The 5.8 Hand JAM Ice Pillar

This crazy thing looks like a straight on sight fat pillar but it got a surprise ending sometimes. The surprise is a deep vertical gutter at the top with less than a inch walls surrounding the gutter's sides. There's no place to sink a tool. There's plenty of ice though and you'd have a great screw placement before the gutter has to be hand jammed at 5.8 rock grade for 10+ ft. I was no rope soloing and I couldn't have been in a more perplexing position. Burned out arms from the pillar and suspended, stuck not knowing what to do. I put away one tool in my harness and tried the gutter to see how it was with a gloved fist jam. Not bad so I put the other tool in my harness and proceeded up. I made excellent progress, then the worst scenario happened, I had to go back to my tools where the ice gutter ended and dry tool myself up to get my feet onto where this free standing pillar ended and that was that.

When you reach the crags, head north at there base until you can traverse onto the top of the ravine gully or to the grade 1 hard slab ravine gully first. The base of this gully will be a hard find by the forested approach. The forested approach is via the Greeley pond trail parking lot on the Cang. Take the trail for a while until you can see the crag above and through the trees, continue until you can't see the crags anymore and head up diagonally southwest. There are many small hills to go up and down while approaching. The distance is about 2.5 miles. The woods are mostly open hardwoods. I walked down the woods on the north side after the climb. Rappelling down the ice and ravine gully would be easily done. There are lots of trees.

Great ice for screws all the way. A rack of eight should do it. You'll need to do a screw belay at its base because it a 100ft or so above the mini ravine gully.