2019-2020 Utah Ice Conditions Thread

Great story. Still have a Lowe Hummingbird with tubular pick...far more cutting edge than the tools used in article! Gonna have to break it out sometime on a sketchy lead! On another note...FWIW, Daily Fears WI4-? in Lower Provo is still a fun solo romp...

Anything down south in Parowan / cedar area still hanging in there? Hoping to swing tools this weekend and I’m skiing at Brianhead. Thanks for any beta in advance.

So reporting a leader fall on Angel of Fear here for everyone's benefit.

On 2/28, got to the canyon at 5:15 and to the base by 6:00. We intended to move fast and be off the climb by 8:00. This would have been my 4th time on AOF and I was coming back from climbing TR and following on hard mixed and WI6- in Canada from earlier in the week. The leader leads 5.13+ on rock and WI6 on ice, and I have seen him handily flash M10 as his belayer. We were both comfortable and confident about the climb.

He placed 3 screws below in easy, featured climbing and then a 10cm screw in a good section below the large crack on the column on the 2nd pitch before moving left to navigate around the larger roofs. There he encountered rotten, chandeliered ice. He found what he felt was a good axe placement and then began excavating through the rotten ice to see if he could put in a screw to protect through the roof. At this point, the ice his axe was in blew and he fell 50 feet to the base of the cone where the rope went taut, but he impacted on his face, and left arm. I was tied in on a double in a magic-X on a clove on a locker and was belaying him on a MegaJul. The MegaJul blocked the rope correctly, but I was pulled up violently by the force of the fall and off of my feet in the catch. Given the cone falls away from the base of the climb on a slope, and he was below my belay stance, it could be considered a ground fall.

After lowering him safely, and doing some checks with the help of his medical background, it appears he may have a broken hand, but no other injuries. There was a party below us on the way to ACT/Candlestick. (Thanks for your offer to help.) Post fall, I TR'd to the topmost screw, built an anchor, and rapped off of a zero thread.

Things we should have done to lessen consequences:
1. Use a larger diameter rope. We were climbing on a new, single dry-treated 8.9.
2. I could have had less rope out between me and my tie-in at the anchor.
3. The leader had extended his alpine draws. If we had not extended those or used sport draws, it would have helped.
4. Better preparation. The leader had only 3-4 hours of previous sleep and was admittedly moving slowly and less confidently.
5. Checking our egos. We both approached this climb this morning casually. We should not have.
6. Being more cautious about conditions. AOF has been wet, but good ice so far. With warmer temps and sun hitting the climb from the 1st wing and up by 8:30 in the morning now, that is changing. The ice quality has deteriorated considerably, even within the last couple of days.
I'm not sharing his name here as he feels embarrassed about what is his first leader fall on ice, despite being an experienced and strong climber. He came close to some very serious, if not fatal consequences this morning. We both agreed to share it with the community as we encountered another group on the way to the climb as we left.

Be careful friends.

Update: no broken bones. Just bruises. Walked away from this one.

Fuzzy Numbers:
Peak force on climber: 4.83kN
Peak force on me belaying: 1.64kN
Peak force on pro: 6.47kN
Impact load factor (G forces) on climber: 2.46g
Fall factor: 1.3

He said it felt like a soft catch, and could feel the rope elongation as it did its work in the last 15 feet.

Glad he turned out OK and I appreciate the report!  This route is above my pay grade, but the lessons are applicable regardless. Thanks again. 

Thanks for such a detailed report. We were headed up to Candlestick and watched your partner head up p2. We were really confused as your partner looked super dialed and neither of us saw the fall but heard him. Glad the outcome was the way it was.

Edit: Fwiw the fracture line on the second pitch column looks huge compared to a few weeks ago.

Dave Budge wrote: Although I don't live in Utah anymore I thought I'd share.

https://www.patagonia.com/stories/the-song-remains-the-same/story-75253.html 

Brilliant little story by Andy for Patagonia.  It features some wonderful people recreating an event that has impacted anyone who would be reading this.  Enjoy. 

Dave, thanks so much for posting this.  I had heard about the recent ascent, but not seen the pictures.  So cool!  Those original guys were good and so motivated.  I remember sitting in some afternoon class when Jim came in late (Mark Ward was not allowed on BYU campus, haha) and told me they had just - and finally - done the ultimate climb in Provo Canyon.  I was so psyched to just hear about it, and I drove up immediately to stare at it.

FWIW, I watched what appeared to be a free soloist on super slabs on Friday afternoon. I was climbing rock across the canyon. With this little but of snow and cold snap, it could continue to go for a bit. If that was you, I would be interested in whether or not the ice was delaminated from the rock underneath. 

We did Super Slab Saturday 2-22 and it was the fattest I've ever seen.  We put in a couple A-threads. Also, if you find an ATC, it's yours. 

Mulch wrote: Thanks for such a detailed report. We were headed up to Candlestick and watched your partner head up p2. We were really confused as your partner looked super dialed and neither of us saw the fall but heard him. Glad the outcome was the way it was.

Edit: Fwiw the fracture line on the second pitch column looks huge compared to a few weeks ago.

The crack is now 6" wide. Has opened since I climbed it on the 12th for sure.

My partner and I are just glad he's whole. At the end of the day, the very fact that he walked away is as good as any top-off victory.

Susan Sims wrote: So reporting a leader fall on Angel of Fear here for everyone's benefit.

On 2/28, got to the canyon at 5:15 and to the base by 6:00. We intended to move fast and be off the climb by 8:00. This would have been my 4th time on AOF and I was coming back from climbing TR and following on hard mixed and WI6- in Canada from earlier in the week. The leader leads 5.13+ on rock and WI6 on ice, and I have seen him handily flash M10 as his belayer. We were both comfortable and confident about the climb.

He placed 3 screws below in easy, featured climbing and then a 10cm screw in a good section below the large crack on the column on the 2nd pitch before moving left to navigate around the larger roofs. There he encountered rotten, chandeliered ice. He found what he felt was a good axe placement and then began excavating through the rotten ice to see if he could put in a screw to protect through the roof. At this point, the ice his axe was in blew and he fell 50 feet to the base of the cone where the rope went taut, but he impacted on his face, and left arm. I was tied in on a double in a magic-X on a clove on a locker and was belaying him on a MegaJul. The MegaJul blocked the rope correctly, but I was pulled up violently by the force of the fall and off of my feet in the catch. Given the cone falls away from the base of the climb on a slope, and he was below my belay stance, it could be considered a ground fall.

After lowering him safely, and doing some checks with the help of his medical background, it appears he may have a broken hand, but no other injuries. There was a party below us on the way to ACT/Candlestick. (Thanks for your offer to help.) Post fall, I TR'd to the topmost screw, built an anchor, and rapped off of a zero thread.

Things we should have done to lessen consequences:
1. Use a larger diameter rope. We were climbing on a new, single dry-treated 8.9.
2. I could have had less rope out between me and my tie-in at the anchor.
3. The leader had extended his alpine draws. If we had not extended those or used sport draws, it would have helped.
4. Better preparation. The leader had only 3-4 hours of previous sleep and was admittedly moving slowly and less confidently.
5. Checking our egos. We both approached this climb this morning casually. We should not have.
6. Being more cautious about conditions. AOF has been wet, but good ice so far. With warmer temps and sun hitting the climb from the 1st wing and up by 8:30 in the morning now, that is changing. The ice quality has deteriorated considerably, even within the last couple of days.
I'm not sharing his name here as he feels embarrassed about what is his first leader fall on ice, despite being an experienced and strong climber. He came close to some very serious, if not fatal consequences this morning. We both agreed to share it with the community as we encountered another group on the way to the climb as we left.

Be careful friends.

Update: no broken bones. Just bruises. Walked away from this one.

Fuzzy Numbers:
Peak force on climber: 4.83kN
Peak force on me belaying: 1.64kN
Peak force on pro: 6.47kN
Impact load factor (G forces) on climber: 2.46g
Fall factor: 1.3

He said it felt like a soft catch, and could feel the rope elongation as it did its work in the last 15 feet.

Super slab still in doable condition.

I hope everyone got their turn on the Angel, because she's gone.  See you next decade.

Progression this year.