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2009/2010 Colorado Ice Conditions

Dougald MacDonald · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Apr 2002 · Points: 842

Kelly Cordes was skiing up in that drainage today. You could ask him.

Dougald
coloradomountainjournal.com

Brad White · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Sep 2006 · Points: 25

Thanks Stich and Dougald!

Kevin Craig · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Mar 2002 · Points: 325

Time to become popular with the West Slope crowd (sorry guys, but I give the the goods from the East Slope too)...

Rifle is going off (uh, no pun intended). Before going though, it's best to be solid on WI5 and ready for thin/scary/semi-detached top-outs. Ain't no TR crag.

Stephen Berwanger · · Montrose, CO · Joined Jun 2007 · Points: 290

It's OK Kevin to talk about the west slope ice as long as its in the guide books.
All the other stuff SSSHHH!!!!!!
Here's a couple pics from Rifle yesterday.

Kevin and me on Soul on Ice.

Kevin and me on Stone Free, Ice Palace on right.

erik wellborn · · manitou springs · Joined Apr 2008 · Points: 355

Just returned from a weekend at Rifle, which is in excellent shape. Stone Free is in easy 5 shape with a moderate top out. Ice Palace was led by my partner Dan Battin, 5++ with a pretty exciting top out, doubt it will last much longer....

Ice Palace, Anjie toproping.

Ice Palace.

Leo Paik · · Westminster, Colorado · Joined Jan 2001 · Points: 22,800

~6" of new snow in Officer's Gulch. Micro sloughs on the west side.

Pumphouse - a bit slushy, running water of the left.

From the base.

Designator amphitheater:

From the road.

Spiral Stairs:

From the road.

Firehouse/Timber Falls:

From the road.

Booth Creek:

From near Pumphouse.

Kevin Landolt · · Fort Collins, Wyoming · Joined Jun 2009 · Points: 585

A little alpine update for the N. Face of Longs, Jan 30th. Cables Route.

The snow-ramp approach was good styrofoam and felt safe, but pockets of windslab on the M2 corner pitch turned me around.









Quite a bit of ice forming back in the corner (under the snow).

Full TR on my blog
erik wellborn · · manitou springs · Joined Apr 2008 · Points: 355

Here a shoddy report for Bridalveil Falls which we climbed yesterday. Climb is in excellent condition, although rather hooked out. No running water to speak of. Pitch 1 is pretty reasonable. Pitch 2 is the business, steep with good hooks and decent pro. Very classic and not as hard as it looks. Enjoy!

Dan on 1st pitch.

Bridal Veil.
1st pitch.

Dougald MacDonald · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Apr 2002 · Points: 842

With quite a few new mixed routes going in this season at East Vail, I've posted a sequential listing of all the climbs at the Firehouse West and Spiral Staircase areas: tinyurl.com/ybop4au. The new climbs are accessible to mere mortals and they seem really fun.

Dale D · · Boulder, CO · Joined Sep 2007 · Points: 150

I was at Hully Gully today. A nice 44 degrees when I got back to my Jeep around 1:00pm. Great ice conditions on both pitches.

First pitch of Hully Gully, 2/10/2010.

Second pitch of Hully Gully, 2/10/2010.

Brian Tessier · · Lakehood, Colorado · Joined Dec 2003 · Points: 295

Clear Creek Canyon update:
Coors Lite is in tough shape. There is ice but its been climbed to death.
Mickey's has filled in and is pretty easy.
All of the rest of the climbs do not exist.

Chris Plesko · · Westminster, CO · Joined Oct 2007 · Points: 485

There is steeper ice (sort of) at clear creek too but it's beat up. The higher "pitches" are a little fresher. Both Mickey's and Coors Lite P1 must get climbed constantly.

Kevin Craig · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Mar 2002 · Points: 325

Rifle ice is still largely in good shape. Soul on Ice is 5 +/- and the top out has receded from the tree a bit further making it a bit spicier. Stone Free looks a bit thinner than a couple of weeks ago. Ice Palace and Final Curtain still look about the same.

Kevin Craig · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Mar 2002 · Points: 325

Used up one of my nine lives today (2/14) when, approaching Stairway to Heaven and no more than 100' from the base of the ice, I got a huge "WHUMPF." No settling or visible cracks, but I beat a hasty retreat anyway to my partners, who were waiting/watching from the nearby ridge crest, and we bailed. Worth noting, the avy danger for the Northern San Juans was "only" Moderate for west-facing slopes near and above treeline which this is. No other signs of instability were noted prior to that point (though later in the day, when it was actually light out, we noted some old slide activity on the west-facing slopes right before the bridge at Eureka). Just proves the adage that, like politics, all avy conditions are local.

Climbed the first pitch of Whorehouse instead (in nearly constant spindrift from the high winds) which is in excellent condition. Winds on surrounding ridgetops appeared to be extreme so there's lots of transport and wind-loading in progress today.

Be careful out there.

Rob Griz · · Frisco · Joined Feb 2008 · Points: 2,151

Nice to see folks posting some “Shotty Ice reports”, right on! Here is my "shot"...

Hit SW CO for the weekend with a good friend who flew in from PA. We nailed Bridalveil and Ames on Sat. Bridalveil was excellent with a radical 35' "Blue Tube" on the upper half of the route. The mostly clear, sea-blue tube was the most trippy hunk of ice I've had the pleasure of climbing over. Despite the ominous looking nature of the falls, the route is well traveled and goes at WI5, possibly 5+. Two pitches up, two raps down; one from the final bolts and a second from a dual-thread with quicklinks. The ski out was awesome. Ames was in excellent shape as well with the usual ice start taking a stubbie or two but only for mental protection. We ran into a group who backed off. The first 60' were scalloped hooks to a partially delamed top-out and the chimney had more ice in it than I have ever climbed before. Of course the 5.8 crack to the right can be used to gain the chimney. The upper sheet was fatty-fat. A great day to hit both classic lines.

On Sunday we hit the Skylight area. It was a mixed bag although all the main routes are in. Seems like a little freeze-thaw will help some of the more obscure mixed lines. I led Killer Pillar in good but hard conditions. Seems like no one had been on it in a while, if at all. The snow atop was deep! It was getting baked in the sun and was hollow in many places but still a solid, fun lead. We ran a quick lap on Skylight, excellent shape although more like a Park route as it was hooked and stepped out all the way to the top.

The blue tube.

From above, lookin' down.

Beta.

Chris Plesko · · Westminster, CO · Joined Oct 2007 · Points: 485

Anyone take a walk up the flatirons lately? Or anyone want to take a walk Tuesday (2/16) AM with me?

Adam B · · CO · Joined Sep 2006 · Points: 105

Looking pretty snowy up there at the moment. As you posted this in the Ice forum, were you thinking about checking out a mixed line to climb manana? Or just a stroll to check out conditions?

Chris Plesko · · Westminster, CO · Joined Oct 2007 · Points: 485

I'm interested in any of the flatirons ice/mixed lines. Hoping this 2nd snow storm helped reform some ice but that might just be wishful thinking.

k. riemondy · · Denver, Co · Joined Oct 2006 · Points: 80

Has anyone climbed All Mixed Up recently? Any beta would be appreciated.

Chris Plesko · · Westminster, CO · Joined Oct 2007 · Points: 485

Silk road looks like it might go. I walked up there this afternoon to get a better look. No promises. It's out of the sun at noon thirty, there is snow, ice and water up there and it looks continuous enough to climb. Anyone up for the challenge drop me a PM.

Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

Colorado
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