White Mountains Ice

This past holiday season found Bridget and I on the East Coast of the U.S.A. We enjoyed Christmas and New years in Massachusetts but spent the time between in the White Mountains of New Hampshire ice climbing. As a native westerner I must say I was impressed with the climbing on the east coast, the nice people we met, and the terrible weather that adds character to the experience.


Upon arriving in Franconia Notch (New Hampshire) the weather turned for the worst.  We wanted to do some routes on Cannon cliff but the winds blew us to the sheltered climbing area called the "Flume".  It was a great setting.

 

 

The flume

 

Bridget climbing at the flume

 The most dangerous part of climbing at the flume was the raging wind which was knocking down big trees all around us.  One tree fell 20 feet in front of us on the hike out to the car.

After the flume we headed to Frankenstein cliff to go ice cragging.  We climbed a few of the classic routes (after getting lost on the drive and wasting half the day).

 

Myself leading the classic "Dracula" at Frankenstein.

Bridget leading the classic "Standard route" at Frankenstein.

Bridget coming up the second pitch of the "Standard route".

Throughout the entire trip I just wanted to get into the bigger mountains but the weather was terrible- a wet, cold, high humidity, windy kind of terrible.  We looked up the weather at Mount Washington everyday and it was consistently 70-80mph sustained winds with a temp hovering around -4 F.  When we saw that we had a day where we might be able to get on Cannon cliff and climb the "Black Dike" route before another weather system moved in we jumped at the chance.

Climbing with a bunch of other people on a multi-pitch ice route was a novel experience for me as I tend to stay away from falling ice, however, by hanging out at the base of the route I was able to find a pretty descent ice screw that someone dropped earlier in the season-winning!  All in all the other groups on the route were really nice people and we had good conversations at the social-belay hours, and the route was indeed as classic as its reputation.

The beautiful Cannon cliff at Fraconia notch

Looking up the black dike with a few parties already on route.

Bridget looking for dropped gear at the base of the route.

Myself leading the crux middle pitch.

Cannon cliff from the "Black Dike" top out. 

Climbing in the east blew me away in respect to the amount of ice climbing there is to do.  I saw more ice in one valley than we have in entire mountain ranges in Montana.  I feel like I barely climbed any ice on the east coast, and I'm already anticipating another holiday visit 'out East' with ice gear in the bag!

Cheers, Loren

Hyalite choss scratching

Hyalite Canyon has been good this year and I've had a few great opportunities the past month.  I had the chance to help with Sherpas Cinemas film Conrad Anker and Kris Erickson climbing a Hyalite test piece ice climb (Winter Dance).  I was the mule and hauled camera equipment to the top of the climb and then did a bit of rope rigging.  It was a learning experience for me in many ways.

Conrad on Winter Dance

 Looking down Winter Dance

The Chopper filming- the film is going to be awesome!

 I also got out with a few friends to do some Hyalite mixed climbing.  We have been working "northwest passage" (M11).  I came very close to climbing it on my third burn so I'm feeling confident that I can get it done this season (in between my student teaching semester in a middle school science classroom).

Kyle vassilopoulos climbing "Panama Canal" M8, "Northwest passage" climbs out the roof to the right of the hanging ice dagger.

Myself red-pointing the techy "Panama Canal" M8.

Rusty Willis on "Northwest Passage" M11.

 

Cheer, Loren

Turkey day ice

silver falls

Olin, Bridget, Brad, and myself had a fun couple of days in the Beartooths during turkey day. 
We climbed silver falls (shown above with Brad on lead).  It is in fun shape, get it before Dec. 1st when they gate the road and you have to walk an extra mile (one way).

We also climbed the seldom done Hidden falls.  It is in the fattest shape I have ever seen it.  There is a super fun mixed variation on the right side in the obvious dihedral.  It goes on natural gear (to 1.5") and is really high quality.  I first climbed this mixed variation with Matt Weiland years ago when the ice was in poor shape.  Climbing it this last Thanksgiving weekend reminded me of how good a mixed route it actually is.  The mixed variation is roughly M4, so go get it while you can drive the road!

A couple of Billings cats we met up on hidden falls- solid guys

 

 

Brad and I bonding-photos by Bridget

 

I hope you're all enjoying whatever medium you like to climb on the most, and being thankful for the experience as well.

 

Cheers, Loren

 

 



Cottonwood Towers

 

While trail running with Bridget last spring up South Cottonwood Creek, near Bozeman, we ran past what appeared to be limestone spires sticking out from a thick mat of pine trees.  I logged the location of these spires away in my memory, for a rainy day activity, and kept on running behind Bridget with a pounding side ache. 

Nearly a year later we were back, we left the ice gear at home and loaded a pack with rock gear.  We hiked up the south cottonwood trail in perfect fall weather to the third bridge crossing (2.5 miles).  From here we walked up the trail another 5 minutes until the spires could be seen on the other side of the creek.  We crossed the creek, hiked to the base of the spires and looked up at limestone choss in all its glory.  As an inspired choss tower connosure I can not pass up unclimbed towers so we tied in.

The first view of the cottonwood towers from the trail - "The Ancient Fart Tower" on the right and the "Choss Wrangler Tower" on the left.

The spires turned out to be really cool.  They are overhung, really narrow, and tilt out in strange angles.  There is a notch that separates the two towers on the spires' back (west) side that has a wide crack.  I started up this loose crack that lead to the notch that protected well with cams to a #4.  From here I went up the climbers left tower and found some protection with two ice specters pounded into turfed-up cracks.  I mantled the tiny summit that is reminascent of the 'ancient art of the desert tower' in Utah.  It really is the ghetto version of that tower- thus we named it the "Ancient Fart Tower". 

The ancient fart tower- the route goes up the arete in the center.

Myself heading up the "ancient fart" tower

Bridget rappelling off of the ancient fart tower- we ended up slinging the entire summit with cord as an anchor.

After climbing the ancient fart tower we decided to climb the other tower that is attached.  We started up the same wide crack that gained the notch between the two towers then climbed up climbers right on the exposed ridge to the other virgin summit.  

Bridget heading up the "choss wrangler" tower with the "ancient fart" tower in the background.

Bridget on the summit of the "Choss Wrangler" tower.

Required gear for the cottonwood towers.

We placed a single bolt on top of the choss wrangler tower in good rock as there was no other option for a rappell anchor.  Both these towers deserve a special rating- a choss rating- to mentally prepare for the climbing.  They both get a Choss 5.7 rating, bring some pitons/ice specters. These towers are chossy as hell, but also good fun and a cheap reminder that climbing inadequate rocks is best approached with humor and zest.

Cheers, Loren



 

Spire Completion, Butte Bouldering Bash, and the First Ice of the Season

Spire Climbing Center Grand re-Opening!

We completed the remodel of Spire Climbing Center in Bozeman this fall.  We had a grand reopening of the gym complete with a ribbon-cutting from 30 feet in the air!  It was great for me to be a part of this remodel project, and it feels good to see the gym in all its glory and people having fun climbing on it!

Here are some pictures I took throughout the summer as we made progress on the gym.

Jeff Ho cutting the ribbon on the Grand Reopening night with a sweet dyno from the roof.

Climbers on the new wall on opening night!  (props to the route setters)

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Fall time in the mountains of Montana

Bridget and I tried finding some ice a few weekends ago to climb.  We wanted to go rock climbing but the weather had other plans as it snowed around 20 inches.  We basicly stumbled over slick, snow covered rock looking for ice.  We found a little ice to climb and a loose gully that was around M4 (short section).  We ended the weekend by bouldering on the perfect granite boulders in the Rock Creek Drainage.

Truck camping breakfast of champions

The best part was bouldering in the sun with crisp temps.

Bridget sending a John Gill problem near the road

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 The Butte Bouldering Bash also occured last weekend.  I love going to this low key event (where dogs almost out number the climbers!).  This year the event was held at a new sector of boulders (the Trailer Boulders).  Rusty Willis and I manned the Sportiva booth and went bouldering throughout the day.  The new area is sweet, with high quality problems of all grades.

Good temps

good food and fun crowd

Rusty Willis sending a cobble arete

Keeping warm in the Sportiva booth.  Photo by Thomas Kingsbury

Cheers, Loren

The SW Buttress of the Bear's Face

 

The SW buttress is the right skyline.

Bridget and I had a fairly successful time in the East Rosebud this last week.  We climbed the SW buttress of the wall above Elk Lake (its been climbed prior).  We managed to make a mostly free ascent of the upper headwall-  I pulled on a cam on a friction traverse (The original rating is 5.9 A2, and Daniel Burson and Ari Greenburg made a free ascent of the buttress a few years ago at 5.11) and we topped the monolith out around 1 in the afternoon.  The unsuccessful portion of the climb was the descent.  We totally went down the wrong gully (the gully below the first wall).  It was the most chossy place I have ever been (and that's saying something).  It was a place you didn't want to linger in as it funnels rocks from high above and they come exploding past like bullets and missles.  It was like a game of Russian Roulete in there, you knever knew if the next rappel had your name on it, and pulling the ropes caused a whole new barrage of rockfall.  The gully was pooring water and we were soaked, leaving nuts and slinging blocks for anchors.  Five hours later we stumbed out into the evenging light at five mile creek happy to be alive.  Aside from the descent the climbing was great and, as always, the scenery was amazing - just never descend down that gully!

Bridget on the headwall

Bridget knocking a big block off the headwall

 Myself climbing steep corners on the upper headwall

The top out

The descent

The rope didn't handle the descent well either

Cheers, Loren