2015-16 Colorado Ice Conditions

If you find yourself in Telluride...

Thanks, JS, for the info on Hully. Wow, didn't know all that was going on. History and access issues repeating themselves. Going to try to get by in the next day or three.

Climbed at hully yesterday, both pitches are in for leading

Phil Berggren wrote:Dave Alie, regarding conditions, I drove by Vail yesterday am and it looked ok ( except the Fang...up but skinny). Just a drive by, though, for what it's worth. Anybody been to Hully Gully recently?

Climbed in Vail today: Still a bit early really, but water is running and temps are cold, so it will only get better

Fang- needs definite time
Designator- bad cauliflower for the 1st half, top half looks okay but funky- didn't climb
Frigid Inseminator- thin, top roped
7th tentacle- pretty fat actually, but still burly moves and thin ice for the beginning. Probably the most in climb in the amphitheater
spiral- way chopped out and ugly
Secret Probation- nothing
Pencil- lots of chandeliered ice, thin at top
Eraser- pretty fat, but funky ice, some cauliflower- feet definitely sketchy

We climbed West Gulley at Black Lake Dec 27th 2015, details on actual Page

Hi Mike M. Hate to do it but am about to sell out of Hill City myself...not enough time to get up there often enough. Does this look familiar?

Phil have we met? I see tator's tots there.

Anyone seen all mixed up lately?

Seth

Seth: We got up to AMU on Saturday. It was fun, but I would say kind of thin. Less ice and more required rock climbing than one other experience I had up there.

Approach is not too bad right now, with a decent trail broken it took us 1 hour from Mills.

(first post) Flying in to Denver on the 12th with my buddy, have 7 days to climb all the ice we possibly can, but neither of us has ever been to CO. Our hardest climb to date has been Dracula in the Whites of NH (WI4+), so anything easier or as hard is what we're looking for. Any and all advice is appreciated, such as which direction to drive from Denver, or whether Ouray is something we should definitely hit up or not. Thanks

George L. wrote:(first post) Flying in to Denver on the 12th with my buddy, have 7 days to climb all the ice we possibly can, but neither of us has ever been to CO. Our hardest climb to date has been Dracula in the Whites of NH (WI4+), so anything easier or as hard is what we're looking for. Any and all advice is appreciated, such as which direction to drive from Denver, or whether Ouray is something we should definitely hit up or not. Thanks

FYI Ouray Ice Fest is that week and can be a little hard to find a place to stay, and busy in the ice park and backcountry.

Cody, WY is only a couple hours longer drive. Bozeman is a couple hours longer than Cody.

Hey Mike,

Did those kids take up the hose and pipe? It can't be that bad in CO. Hell, I'm living in AZ, hooking plastic holds and looking forward to the 8.5 hour drive to Ouray (or the exciting flight into the Cody airport).
At least there are plenty of offwidths around here, so still an excuse not to go back on the thorazine yet. That helps.

George,

As soon as you land in Denver get in the car and drive to Cody.

Ice in Colorado is super crowded and picked out all the time.

Cody is full of lots of great untouched ice with complete solitude or maybe just a few other climbers.

The ice in Colorado is overrun each day especially on weekends.

Ouray, total shitshow............

Savvy marketing and the ability to walk around and set up top ropes on most Colorado climbs, (plus web sites that post conditions) have ruined the ice climbing experience in Colorado....

Kieth last time we talked ouray was only 6 hours. Prolly make it down Ouray at least once this winter. Cody is on the list as well. Just saw the ice in North Carolina is fat so look into a cheap southwest flight. They did set it up and was almost in but it looks like it had froze up when I was back at Christmas.

My car got slower since then, bogged down by cruel, cruel reality...it's good that they are still working on the cave.

So is there really nowhere to go around Denver?
There has to be something...

Nick.L wrote:So is there really nowhere to go around Denver? There has to be something...

Clear Creek. That's it man. Boulder Canyon rarely forms, and RMNP / Ned are the next closet. Or HWY 34 on the way to RMNP.

You realize Denver isn't in the mountains and is technically in the plains?

Not trying to be a dick, but you can expect 45 minutes-1.5 hours to get to a canyon or some kind of mountain.

I see you are from NH. That's like looking for ice around corcord or something (although not that extreme). Geography brother.

I realize the "Denver isn't the mountains; it's the plains" comment still probably aptly applies, but I live in Bailey, so I'm hoping there's SOME ice somewhere "near" to me that I could get on? Staunton State Park has one option, but the rangers don't keep an eye on it and it's a decent approach to get there.

Any thoughts?

Scott McMahon wrote: Clear Creek. That's it man. Boulder Canyon rarely forms.

In all fairness this flow and this one form fairly consistently every winter, they just don't usually form in any kind of awe-inspiring fashion

I heard that Hessie Chimney was in as of last Sunday. If that's true it would be a first in about ten or more years.