The frigid
temps however can do amazing things.
Early season ice forms first in reliable spots - shaded, well-fed, and
up north in the higher elevation. And
the usual suspects tend to last the longest.
But what about the ice routes that need more time and a combination of
ingredients to develop? The rare routes
that may or may not come in? So late
season, it all depends. How much
snowpack is there? How has the
freeze-thaw cycle been? How cold is
it? A bare cliff from last February
might be a dream cliff this one. A wet
drip from a few weeks ago might be a frozen staircase today.
Have we had
a lot of snow? Eh, a pretty decent
amount. Have we had enough “warm” days
or sunny days that allow the snow to turn to water and drip over the ice? Yes. Has
it been cold? Yes, very! All this translates into rare ice routes
forming and wet or waterfall flows freezing solid.
Two weeks
ago, my partners John and Cris met up (without me) in PA to climb Resort Wall
(WI2/2+, 60’). Fed by a mountain stream,
this flow cascades down a ravine just below an overlook parking area. The stream is reliable, but the quality of
ice depends on the cold. Two weeks ago,
the margins of the ravine offered solid ice but there was still a lot of water
falling. Today, it was completely frozen
over. Resort Wall begins with a rappel,
and when I went to rap down I saw a rope had already been set up and was in
use. A climber had been rope-soloing and
was a few feet from topping out. The
climber, Reggie, said there was plenty of ice for two parties to climb at the
same time. I asked him to join us.
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| Resort Wall (see climber at top in blue for perspective) |
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| At the base of Resort Wall. |
Reggie
partnered with Cris, and I partnered with John.
After running a lap on the Resort Wall I set my sights on another climb
about 50 yards away, known as the Rail Road Wall (WI2/2+, 30’). John and Cris had climbed this route a few
weeks ago as well, but said it was in much better shape today. It’s possible to access this route by walking
up and around, but I decided I would lead it.
I got a good warm-up on the previous route and felt this climb was
within my abilities.
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| Rail Road Wall. |
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| My short lead up Rail Road Wall. |
I wanted to
lead the Resort Wall, and felt the climbing was within my abilities. However, there were some sections that didn’t
look safe. Despite being frozen over, near
the top there was a large section of thin ice that formed like glass over
running water. This ice wouldn’t be able
to take screws and could easily be broken through. In addition to that, there were two
crevasse-like features a little bigger than a boot-length and about thigh deep
that would make for a terrible landing if I were to slip. Given these two factors, I decided against a
lead. I did however run several laps and
was impressed by the size and accessibility of this route. This is a late-season gem that I’ll keep an
eye out for.
Back in
early January, when I climbed Slateford Falls with my wife, I spied a headwall
off of 611 not far from Resort Wall. 611
is chockfull of little cliffs set back from the road, The Narrows are a great
example of this. The cliff had just a
little bit of ice, but the rock was laid out like stairs and was clearly
channeling water from the mountain. I
took a picture and held on to the idea that it may end up turning into
something worthwhile. Now, originally,
our plans for the day was to head further north to another area almost outside
of The Gap’s 70,000 acres but at the last minute, I remember the wall I took a
picture of and John and Cris’ recent climb at Resort Wall. Turns out, Cris had seen the same wall as me
and both guys agreed we could start at Resort Wall and change locations later
if things didn’t work out. Our friend
Reggie, who has been climbing The Gap for over 20 years, said he climbed that
wall before. He said he would hike in
from the back and rappel down to build a top-rope. The hike back is along a trail, but it isn’t
a quick approach. In addition to the
walk, you have to bushwhack to reach the cliff top…and figuring this out from
back in the woods isn’t an easy task.
Approaching from the road, it’s only about 5-10 minutes of walking from
Resort Wall. However, this cliff is set
back into steep rock, like an amphitheater, and offers no easy or safe walk-up
access. John and I set out while Reggie
and Cris finished climbing out from the bottom of Resort Wall. John and I would get an up close look to see
if it was worth climbing, and then we’d look for a way up. If it didn’t work out, we’d just move on to
another area as planned.
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| January 9, 2015 - take from roadside. |
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| February 21, 2015 - take from roadside. |
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| Right up close. |
When John
and I finally reached the base of the wall neither of us saw a walk-up. Looking up at the climb I saw it started with a
left-facing ramp that lead to a curtain with several columns. Dead center, the steepest column looked
WI3+/4. To the right, however, I spotted
a grove that looked like WI3.
It was short, but it was committing and serious. I decided I would climb it. Mentally and physically, I felt good. I felt strong. I was confident without being cocky. I was just sure of myself. This, I said, is something I can do. It won’t be easy. I can’t make any mistakes. But I know what I’m capable of and I know
this is within my ability.
As I tied-in
and went over in my head and with John how I would I approach this route, Cris
and Reggie showed up. I had all eyes on me and this was my chance to step up
and truly be the leader. I set a screw a
few feet from the bottom, climbed to the base of the crux and then down climbed
to remove the screw I placed near the start.
The first screw was placed out of precaution since the angle I started
at actually brought me several feet from the deck below. The screw below the crux would now be my
Jesus Piece. Reset, and protected, I now
had all my screws and draws for the upper section.
I remember
looking up and not feeling fear but the seriousness of committing to this
climb. I don’t think I ever felt scared,
but I definitely felt a stern focus that is hard to replicate in everyday
life. I don’t do stupid things, or even
dangerous things. This wasn’t dangerous,
but the consequences could be severe. I
remember taking a big breath before I swung, burying each tool in the ice and
kicking each point as deeply as I could.
No panic, just an incredible laser-like focus on every single move I
made. I got in a second screw and
carefully shook out each of my hands before proceeding. Just before topping out, I got in two solid
tools on the lower angle ice and I placed my final screw before topping
out. Big swings and hard kicks and I was
clipped to a tree. There was a runnel of
ice that continued up another 10 feet, but it was glassy thin and I didn’t feel
it was necessary to continue my lead. I
lowered off and received heartfelt congratulations from my partners. I succeeded on my hardest ice lead to
date. Reggie, who is a local, 50 years
old, and has climbed at The Gap for over 20 years, said it was the first time
he had ever seen or heard of this route being lead. I captured one of the proudest and rarest
moments for a climber…the Onsight First Ascent.
I’m calling the route Hidden Gems and New Friends (WI3/3+). The right side is obviously the easiest way
up but we set a directional for the hard pillar in the middle which was a WI3+.
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| Onsight First Ascent - Hidden Gems and New Friends, WI3. |
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