San Juan Ice Conditions Update

Dexter: Still Fat.

Horsetail: Good ice, little snowy. Some guys climbed Bear Creek today as well in "refrozen" conditions.

Skylight: All major flows are good to go. Did all 4 on Friday. Killer Pillar is not fully formed. Tourist Trap and Fractured Fairytales have plenty of ice.

Ice Park: Sweetness everywhere!

Ribbon and Birdbrain: Climbable, I guess. I haven't done either this year.

Engineer: Nada.

Silverton: I'm sure the ice is good, but avi conditions are a bit sketch for us to send guides that way yet.

Bridalveil: Busy, a little different than usual. Definitely IN.

Ice Hose: Good, don't expect gear on the first crux.

Silverpick: Appeared to not be in while driving by.

Ames Ice Hose

Climbed the Ames Ice Hose on Wednesday with Paul from Seattle. It was good. The first pillar is pretty much all dry hooking in shallow holes with stubbies in rotten blobs for pro, I put in one on the first pillar. The LZ is looking much better though if you do decide to pitch. We linked 1 and 2 together with 70's. The Chimney is super fun, good screws when you want them. The 3rd pitch is awesome as always, true WI4 for 200 feet.

I'm often asked how we break this climb up, so... I like to bring double 70's. Link 1 and 2 to the 2nd set of chains. From there, bump up to the pin anchor high on the upper ledge. 1 more long pitch to the trees on top. I rap with 70's from the lower climber's left tree to the 2nd chain anchor, then to the ground. This is the least shrapnel exposed way to do it. Lot of other variations exist if you only have 60's.

Cheers, CC

Climbed Bridalveil Tuesday. Rumors of it being thin are greatly exaggerated. It is a little narrower than usual, but was able to get full length screws whenever I wanted one. The first pitch was the standard cauliflower cone, not pumpy just hard to protect, followed by some 4+ ice by going to the right and then back left around a roof. The belay was in a nice ice cave that is big enough for three and well protected just to the left of the obvious line. The second pitch was the crux. A few sections of 5+ moves with excellent rests in between. By trending right at the end there was another great belay stance. It was wide enough for 3-4 people and had a rock roof, so again very well protected. The third pitch is about a half rope length or less of grade 3. Hope this clears up the info and you have as good a time on it as we did.

Stairway

Climbed Stairway to Heaven - the day after Whore House Hoses - on another picture perfect high pressure day. It was a few degrees below zero when we started, but warmed up pretty quickly as the day progressed.

The crux third pitch was a bit funky with chandelier ice that offered sinker tool placements, but marginal crampon sticks - a bit of gardening required from the footwork to get into solid ground. The steep section of chandelier ice was pretty well unprotectable in those conditions, but it only amounted to around 3-4 body lengths until you were back into the goods.

This year offers a bonus 6th pitch of Grade 2/3 ice for those interested in stretching the climb out.

The walk-off after the 5th pitch is a calf deep boot track all the way to the couloir. Catch it before the next big snow.

Respectfully submitted,

Grey Squirrel

San juan Ice Conditions Update

Warm weather has changed some routes, so I thought I would post and update.

Ice Park: Fat City

Dexter Creek Slabs: Good Condition

Bride's Veil aka Skyrocket: Not recommended. Was good for a bit, but fragile and hollow now. the top may have fallen down.

Fall Creek/Talisman: Some guys climbed the Ribbon, Birdbrain, and Talisman. Looked sporting, probably not a good idea for the average mortal. But if you fancy yourself a hardman with something to prove...

Skylight climbs: Good shape, some are wet and growing fast.

Horsetail is good, Bear Creek is getting super hollow with the warmth.

Engineer climbs that were in are getting slushy.

Eureka climbs are fat and moderate.

Ames Ice Hose is thin but picked out, fairly standard for the route.

Bridalveil is getting more traffic, standard WI5 conditions.

Not sure about Silverpick and the Bone, probably in though.

That's all I can think of off the top of my head. Give a call if you have questions.

Cheers, Clint 970-325-4925

Whore House Hoses

Popped over the pass to Eureka today to sample the superb multi-pitch terrain. We saw a party hiking up towards Stairway so elected to climb Whore House Hoses instead.

The climb is in very fat shape along with a nice packed trail right to the base. The first pitch is pretty well bucket steps, but veer right above the 'avocado leaves' and you'll find some superb WI5 ice. We climbed the left side of the final pitch and found perfect plastique conditions and nice steep climbing - probably WI5 minus.

Perhaps my favorite moderate in the range. Great ambiance and currently in excellent condition.

Also included is a photo of Stairway which looks blue and plastic.

Respectfully Submitted,

Grey Squirrel

Lower Ice Park Conditions: Lower Bridge to Shithouse

Made a walk through the lower park on Wednesday. The ice is super fat everywhere, and the classic mixed routes are climbing well also. Here is the photo tour to get a sense of conditions.

View up from the Lower Bridge, You can see the Brass Tacks area up to the Pick of the Vic. The lead routes that are hidden between are getting more and more consoldated with traffic.

The Boat Ramp and ice on both sides at the Lower Bridge is in great condition.

Lots of pros hanging around climbing mixed routes.Stone Free, TicTac, Dizzy, and the Scottish Gullies

TRing Dizzy with the Vision, one of Ouray's most popular old comp routes.The modern drytooling training route Le Sauccisson, many folks' "first drytooling route". It get infectious when you're watching all these pros right around you, and noone seems to be climbing the ice!Right now you can navigate the bottom all the way from the Lower Bridge to the Shithouse Wall, pretty nice access in the bottom this year. Here is the view of the Fingers as you approach from upstream.
The Thumb and Index all merged together, pretty sweet.The Ventana Buttress showing Icelandic Dream M7+ and Ventana Pillars. The next buttress down, Poodle Sex is not touching, although there are some cool alpine style gullies instead. Fresh descent ropes in the Fingers gully.

The Stump Wall. The Folsom Finger, not quite making it, but some great mixed routes in there instead.

The Park overall is in its best shapes in years.
Enjoy, CC