|
paintrain
Dec 14, 2007, 6:54 PM
Post #102 of 173
(15242 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Feb 17, 2004
Posts: 184
|
GWI last night. 4 and 5 pitch still thin. Top of buldge is thinner than expected.
One set of guys went up and right on the last pitch - pretty bold, but they were solid. The dodge out left is OK.
Might be another week of cold before it is in good shape.
The covering of snow keeps it a little more heads up.
PT
|
|
|
|
|
stymingersfink
Dec 15, 2007, 1:38 AM
Post #103 of 173
(15223 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Aug 12, 2003
Posts: 7250
|
I'm working down in Springville for this week, and since it's just a skip and a jump down the road to Santaquin I decided to check the conditions today after work. Things are starting to look pretty good there so far... my assessment through the binoculars from the Forest Circus road follows:
Candlestick WI6+
The pillar is BARELY touching down, maybe 6" girth at its contact point, the top is thinner than usual, which really isn't saying much. Potential death-cicle, as the top appears pretty well bonded underneath the lip, but if it went you'd definitely go for a ride in a hearse. I'd climb it tomorrow, if my only other option was to eat a bullet.
Automatic Control Theory WI5 M7
The bulk of the climb is in, the only thing missing is the pillar. About 6' of dagger is hanging over the lip of the cave. If one were to follow the M7 line to the edge of the right side curtain it'd probably go, though above the lip the ice there appears barely suitable for stubbies. It would be easy to work left to the main upper P2 of ACT, which would take 16-19cm screws easily.
Angel of Fear WI6+ M7-8 ?
A thirty foot dagger is hanging above the climb, it's reportedly possible to mix up behind where the climb shows up, but I've never seen it done. It's got a ways to go before it's even near climbing shape, IMHO.
Squash Head WI3+
The initial curtain is nearly formed, a finger approximately 4" in diameter has touched down. If you're going to get on it, better be gentle else your belayer find themselves with a lap full of dagger.
BackOff WI4
This climb appeared fully formed, if thin in a few spots. I was not able to see the bottom 1/3 of the climb, but with as much ice as the top has, it's gotta be all the way in. The ice appeared thin, probably no screws longer than 16cm if that. Bring a mix of short to medium screws.
Access to Santaquin canyon is the standard 4WD or snow machine. The road was packed down pretty well, but still slippery in a few spots. Don't get jiggy with it, else you'll be calling for a tow.
(This post was edited by stymingersfink on Dec 19, 2007, 1:54 AM)
|
|
|
|
|
stymingersfink
Dec 16, 2007, 5:26 AM
Post #104 of 173
(15182 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Aug 12, 2003
Posts: 7250
|
Provo Canyon has improved significantly over last week. Stariway in to 6, much of Bridalveil area is looking sweet, and many of the climbs up-canyon are in climbable shape as well.
The cold weather over the past few days has really been doing us some good.
GET ON IT NOW!!!
|
|
|
|
|
triassic
Dec 17, 2007, 8:52 PM
Post #105 of 173
(15118 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Nov 25, 2002
Posts: 49
|
Joe's Valley as of 12/16/2007.
Primadonna Not in yet
Spear of Fear barely getting started.
Deadbolt Probably doable, the curtain pitch is more of a column on the left side.
Melty Way Looked pretty good to me, in better than I've usually seen it.
CCC Falls All 3 pitches are in, pitch three felt like a solid WI4.
Donorcicle In all the way up, many climbers were toproping it. Leading it might be a little more exciting.
Looks like a good year for Joe's is on its way.
|
|
|
|
|
stymingersfink
Dec 17, 2007, 11:24 PM
Post #106 of 173
(15094 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Aug 12, 2003
Posts: 7250
|
Thanks for the report... clipinmt has been asking me about that place for some time now, and me with no beta.
Be sure to update the conditions as you become aware of them!
|
|
|
|
|
soccer_fan
Dec 18, 2007, 4:24 PM
Post #107 of 173
(15029 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Jun 17, 2003
Posts: 156
|
stymingersfink - thanks for the detailed beta!
I've aggregated your info into a site that I'm to get off the ground to collect all the info I can find from forums (with permission) and people to keep a weekly update for ice conditions in Utah.
http://iceclimbingutah.com
(This post was edited by soccer_fan on Dec 20, 2007, 5:57 AM)
|
|
|
|
|
stymingersfink
Dec 24, 2007, 5:35 PM
Post #108 of 173
(14788 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Aug 12, 2003
Posts: 7250
|
soccer_fan wrote: stymingersfink - thanks for the detailed beta! I've aggregated your info into a site that I'm to get off the ground to collect all the info I can find from forums (with permission) and people to keep a weekly update for ice conditions in Utah. http://iceclimbingutah.com
Here's the old website, which years ago used to work fashionably well. http://www.iceclimb.com/
It's beta area for utah is fairly complete, and certainly usable. http://www.iceclimb.com/UT.html Some of the other links over there are hit or miss, but one should certainly check them out... perhaps you'll find a gem or two you may have not found otherwise.
We used to keep the intermountain conditions reports pretty well up to date. The conditions forums however, have gone completely to shit. Look for yourself.
Partly due to the fact that rc.n00b became such a handy place to deal with all things climbing. Partly because it was pretty specific to one aspect of climbing. Perhaps too much so.
|
|
|
|
|
triassic
Dec 25, 2007, 10:55 PM
Post #109 of 173
(14707 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Nov 25, 2002
Posts: 49
|
Hey Sty, Here's your Xmas present!
Maple Canyon Xmas Eve
Rubber Cup Nausea WI3- In, but in thin conditions, but it's not been this good in years.
Bottomless, Topless WI6 Almost in probably just a few more days
Lemon WI2+ Not in good enough yet
Yellow Rapture and Skidders WI3 Both need a little more ice, but they're getting close!
Running Man WI4 It's in baby!
Box Canyon Routes: The Dagger, Cobble Cruncher, Maple Syrup, Maple Moon, Jesus Wept, Dos Gusanos, Tied off Stubbies All of these were really close to being in, maybe only one or two more days of cold.
Box Canyon Routes: Empire of Dirt WI5/6, Sandbagger WI4, Approach to Dagger WI2 More ice on Empire than I've seen for a decade, Sandbagger- looks good enough it's always thin and scary at the end.
Roadside Couloir WI3 Any day now.
Hooker WI5 Any day now also.
Hog Jowls WI3 Looks scary still.
Chicken Limbo Looks good to me.
Under Wraps Looked like enough ice to send, but I didn't scramble up to the base to see behind the flake.
Suzy Q Not in.
Suicidal Tendencies WI4 Enough ice on it to make you think about it.
Wet Itchies WI4 Did it, as good as last year.
4 pin Variation WI4 Almost.
Bowling Ball Head WI3 Did it, good enough.
Deep Throat Maple WI3 Probably in by today or tomorrow, its that close.
Sir Mixalot WI6 If you're sending WI6, it will turn your head as it's probably as good as it's going to get.
Get Whacked WI5 Sent it and then did a few laps on it. Screws for the first half and then two bolts on the left side and two on the right side and then more screws.
Brittle Stiffie My favorite climb in Maple and didn't go look at it well enough. The first pitch looked in, but couldn't tell about the other two.
I didn't check out further up Left Fork, but would guess that the first two pitches of Chutes and Ladders are in.
I didn't check out the climbs in the campground.
I didn't check out Frankenchrist, but would guess not quite yet. I also have no idea about the stuff by The Pipedream Area.
Did what is probably the FA of the thin ice between Get Whacked and Sir Mixalot. Seemed a lot harder than Get Whacked and way scarier. Scratch your way up to the roof and clip two bolts of the summer sport climb, you may have to dry tool and use your hands, but once you're at the roof it's all ice. You can still clip two more bolts to the left of the ice flow and then it's all stubbies until the end. Get on it early as it starts to delaminate from the wall after 1 or 2pm. I wouldn't want to test out any of the screws and it's continuous until the end. Once you pull over the final steep part, there's anchors to the left. You can continue to the top of the cliff, but it's easy and a lot of rock and ice and another 100+ feet.
I'm calling it The Final Frontier WI6 R
It looks like a killer year for Maple with all the snow! I had to walk from the very start of the canyon with all the snow on the road, but didn't need snow shoes. You would want snowshoes for The Right Fork however.
Have Fun!
|
|
|
|
|
stymingersfink
Dec 26, 2007, 1:12 AM
Post #110 of 173
(14687 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Aug 12, 2003
Posts: 7250
|
Thanks, Triassic... that's just the fix i needed. We need to talk sometime about those ho's' in P.C.
|
|
|
|
|
stymingersfink
Dec 27, 2007, 11:07 PM
Post #111 of 173
(14565 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Aug 12, 2003
Posts: 7250
|
For those of you who like to bag the rarities around the Wasatch Front, I've got two words:
It's In!
|
|
|
|
|
builttospill
Dec 27, 2007, 11:41 PM
Post #112 of 173
(14551 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Jan 8, 2004
Posts: 814
|
If the conditions of Stairway's first pitch is any indication, it is probably in very good up high. The ice was thick on the first pitch/apron and was nice and plastic this morning.
The bridal veil climbs are a bit more heads up. Rotten and hollow stuff is the norm. Watch for lots of snow on ledges and top-outs. More snow up there than I've seen just about any time.
|
|
|
|
|
clipinmt
Dec 28, 2007, 10:48 PM
Post #113 of 173
(14482 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Dec 1, 2006
Posts: 19
|
Stairway is in fat through pitch 6. pitch 7 is where it gets mixed looks like alot of fun. there is even ice beyond that. All the stuff in the BV ampitheater is getting hacked out already, easy hooking.
|
|
|
|
|
stymingersfink
Dec 29, 2007, 11:10 PM
Post #115 of 173
(14405 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Aug 12, 2003
Posts: 7250
|
also, with the exception of The Fang, as of Friday the 28th of Dec, all the pure ice routes east of BV are in... Miller's Thriller, Finger of Fate, PND...
Get busy, people!
|
|
|
|
|
stymingersfink
Dec 30, 2007, 12:15 AM
Post #116 of 173
(14400 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Aug 12, 2003
Posts: 7250
|
oh yeah... here's a pic
|
|
|
|
|
stymingersfink
Dec 30, 2007, 8:45 PM
Post #118 of 173
(14361 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Aug 12, 2003
Posts: 7250
|
oh yeah, i almost forgot... on the north side of provo canyon you'll also find these WI4 rarities:
fear of motion
playmate, icemate
|
|
|
|
|
builttospill
Dec 30, 2007, 11:28 PM
Post #119 of 173
(14346 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Jan 8, 2004
Posts: 814
|
Watch the avy danger in provo canyon, especially on the upper canyon gully climbs (Miller's, Finger of Fate, etc). We were on Finger of Fate when two guys got avalanched off of Miller's Thriller (or they were in the gully below it). The wind was whipping around pretty good and wind loading a lot of slopes up there, so be careful. Nearly full-on scottish conditions today.
|
|
|
|
|
stymingersfink
Dec 31, 2007, 3:49 AM
Post #121 of 173
(14312 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Aug 12, 2003
Posts: 7250
|
purely conjecture, but I'd be willing to bet Malan's is in Prime Shape right about now...
Anybody got on the top of that thing yet?
|
|
|
|
|
builttospill
Dec 31, 2007, 6:49 AM
Post #122 of 173
(14300 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Jan 8, 2004
Posts: 814
|
I wouldn't know, truthfully. They walked over to us and out of courtesy told us about it. Just wanted to warn us about the conditions. Millers has a bit more in terms of bowls gathering crap, so it makes sense that it might have happened there, but it was enough to mess with our heads.
We didn't see the slide tracks from down lower, but with the wind and spindrift we didn't see much of anything. They were fine, so I'm assuming it was either very heavy spindrift that freaked them out, or they started a slide in the gully below it but weren't caught.
Scary either way.
|
|
|
|
|
paintrain
Jan 1, 2008, 4:52 PM
Post #123 of 173
(14246 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Feb 17, 2004
Posts: 184
|
A climber was killed in '96-'97 on one of those up canyon climbs by an avalanche (he was swept off the top of the climb). Be careful.
Looks like the sun is coming out and will probably wreck the south facing stuff.
Keep posting up. No time of late, but I am itching.
I have a buddy who is a flight instructor that flies up provo canyon and around the wasatch area weekly/daily. Let me know what you want scoped and where and I can ask him to look.
PT
PT
|
|
|
|
|
stymingersfink
Jan 2, 2008, 12:23 AM
Post #124 of 173
(14216 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Aug 12, 2003
Posts: 7250
|
ya know, an arial photo of Santaquin Canyon Ice would be pretty cool... thinking especially of Angel of Fear, just east of Automatic Control Theory
historical photo for reference:
Show above l-r is Richochet (truncated dagger), Angel of Fear (massive hanging curtain with daggers attached to rock below it), ACT (massive curtain w/ pillar touching down), Candlestick (looks just like the name implies).
Maybe this warmer weather will fuel the ice growth w/o bringing it down... i hope!
|
|
|
|
|
nieder
Jan 2, 2008, 5:04 PM
Post #125 of 173
(14164 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Dec 9, 2003
Posts: 24
|
Southern Utah, Cedar City area Ice as of 12-31-07
The Cedarcicle: not touching down (5 feet long)
Camp Creek (Kanarraville): In thick, but very air pocketed
Hidden Haven: all pitches in good
Suicide Flows: thin
Ashdown Gorge:?
Mush for Brains (exit 36 on I-15): dry as a bone
(This post was edited by nieder on Jan 4, 2008, 4:17 AM)
|
|
|
|
|
|
). Another 6 days till I'm free to play, I'm hopin it's still up by then. Next friday, in fact.... Fuck work, there's ice to climb! 
