2018-2019 Utah ice conditions!!!!!

As of Saturday Running Man slab took mostly 10cm screws and a few 13cm's...most of the ice was clear and placements were fracturing down to the rock...middle curtain was touching down only on the edges...the middle part of the curtain was still not connected or had been back-melted...the entire hanging structure resonated with loud, hollow noises and and was deemed unsafe by my self-preservation, live long and be healthy monitor...no ice was deep enough or strong enough for a v-thread so down-climbed and retrieved gear on the way down...Bowling Ball Head (BBH) had blobs of ice that started about 20' above the belay area but was mostly snow covered rock and frozen moss/dirt up to the 20' point...climbed about half way up to the ice but ice was again clear and the rock was visible behind it...bigger ice blobs about every 5' to 8' and thin ice lead to the top...ended up down-climbing as well...attempted another climb about 5-8 minutes up Left-Fork from BBH on the right side (unknown to me) with same results...good day for practicing mixed/thin down-climbing skills :/

Temps ranged from 1 degree Fahrenheit at 7 AM to a balmy 18 degrees Fahrenheit as we left around noon...BTW the 10 day forecast for next week starting on Thursday shows day-time temps in the 40's and the night time temps in the mid 20's...anyone know if this is the range usually good enough to get the needed Maple Freeze/Thaw Cycle going to produce more ice or is something else needed? Thx

Got on Pure Fun in Battle Creek Canyon yesterday. A bit wet at the bottom but took a full range of screw sizes. Felt solid and it’s name doesn’t lie.

Pure Danger was not in, but the short second pitch looked like it was in. Maybe this cold snap will get things going.Battle Creek Falls was flowing pretty hard but looked climbable in the morning. Although while we were on Pure Fun, a large chunk of ice at the top fell off... But by the end of the day it seemed to be reforming quickly. We didn’t walk up canyon to see if anything else was in, nor did we scramble up from Pure Fun to see if there was any ice on Lady Strange. 

Did a couple solo laps in Willard Canyon this morning. Photo is the start of the route. The ice got thinner and more snow covered further up.

Did running man Monday. I pulled curtain by swinging high on left side where ice is attached well using delicate foot placements until feet were up high. It was not attached to about chest height but I could reach above that fir some good sticks. It was great ice the re

st of the way. Took standard length screws in lots of spots with a couple of stubies needed

I am looking for an ice climbing partner on the occasional days that I can get out, most of the time they are random and spur of the moment. please message me if you are available To Climb and are interested.

Anyone want to make a quick outing mid-day tomorrow? Scruffy band if it's formed, or anywhere that is close to SLC. I could go out Sunday morning but it's forecast to warm up this weekend.

Hidden Haven. Conditions pretty good. 

Thinner or thicker Blackmore? Trying to figure if routes are growing down there or on their way back out 

PSA Extreme / High avy danger for tomorrow 8 Jan. Routes in Provo Canyon are going to be an issue. As will be routes in Santaquin.

https://utahavalanchecenter.org/forecast/provo

FWIW It is very rare to see an extreme danger. So heed the warning.

^^^ good heads up Allen. Watch out there people, hard to know what you’re under sometimes until it’s too late. Consider how much snow can push you off a route and what an uncontrolled fall might mean. 

​​​​very rare indeed!

Did GWI this morning. It was good.

I know the avalanche danger down there is really high right now but anybody know if any of the climbs in Santaquin are in right now?

Ye, I think I met you guys up on the GWI today, glad you had a good time!  It's all in good condition.  Last I heard Squash head had some feet to go to touch down, Candlestick is 'climbable'.  Lots of hard mixed terrain in Santaquin that few people check out that's worth it (Baghdad has nice, large, new bolts). Also everything south of Provo has less snow than Provo area (Timp and Cascade), which has less snow than the central Wasatch.  So whatever the avy forecast says for Provo isn't necessarily accurate for further south- you're on your own, and I know that from personal experience.  It has not been a stable ice year in Santaquin, stuff keeps forming then falling off- Backoff formed then fell apart at least once, Squashhead is near the same place it was in late November, Candlestick and ATC have had large ice fall a couple of times.Someone might have better info who's been there more recently though.  

I haven't driven up LCC in about a week. Has anybody been on Scruffy Band lately or know its condition? It's been a bit warm in town. Thanks.

It's been a bit warm all over.  Scruffy band was not looking good on Tuesday, unlikely that it froze up any more since then.  It's been hanging out in character building form for a week or two if WI3 is your lead limit.  

Scruffy still looks nonexistent in the middle.  

Anyone taken a crack at Miller's or Finger of Fate lower pitches recently? Driving by they looked "climbable"...subjective of course...

Hows Provo canyon right now?

Climbed 1st and 2nd Pitches of Stairway today...hero ice as far as sticks go but screws prob wouldn't have held anything...higher up you went the more sun-baked the ice was...lots of running water...pillar on 2nd was 2 feet or less in diameter at it's base and you could look through the base into the cave behind...3rd pitch looked totally sun-baked except for a narrow strip that looked OK over in the middle...has been really warm during the day...still lots of good ice to be had...arrive really early tomorrow to get a good seat...did not check conditions in BVF Area