The 2012-13 Colorado Ice Conditions Thread

Dylan,

How was the road getting to Campground Couloir. Can you drive in still??

Also anyone been out to Eureka area/what is in out there??

danny m wrote:Dylan, How was the road getting to Campground Couloir. Can you drive in still??

Danny, I got my front wheel drive Mazda Tribute stuck. Chains -or- 4wd would get you there though.

As quoted in my original post: "4wd gets you to the base of the route"

I have no Eureka beta but if these routes are forming I'd posit those are too. Higher, colder, and more sun activity to get water flowing and subsequently freezing...

How about around Red Mountain pass? Anything visible from the road? Will be staying up there this weekend and am wondering if it is just best to head down to S. Mineral Creek. Psyched to see campground couloir as it is!

More beta please. If there's not two parties on every route in eureka and south mineral this weekend i'm going to be really bummed!

Kevin Connolly wrote:More beta please. If there's not two parties on every route in eureka and south mineral this weekend i'm going to be really bummed!

What is this forum for again?

And Michael, I've never noticed any ice at Red Mountain Pass. What lines are up there? I know the ice park does not open until mid December...

Have been psyched for weeks to get my tools into the ice... Was starting to get really depressed that nothing was ever going to come in. (patience... not one of my virtues). Then I saw a party on Officer's Gulch on Wednesday, so I got my hopes up that maybe, just maybe... The Ribbon was setting up and would be ready to climb by my birthday... till I jumped on here... I'm going to go cry now... LOL

Dylan Weldin wrote: What lines are up there? I know the ice park does not open until mid December...

Ever checked out any of these Dylan? mountainproject.com/v/us-hi…

And Tammy, whens your birthday? Dont give up hope just yet!:)

Rodney P wrote: Ever checked out any of these Dylan? mountainproject.com/v/us-hi… And Tammy, whens your birthday? Dont give up hope just yet!:)

Oh yes, of course. I thought he was referring to Red Mountain proper as in the immediate summit of the pass. As far as Ouray area conditions go, I have not heard anything promising from the area. Sure doesn't help that it's almost 50 degrees today though...

Sunday, December 9th... my hopes are completely dashed w/ news of 50 degree temps today :0( Ugh!!!!

Dylan Weldin wrote: Oh yes, of course. I thought he was referring to Red Mountain proper as in the immediate summit of the pass. As far as Ouray area conditions go, I have not heard anything promising from the area. Sure doesn't help that it's almost 50 degrees today though...

Really, I was referring to anything down HW 14 to the south east of the of Red Mountain Pass proper. Seems like there could be potential...?

Not trying to hijack the thread but I do have a question about current conditions... My wife and I had a trip planned for next week and it fell through. We would really like to get on some ice next week. Is there anything that is in and worth the drive from Nor Cal? I can lead WI4 and multi pitch routes would be fine but the wife would like some stuff that could be top roped. Any suggestions?

Josh, the question would be is how many days are you going to try to be out here climbing and what area? It seems like someone could stay in the front range and get three or four days of Ice both top rope and multipitch. I havent been down to the san juans yet this year but it is sounding promising. Send me a message if your interested in partnering up

RMNP Update:

Climbed West Gully on 11/14/2012: plenty of ice, though the first pitch was brittle and the second hollow. Full conditions report with photos at elevatedattitude.com/dailyl…

AMU looks doable, as well, with a bit of rock maybe in the middle.

Jewel Lake ice is forming.

Reflections looked in but thin.

sorry about the sarcasm. let me try again. while you were beating pins in shitty sandstone to protect some sketchy WI3- did you ever think that the ice could use a little more time to grow before telling the whole world it was good to go? you are free to post all the ice conditions you want, its just lame, especially in november.

by the way its not worth driving out from california, or even the front range for anything around silverton. save it for spring, everything will probably be in much better shape. if you live closer go exploring, its part of the game and you may find something worthwhile. worst case you drive and hike a bit and end up at the rum bar, its really not that bad.

Kevin, be nice. The only climbs we should stay off of right now are the steep pillars that will tear down and take longer to form properly. Plus, mineral creek usually gets shut down with snow later in the season anyway, so saving those climbs for later is a waste.

Kevin, you're yelling into the wind. Every year everyone runs out to heavy hand and foot any piece of ice that forms. Boulder Canyon is a good example of limited resources and too many impatient climbers.

With the amount of people ice climbing now, it's pretty much a lost cause.

Climbed All Mixed Up on Thursday 11/16/12 and its in great shape. Brought rock gear but never used it! No snow on the approach so get on it before the storms hit!

All Mixed Up, 11/16/12.

Scott McMahon wrote:Kevin, you're yelling into the wind. Every year everyone runs out to heavy hand and foot any piece of ice that forms. Boulder Canyon is a good example of limited resources and too many impatient climbers. With the amount of people ice climbing now, it's pretty much a lost cause.

I agree with Kevin - watching the weather pattern and then going to explore is part of the game, especially if you are so pressed to get on early season ice. Used to be, the early season ice was for the adventurous and intrepid. Nowadays, it seems to have opened up for the lazy "veni, vidi, vici" types who need to tick off climbs before the approaches get chocked up with snow.