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August 9, 2011
I climbed a new route on the northface of Mt Arras. This is the prominent pyramid shaped peak accroos the valley from Icefall Lodge. It is distinctive for the curving rock layers which do a 90 degree bend in the mountain. I climbed the right hand of the 2 snow couloirs visible in this picture. It was a beautiful snow and ice line which had 1200m of climbing and led right to the summit. The deep snowpack from the previous winter meant more snow than normal for august. This combined with a good freeze made for perfect conditions and a fast acsent. It was mostly 45 degrees with a section near the ridge that was up to 60. The descent was down the south east ridge with two short rappels. Eight years of looking at it and I finally got around to climbing it. The question now is if it is skiable, probably for some people.
June 24, 2011
The first mountaineering trip of the season. We climbed the North Ridge of Lyell 4(Walter Peak), pictured to the right. It is a classic snow and ice ridge with one rock step. At 5.4, it is relatively easy and on good rock. It is the most difficult of the Lyell Peaks to asscend. We had skis along for the approaches and also ski the summit of Lyell 5 (Christian Peak). We had some great corn skiing on the way down. Although summer mountaineering is here, there will be sking for quite a while on the glaciers.
March 7, 2011
Skied a new line off the west side of the Lyell Peaks. It has a vertical drop of 2200m (6800 ft) making it one of the longest runs at Icefall. It starts with a short 10 m rappel between Lyell 3 and 4. From there it deescends a huge featured glacier for 1100m. This line was attempted on the 2010 ski mountaineering course but couldn't be completed due to poor visibility. The crux is an icefall about two thirds of the way down the galcier. The route that we found through it actually skis quite easily but you do want good light to find your way through the seracs. From there the line opens up and you realize what a big spectacular cirque you are in. There are big glaciers pouring down on all sides and you are surrounded by 11,000 foot peaks. The line finishes at Lyell Creek at 1200m. The logical extension of this line is to start from the top of Ernest Peak (Lyell3). The elevation od Ernest is 3520m. This will make it the longest run at Icefall; 2320m, 7600 ft! Thanks to the group that made the long ski down and the big skin up with me.
The day starts at the Lyell Hut and finishes by skinning up over the Sharks Gate to drop down to Icefall Lodge
September 3, 2010
I completed the New Mons Hut at the toe of the Mons Glacier. This opens up tons of new north facing glacier skiing, also a bunch of ski mountaineering peaks. Mt Forbes is possible as a day trip from here in the summer. I am also hoping to climb Forbes as a ski mountaineering peak on the spring ski mountaineering course. This the second satellite Hut in addition to the main lodge. It will allow for some great traverses both ski touring and mountaineering. The route into the Hut also got a lot of work. There are still a couple of scrambly, rocky bits but it is a lot easier now.
August 18, 2010
I climbed a new route on the East Ridge of Rostrum Peak. This peak dominates the valley to the west of the lodge. It has huge broken glaciers which come down the east side and it has been the backdrop for many great photos. This was my first ascent of the mountain and my second attempt at this route. While the route did pass through some wild glacier terrain and had a couple of ice faces, it was not difficult. The roack climbing is not more than 5.2 and there is no ice steeper than 50 degrees.
January 2, 2010
I spent December 24 - January 2 skiing at the lodge. It started out with clear skies and boot top powder. Despite the cold temperatures in Golden, it stayed in the -5 to -8 range at the lodge. The temperature inversion became more pronounced on the 27th and 28th with valley cloud hovering just below the lodge. This led to surface hoar growth to size 12 mm 1900m and below. The surface hoar in the alpine wasn't as big, to size 7 and blown away in some areas. The inversion also led to warm temperatures in the alpine and the formation of a suncrust on steep solar aspects. There was also surface faceting in the top 40 cm from the cold temperatures earlier in Dec. The lower snowpack is strong except in shallow areas, around rocks, alders and wind blown ridges.
The snow depth is 205 at the lodge and 220- 320 on the glaciers. The snowpack is generally strong on the glaciers. Despite this the glaciers appear more open than normal because of the hot summer that melted a lot of bridges.
November 6, 2009
It was snowing hard when we left and the forecast for the week is for a serries of storms and mild temperatures. Perfect conditions for this time of year, creating a dense stable base for the season.
