran into some peeps who did it recently...

Phil Magistro wrote:Went up yesterday into the Mt. Meeker cirque and climbed the Flying Dutchman. I posted a full conditions report at elevatedattitude.com. elevatedattitude.com/dailyl…

Phil,

Thanks for kicking that perfect staircase in there for me. It made for a fun an quick ascent!

Here are some pics from yesterday to supplement Phil's Report:

For those curious about Fields Chimney conditions...These photos from a couple weeks ago.

So what is the best way down from Flying Dutchman? I'm thinking about soloing, do you need a rope to get down a section of the loft?

Go without a rope and downclimb the loft!

Is that guy wearing clown pants in the chimney? Pretty awesome.

The guys farming at Lincoln are doing a great job.
Conditions photos from Thursday, 11-1

A number of the pillars are still running with water and would not be in lead-able condition. The WI5ish pillar (that formed pre-farming) is not fully in yet.

There are several new lines in the 4, 4- range up on the right that are forming up nicely. The ones in the shade are in good shape to lead.

Noah8000 wrote:For those curious about Fields Chimney conditions...These photos from a couple weeks ago.

FYI: A climbing partner of mine was up there this Tuesday. He said it's melted out a lot from the conditions your photos show.