Tom Dickey leading Round the Corner in WI5 conditi...
Description
This is a climb located 2 gullies west of the Shroud up another long gully. There are a number of ice bits that form here. This is probably the most reliable of the bits. Please, beware of avalanche conditions. Expect an aerobic approach.
Ascend this gully to a fork above. At the Y is a thin mixed climb, that often doesn't touch down. To the left is an easier WI3 pitch, name Unnamed Gully on this website. Round The Corner is up and right.
P1. A nice pillar, sometimes with funky, funky ice. Snapped off a pick in cold, cold conditions. 70 ft or so. Fixed anchors at the top of the 1st pitch, although they can be buried in the ice/snow.
P2. Above this 1st pitch lies another WI3 pitch. You can walk off left for the 2nd pitch back to the top of P1.
Aesthetic setting though you still see/hear I-70.
Protection
Ice screws, consider an Abalakov-like hook & spare sling.
By Leo Paik Administrator From: Westminster, Colorado Dec 31, 2001
12/30/01. From the road, it really didn't look like that much snow up there, never more than knee deep. Round the Corner looked pretty fat, but coldness and dryness created really honeycombed, chandeliered ice. There is good ice for a screw before you start the vertical, but then TD didn't find good enough ice for a screw until 1/2 way up. It did get better from that point. However, the coldness made the picks way brittle and I snapped one off. Definite WI5. Anchors are hidden. That little thing to the right was good but funky. Went up R of the slab with a small cam. Ice - stubbies only until you are past the steep bit. Fun. Felt WI4. You can belay on this very nice ice shelf 2' wide or go right to the root/angle/knot/link anchor. Full 100' to the base. TD TR'ed verglas to the Plumb Line. M6++ WI4+ perhaps. The curtain at the base of the Y was fat down to the overhanging rock start.
Round the Corner is in nicely, but brittle and chandeliered. Right of Round the Corner is nice and thin - WI4ish, but the upper "good" ice didn't take screws too well. Anyone know what the curtain at the Y is called? Looked good, with a tough mixed topout. The overhanging rock start could be avoided with thin ice on the left. "Unnamed Gully" to the left looked good. Watch out for slab avalanches - the top foot of snow beneath the approach gully to Round the Corner slid right before we got up there.
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