Three Blind Mice

This is a curtain of unhacked, solid, blue ice that may be about 80 feet tall, and 40-50 feet wide. When we visited it, there were independent lines anywhere from solid WI4 to 5 - the easiest lines being on the far right and left side variations and the middle sections being a bit longer and harder. Lots of variations are possible on this and the surrounding cliffbands. It would get a tad easier with some traffic.

We climbed the left side and found the climbing challenging due to the steep, untouched, and bulletproof nature of the ice. Quite possible it's been climbed before, but there were no signs of former passage, no visible anchors, etc.

The rap anchor (stoppers) we left in on the upper left rock band can be backed up with a couple small-mid size cams and possibly a thread for a climbing anchor if there is enough ice. This rap just gets you down with one 60 meter rope. Or perhaps thread at the top of the bulge.

I gave it three stars due to the adventure-alpine feel of the area, and the chance to climb some thick and steep, Vail ice without boot-sized chopped steps. This has a decently long approach though, and it was a bit spooky getting nailed by a powder-snow avalanche on the lead that left about 4-5 new feet at the base.

Screws, small selection of small to mid-size rock gear. Snowshoes/poles are helpful on approach. Beacons and a shovel and stuff might not be a bad idea to throw in if you have it and if the snow's been coming down. A single 60 meter rope just got us down from the anchor we put in on the top left side of the climb.

Follow the snowshoe trail uphill from the Booth Creek trailhead for about 4-4.5 miles. Keep an open eye on the cliff bands to the West at this point, and some blue stuff should start coming into view. This was the second sizeable /worthwhile flow we noticed that comes into view (comes into view shortly after the big 4-500 foot ice ribbon). Note we climbed / approached in thick snow conditions so YMMV.

The trail runs above the east side of the gorge in the bottom of the valley. To access this climb, keep walking past it on the snowshoe trail until the gorge narrows from hundreds of feet to 20-30 feet across. Pick a way down the gorge at this point. Once at the bottom of the gorge, traverse back the way you came on the other side of the gorge and up towards the climb. This involved some bushwhacking and steep sections, so sniff your way up there. The base of the climb is a bit steep, but you should be able to stomp out a decent stance on one of the sides. When we were done climbing, we took a different path, heading straight for the trail on the other side of the gorge. This worked well but may have been more work on the approach. (A note of caution: the trail itself goes below a few avalanche shoots that come down regularly, and the climbs themselves have some exposure, so use your best judgment.)