Mt. Gilbert North Couloir Ice Climb - June 29-30th

The opportunity arose, one fateful week in June. My friend Jay had recently scoped some areas in the Eastern Sierras. As fate would have it, there was still some glimmering white lingering in the Sierran crest. He proposed a quick weekend trip to slay the Gilbert couloir and on that Friday afternoon, I found myself loaded in a car of gear, enroute to Cali.

[ Overview Video for those who opt not to read ]

THE APPROACH - June 28, 29

The trip out there was mainly uneventful, except for the balancing act I played with my aging car's air conditioner and the 121-degree midday heat. For most of the stretch to Palm Springs I drove with the windows down, fearing each tic of the ever-advancing temperature gauge on my dashboard. Within 9 hours I made it to Ridgecrest, our meeting spot. In lieu of my early arrival, I made use of the time to finish putting my minimalist pack together. No tent this time, just pads and sleeping bags; summer mountaineering gear made for light packs.

Climbing Cascade Creek Falls, CO

We left Ouray early that Monday morning. Overnight, a weak system had dropped a few inches of snow, just enough to put a lil' doubt in one's mind about the drive back home. We talked it over breakfast, "yeah we should probably start driving early so we're not caught in the passes when the sun is off the roads and they refreeze." After wandering main street for a few and chatting with the locals we set out. We made great time climbing the wet, icy roads in high gears through each pass on the way south from Ouray. We checked them off one by one: Red Mountain, then Silverton, then Molas, then Coal Bank. Before we knew it we were coasting down towards the large hairpin turn that crosses the high point of Cascade Creek, near Purgatory Ski resort. Jay had expressed his insatiable hunger multiple times on the drive, but when I asked him if we should check out the ice here, there was no hesitation. "Yeah man."

Last couple shots of Ouray.

Climbing Horsetail Falls near Ouray, CO

Horsetail Falls, WI4, 500ft, 4 pitches.

Day three of our ice climbing foray found us woofing down calories for breakfast at our favorite Backstreet Bistro locale. We gulped coffee and debated how to seize the day. We had tossed around the idea of doing a backcountry, multi-pitch (read: really lonnng) climb since we first organized the trip. Two days in the park had bought us quite the nice portion of confidence, with an extra helping of stoke.

"Man, we should just go for it. We'll feel it out. If it's not happening, it's not happening and we'll bail.

Now the only question was where? On the trip in we had scoped out Bear Creak Falls and Horsetail Falls from Highway 550. Cascade Falls, overlooking the small town of Ouray, seemed to be "somewhat" in.from afar, but it was sitting in the sun all day and we were already approaching ten in the morning. Not the best conditions to climb ice. Somehow, the discussion steered back to Horsetail Falls. We pulled up the beta on it and scoured it's offerings... 500+ vertical feet, typically split in to four pitches. The crux is the first pitch, rated at WI4-5, depending on how difficult a line you choose. Alright, alright, we could probably muster that, we convinced ourselves. We were both comfortable on the WI5 terrain and we had both led WI4 in the park the days prior. Jay graciously volunteered me to lead the first pitch -- can't pass that up, I guess. However, the selling point on Horsetail Falls: minimal minimal minimal approach. You can see it from the highway for crying out loud! Sold. We downed the rest of our breakfast, hopped into the car, and headed for the hills.

Prepping for the climb & workin' on game faces. Photo credit: Jay

Day Two in the Ouray Ice Park

After a long night's rest in the most primo of climber bunk house digs, Jay and I grabbed a filling breakfast at the Backstreet Bistro to start the day out right. We grabbed our coffee fuel for the day and scrambled to the ice park to get our spot. Even for a Saturday, it wasn't too crowded. We walked the lower bridge and found a couple spots in the immediate area known as the Scottish Gullies.

Scottish Gullies

Jay and I made quick work of setting a top-rope anchor on a spot we both thought would be ripe for warmups. We checked the topo-map, shrugging off the WI5 ratings in the vicinity while I rigged my rappel setup. "Eh, we need to challenge ourselves and get the most from this trip." Jay obliged.

Peering into the gorge...

All-Nighter Road Trip to Ouray to Climb Ice

Words to come... for now only photos...

I'm officially ready for the carpool lanes with my puffy jacket mannequin.

Ice Climbing at Lee Vining

Following some great rock climbing in Joshua Tree, Jay and I made the trip back to Los Angeles to pick up our dear friend Mark for some random adventure, yet to be determined... Pictures for now. I'll update later...

The north side of Lee Vining Canyon

Climbing at Mount Lemmon, AZ

I made the drive out to Mt. Lemmon to meet my dear friend Ace and his lady Vernadette -- proprieters of Vernace' Wines ;-). Enjoyed a weekend of great climbing, great friends, and even some fun solo alpine activities too! Climbs: Windy Point East - Practice Wall (5.6ish, TR) Windy Point West, Beaver wall (some 5.10a upper portion) Windy Point East - Hitchcock Pinnacle's NF (5.7, Trad lead) Windy Point West, North Fin - Agatha Christie Direct (5.8, TR) Mt. Lemmon alpine ice bouldering (AI2/3)

Hitchcock Pinnacle

Ice in southern Arizona?! It does exist!

Keep reading for more!...