Best ice cragging location?

ryan Smithwrote:

I really hope your wrong about having to go to Canada, but i fear you may be right. I know its not an issue only effecting the east coast, but i think the elevation plays a huge factor in season length / consistency. ~8k in Hyalite vs ~1-3k out east (i know there are a few things higher)

What about Alaska!? Anyone spend alot of time ice cragging up there? Valdez? Stuff around anchorage? Maybe having a snowmobile up there? 

When I retired from the military I told my wife I wanted to live in Bozeman, Ouray, or Alaska. She picked Alaska and I couldn’t be happier based off the ice. I’m averaging about 45+ days out for the last 5 years.

Crap ton of single pitch stuff easily accessible from Anchorage area. A sled or ATV would greatly improve the multipitch (more than 2-3 pitches) accessibility though.

Valdez is the Alaskan Mecca for multipitch ice with easy approaches. It’s about a 5 hour drive from Anchorage.

Check out alaskaiceclimbing.com to see some of what’s available. If you decide to come up let me know. I’m always looking for competent partners.

Edit to add: our season is quite long. I usually climb around Halloween and stop in late April or early May. 

Nipigon has great climbing but the apres-climbing scene isn't exactly Chamonix. But maybe you enjoy heading back to the motel with takeout from Tim Horton's and a Nalgene bottle of tap water. Matlock reruns might be playing on the tele.

mark55401wrote:

Nipigon has great climbing but the apres-climbing scene isn't exactly Chamonix. But maybe you enjoy heading back to the motel with takeout from Tim Horton's and a Nalgene bottle of tap water. Matlock reruns might be playing on the tele.

You’ve obviously never hit the sale isle at Canadian Tire or started a bar fight at the curling rink

How can it be that no one has mentioned the Adirondacks, specifically the Keene Valley and nearby areas just off the thruway? Classic four star climbs with short approaches and a pretty reliable season. Plenty of decent lodging and you can do the luge run at the Lake Placod Olympic complex on your rest day. Downside: aprés climb scene nonexistent and dinner might be a chili dog at Stewart’s.

Darawrote:

How can it be that no one has mentioned the Adirondacks, specifically the Keene Valley and nearby areas just off the thruway? Classic four star climbs with short approaches and a pretty reliable season. Plenty of decent lodging and you can do the luge run at the Lake Placod Olympic complex on your rest day. Downside: aprés climb scene nonexistent and dinner might be a chili dog at Stewart’s.

Now that Stewart’s on 73 was upgraded, it is our go to dirtbag shower/bathroom. Can complete the 3 S’s all within their private bathroom stalls. Wake up in -11F weather and warm up with a Stewies Chili dog for breakfast. 

climbing coastiewrote:

When I retired from the military I told my wife I wanted to live in Bozeman, Ouray, or Alaska. She picked Alaska and I couldn’t be happier based off the ice. I’m averaging about 45+ days out for the last 5 years.

Crap ton of single pitch stuff easily accessible from Anchorage area. A sled or ATV would greatly improve the multipitch (more than 2-3 pitches) accessibility though.

Valdez is the Alaskan Mecca for multipitch ice with easy approaches. It’s about a 5 hour drive from Anchorage.

Check out alaskaiceclimbing.com to see some of what’s available. If you decide to come up let me know. I’m always looking for competent partners.

Edit to add: our season is quite long. I usually climb around Halloween and stop in late April or early May. 

Thanks alot for the info, im in the same boat, trying to decide where to live when my time in the military comes to an end. Some where with good consistent ice is a big factor. I may make a trip up to anchorage / valdez area this winter and would love to link up with some one local!

Jamila W wrote:

I don’t really lead yet 

Go to Ouray.  Period.  End of discussion.  Ouray will take you from not leading to as far as you want to take the sport WAY better than any of the other places will IMHO.  Just do it.  Do NOT go to Nipigon, you have to lead 99.9% of all the routes there. 

Jamila W wrote:

One more question I haven’t been able to find online.  I don’t really lead yet (not leading the fun longer harder stuff) so one thing I love about Ouray is that a lot of the climbing is top down where you set up the TR and then rap down and don’t have to lead up first.  Anything like that in Ontario or is someone going to need to lead first?  I could manage leading WI2 but would want to be climbing harder stuff.

There is one super accessible (mere yards from parking lot) top ropable climb (Cascade falls) that is generally a 3 but depending on season/time of year/etc,  you  could find a line from anything from 2+ to 4 on.   And nearby just off the road are another couple long easy lead 2-2+ (Sycho Icycho and Tempest)

The rest are generally lead only unless you did some very serious and Impractical bushwhacking.  

Edit:  yep, Jon is right.  If you don’t lead yet, first stop should be Ouray.  Then visit Nipi when you are confidently leading and have a WFR.  It wouldn’t be the friendliest place for the more inexperienced if shit went wrong 

That guy I mentioned up thread who became a Rainier guide had just completed his WEMT and was getting ice experience, but he had the skills to solo. 

mark55401wrote:

Nipigon has great climbing but the apres-climbing scene isn't exactly Chamonix. But maybe you enjoy heading back to the motel with takeout from Tim Horton's and a Nalgene bottle of tap water. Matlock reruns might be playing on the tele.

If we are going to include Canada then I would throw a tip of the hat to Quebec City. Unfortunately, the price of admission is a robust understanding of French to work and socialize but the outdoor access and job opportunities (it's a real city, not just an old fort and ice hotel tourist pit) are kind of comparable only to the obvious and super popular spots choices. You also get the quebecois work week and social safety net which makes an American like me feel like he's basically on vacation. As far as access goes, ice is not my specialty but I know you can do Montmorency Falls in town... plus I believe some stuff by the bridge / quarry. We are talking 15 minutes.

MF is pretty tall and right there plus there are lots of other routes possible on that ridge and really world class stuff an easy drive away, from st albans / festiglace at an hour to up north at jacques cartier (30 minutes?) to grand jardins (1 hr?) to pomme d'or or other crazy stuff (1.5 hours?). Actually, it's pretty endless, you could go out to the gaspe for beautiful single pitch on the sea or up to Sept Iles for remote 5+ pitch adventure ice. There is lots of cold, lots of refresh,lots of adventure and lots of other stuff to do besides climbing like sailing / mtn biking etc. 

Even those crazy ice skating trails that go through the woods for hours for long laps, and that is super fun.

And again, this would not be middle of nowhere Letterkenny Ontario but a place with cheap rents for a metro, lots of good looking kids hitting the bars, a real airport, etc. There is a reason a lot of good alpinists, climbers and skiers are from there. It's like Alaska for ice but you can still see a band or find kale. But yeah, French would be key.

SinRopa wrote:

It’s been a few years since I’ve climbed around there, but surely all of LP’s bars and restaurants haven’t closed?

Doing skeleton runs on the luge track was pretty badass.

Agreed, Its been a little over a year since i hve climbed there but I totally disagree with the climbing scene being non-existing. There are lots of stoked and very talented locals regularly getting out there and i had no trouble meeting a handfull of great people to climb with. And ummm stewarts is the only place for food? Huh? Lake placid is 15 min away....