The 2014-2015 Colorado Ice Conditions Thread

Taylor Badeau wrote:Looking for any info regarding Hallett's Chimney and Brainfreeze...

James2 wrote:Its official ice climbing is gay as hell! Time to find a new sport.

Noah8000 wrote: You could always take up bouldering!

Any news on glenwood canyon ice?

Telluride/ Bridal Veil:

Due to complex Town of Telluride water projects, Bridal Veil Creek has undergone some diversion. As of now, the Falls seem to be forming up beautifully (if a bit irregularly.) Town of Telluride engineers and Telluride Mountain Club staff assure me that they are interested in input from climbers.

Please message me here if you have input on the current conditions of Bridal Veil Falls. I will do my best to pass on info and feedback to the parties in charge of the project!

Cheers!

Anyone been up to Hessie Chimney recently?

Does anyone know what things are like in Vail this week?
Thks!

anyone climb hessie this year? was thinking of skiing over to have a look this morning.

mike c wrote:anyone climb hessie this year? was thinking of skiing over to have a look this morning.

Sport Park Ice in Boulder Canyon was in yesterday. I went up Canyon on on a hunch, started out by checking out the Castle Rock/Lower Falls ice. All of those climbs are still forming. There's a lot of snow up there, so if we get a couple warm days and cold nights back to back this week, they might be worth doing. Thwarted in that quest. I drove a few hundred yards further and saw the main flow at the Sport Park was in fat-ish.

We were SHOCKED to be the only party up there (judging by the traffic everyone else was too busy heading to Eldora). The ice was exceptionally brittle and not very conducive to clean sticks. But it was leadable and we didn't beat it up too much.

It's a real tragedy that we haven't been able to drum up enough support to cut through the red tape preventing a Boulder Canyon ice park, there's so much missed potential there. I really wish I could have lived here during the good ole days of BOCan ice farming. But, C'est la ice

Joanna Spindler wrote:Telluride/ Bridal Veil: As of now, the Falls seem to be forming up beautifully (if a bit irregularly.)

Any avy condition updates around eureka/ouray/silverton since the Christmas snowstorm? Starting to consolidate?

Avy conditions are still high, saw a large one in Eureka today, heard there have been repeated avalanches down the Ribbon and that side of Camp Bird lately. Tread carefully, more snow in forecast this week.

DaveH wrote:Any avy condition updates around eureka/ouray/silverton since the Christmas snowstorm? Starting to consolidate?

Thanks for posting up The Blueprint Part Dank. I was just going to post that the upper area looked climbable. My wife always yells at me to keep my eyes on the road while driving up BoCan. The ice farming was totally awesome and it was a great resource. It would be worth fighting for if someone has the energy.

Having been a Boulder resident during the tail end of the Canyon's golden age of ice climbing 15 or so years ago, I certainly appreciate the desire to get back to farming. Although, I’m afraid it's going to be a big challenge to overturn 150 years of western water law.

It's of course easier said than done, but I think the only sure "fix" would be to divert water for recreational use under an existing water right. This would take some sort of lease or sale from a senior Boulder Creek water right holder, and jumping through whatever hoops the Forest Service would require, but it is something worth looking into if folks can get organized behind some funding.

Just a thought from an old Colorado kid who decided to pick up and move north...

Ha! I too had the pleasure of dancing around on Boulder ice. Can't believe it's been that long! I'm getting old! There were some fun, easy access routes in the canyon. There are some other gems up high. They are tough to see and tougher to get to, but there. Kinda like the random stuff off Wolf Creek Pass.

Has anyone been to vail recently?

Climbed the LHS of Jaws in cold and snowy weather earlier today (Dec 29). The crux was chandeliered WI4 with okay but not great screw placements. It might be quite different in a few days time - the weather's supposed to be sunny and warmer later in the week.

The central pillar looked like it could be climbed by someone braver than me.

An independent line has formed to the right (see photo). I don't know how often this comes in; it doesn't seem to be described on this site or in Jack Roberts' guidebook.

Vail Conditions:

The Fang is not in. No surprise there. But it's forming up and I suspect it will be in again this season.

7th Tentacle/Frigid/Cupcake are all in and have ice. Frigid is thin 5+ and would make for an exciting lead. But, there is ice.

Rigid Dez is in but very cauliflowered. Probably more than a third of the route from the ground up is large petals of 6" ice. The top looks to be in decent shape.

Spiral is in and kicked out but still fun. Secret Probation needs a bit more time to make a nice lead. Boxed In (to the left of Spiral Staircase) is about M5 WI4+ and quite nice with good stems on ice.

Slabutt is in good shape. 4/4- on very hard ice.