The Asteroid

Not your typical Hyalite outing. When Flanders and Horsetail are busy this can be a great alternative. The Asteroid begins as the obvious wide flow after the winding approach gully.

Approach Slabs - (120m WI1-2) - Slog up to Comet Alley where there is 2 rope lengths of approach ice slabs. Some people choose to belay these, you do you. 

p1 - (30m WI3) - The wide flow has many options to climb, as you trend from left to right the ice gets steeper and thinner. For full value, climb the right side to the tree belay. For an easier WI3-, climb the middle and then make a screw anchor to belay from. 

To continue the fun, shift the belay to the left side of p1 across the steep snow.

p2 - (60m WI3 M3 5.7) - Follow the winding chimney up to a chock belay, we had a little slack in our 70m. This is extremely condition dependent: could full of ice or dry as the FA found it. For us, the chimney system was coated in verglass on one side and dry on the other, section of ice had just enough for some 10cm stubbies. We put the tools away for the final topout, was a ~5.7 move on dry rock to get to the chock belay. There was just enough pro to make this reasonable but definitely not straighforward to protect like the first pitch.

Approach 'Comet Alley' from the East Fork Trailhead. Use the gpx file Joe Josephson created if you are unsure ( houseofhyalite.com). 

Approach Slabs - (45.453340, -110.920500) 

p1 - (45.452450, -110.921450) 

- Ice Screws, bring the shorties
- Cams to 3" & Nuts
- Double 60s or hope there's enough ice on p2 for V-threads