Grace Falls WI4
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| Type: | Trad, Ice, Alpine, 1 pitch, 100 feet |
| Consensus: | WI4 [details] |
| FA: | unknown |
| Season: | early winter-winter |
| Submitted By: | Leo Paik on Feb 9, 2002 |
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Grace Falls from Lake Helene bench.
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Description This is a classic 100 foot ice flow below Notchtop. I've heard that this flow can be twice as wide as it is tall. There is a photo where it is even wider. It can also be anemic, perhaps more so in early to mid-winter. Avalanche conditions can exist. Park at Bear Lake. Hike toward Lake Helene/Notchtop. Go past and right of Lake Helene. This can be windscoured. Traverse right and down to exit. Per Eli Helmuth: Grace Falls come into shape more in late winter/ early spring. March or April when there is more water flow over the falls seems to make the difference for Grace.
Protection Ice screws.
Toprope Protection Ice screws and possibly rock gear.
BETA PHOTO: 11/16/98.
| BETA PHOTO: Grace Falls in FAT conditions....
| BETA PHOTO: Grace Falls - 23 Jan 07.
| Thin + Brittle + Aerated + Lack of Bondage + Lack...
| Grace in early season splendor. It will form up t...
| BETA PHOTO: Grace Falls. 4-27-2008. When we got up close the i...
| BETA PHOTO: Grace Falls Jan 20, 2009.
| BETA PHOTO: Grace Falls all iced up, March 11th, 2012.
| BETA PHOTO: Nov. 1, 2012. Meagan Buck near the top of the firs...
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By Todd Kube Jan 13, 2003 rating: WI4
| Climbed at Grace falls on 1/12/03. The main column is in with some mixed terrain on either side. The area had about 8" of new snow on top of boilerplate. Snow was falling in the pm. Generally high slide conditions. The Odessa Wall is not in yet. The curtain is close to closing on the left side. Large wind loaded snow bowl above the formation. The left side of Guide Wall is in and fat. Right side curtain hasn't closed yet. |
By Thomas Jensen Feb 19, 2003
| On 2/16 we hiked in to Notchtop are and scoped things out. Hot Doggies is big as is the flow to the right. Grace Falls is narrow and thin. We didnt feel it was worth the extra hike up. Guides Wall and Odessa Wall have some ice that could make for exciting leads. |
By Caelan From: Dysfunctional, CO Jan 23, 2007
| In my opinion, this route is not in good shape right now (23 Jan 07). Climbable? Sure. Safe? Probably Not. I tried to lead it and got about 1/2 or 2/3 up and decided the thin, brittle, aerated, poorly bonded ice and lack of good pro was not worth the risk. So, I bailed off a sling wrapped around a hollow sounding 9 inch pillar - scary! Most of the route was only a few inches thick. Does anyone know when this route normally forms up? We were surprised to find it so thin at this time of year. |
By Eli Helmuth From: Estes Park, CO Jan 24, 2007
| Since I've been here ('99), it seems that Hot Doggies, Guide's Wall, and Grace Falls come into shape more in late winter/ early spring. March or April when there is more water flow over the falls seems to make the difference for Grace. Hot Doggies and New Beginnings can come in during the fall or spring melt/freeze cycles - similar exposure and formation to the Squid and Calamari over on Flattop. |
By Mike A. Lewis From: Boulder, CO Nov 4, 2012
| We climbed Grace Falls Nov. 1, 2012. It was in pretty good shape. It was the only climbable flow. There are 2 pitons with some blue webbing at the top of the steep flow, below a 20ft section of WI2. I added a 0.75 and a yellow Supercam in shallow placements above and to the right of the pitons. To TR with a 60m rope, you'll have to extend the anchor at least 20ft. |
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