Iron Mountain Icefall

This is a simple two pitch climb. If the snow conditions are right, then the first pitch should be longer. Bring your skis or splitboard. This is a great skin in, climb, and then ski out on awesome terrain. Be careful of avalanche conditions!

P1 - ~180 feet, WI3. This is the money pitch. There are a few steps to overcome. Great ice!

P2 - ~30-60 feet, WI2. The first 30 feet of the second pitch might only be WI1, we unroped and walked it. The second half was maybe 30 feet.

Descent - from the top of the climb, head west across easy terrain to where you can start going north easily again joining the route that you came up on. Then reverse your approach route.

For more pictures and my full blog post, go to: http://www.adventuresofamountaingoat.com/blog/she-took-my-dog/ (Eds. This link no longer seems to be functional.)

Go to the Zimmerman Lake parking lot in the Poudre Canyon. This is past Bald Mt. and close to Flattop Mt. short of Gould. At the parking lot, you can see the cliffs to the south and slightly west, this is where the climb is. It is about a 2 mile approach (and about 2,000 foot elevation gain) to the climb. From the main Zimmerman Lake trail, take a right into the trees pretty quickly (we followed skin tracks). Gain elevation while traveling southwest. Once at the treeline, continue southwest and skirt around a bowl (you should see the cliff-band where the climb is). Be very careful about avalanche terrain and traps!

I would not suggest doing this without skis or a splitboard. I couldn't find my snowshoes the day we climbed it and had to post-hole for 4 hours. I believe that this area is skinned up to once in a while, so use those.

Per Gavin E: start at the Zimmerman Lake parking lot, which is just east of the Cameron Pass parking lot. From the parking lot, follow the Zimmerman Lake trail for a few hundred yards until it makes a sharp left turn. At this elbow, split from the trail, and follow the path of least resistance up the bowl heading generally southeast until you break treeline. Once above treeline, look for the iceflow in the cliff band, being careful to avoid avalanche terrain.

While the approach is doable with snowshoes, it is not enjoyable. Skis or a splitboard would be best.