Any ice forming?

Post by **mike_a_lafontaine** » Wed Jan 06, 2010 2:16 am

There is a two-pitch section of ice (40+ feet per pitch) thick enough to hoist up a jeep about a mile from my house here in Pikeville. Alas, I think I'm the only person in Pike County with a pair of climbing crampons

Post by **neuroshock** » Wed Jan 06, 2010 3:04 am

Starved Rock isn't anywhere near in yet. Maybe in the latter half of the month?

Post by **OSUbuckeye** » Wed Jan 06, 2010 3:43 am

I am following this discussion very closely, would love to get to the Red and see some ice and sucker someone into belaying me on TR.

Post by **John E** » Thu Jan 07, 2010 4:00 pm

mike_a_lafontaine wrote:There is a two-pitch section of ice (40+ feet per pitch) thick enough to hoist up a jeep about a mile from my house here in Pikeville. Alas, I think I'm the only person in Pike County with a pair of climbing crampons

Can you set a toprope for it?

Post by **mike_a_lafontaine** » Fri Jan 08, 2010 1:25 am

John E wrote:
mike_a_lafontaine wrote:There is a two-pitch section of ice (40+ feet per pitch) thick enough to hoist up a jeep about a mile from my house here in Pikeville. Alas, I think I'm the only person in Pike County with a pair of climbing crampons
Can you set a toprope for it?

The first pitch has a medium sized red cedar near the top, but I haven't examined it to see if it is anchor-worthy. Also, I don't know if anything up there could serve as a second anchor and I would be a bit leery of doing it with one anchor. At any rate, it is accessible by a non-technical trek, so an easy matter of checking it out. The second pitch is the longer of the two, and I can't see if there is anything up there for anchors, and I'm not sure if there is a way to walk to the top to check it out.

The ice is on the north-facing side of a road cut-off, and the temps on top of the hill got warm enough to melt some of the snow, so the ice column did grow a bit today! Tomorrow I'll try to get a few picts and post them, if I can convince one of my students to belay me, maybe I'll give it a go. Unfortunately, while I do have pretty nice technical crampons, I only have alpine axes, so it may be a bit of a struggle.

Post by **mike_anderson** » Fri Jan 08, 2010 1:58 am

Greg Lowe led Mahlan's Falls (a grade 5+ route) in 1967 with gear that most people would mistake for antiques today. The standard curve of a mountaineering axe will stick just fine in water ice if it is sharp (which most are not), but cleaning it will be a bitch.

Post by **L K Day** » Fri Jan 08, 2010 2:59 am

The classically curved alpine picks of old stuck well enough when you pulled outward on the shafts

, completely counter-intuitive and just plain weird. If you hung from the shaft, and it levered even slightly against a bulge, the pick could pop out suddenly and catastrophically. Yes it's amazing what got climbed with that crap. Check out the photos in Chouinard's book Climbing Ice.

Post by **clif** » Fri Jan 08, 2010 3:04 am

you guys make racism sound reasonable and approachable.

Post by **mike_a_lafontaine** » Fri Jan 08, 2010 3:26 am

Both my alpine axes are sharp enough to stick, I tried them near the bottom yesterday. I'm just thinking the stoutness of it wouldn't be sufficient. I'm not too worried about popping off on top rope. I wouldn't even consider leading ice on an alpine axe. Top rope...I'll try just about anything.

Post by **Wes** » Fri Jan 08, 2010 3:29 am

mike_a_lafontaine wrote: Top rope...I'll try just about anything.

Heh, my only ice climbing injury was when my adze popped on TR on the indoor *ice* wall at CT Lexington, and I hit myself between the eyes with it. Always have the adze in your dominate hand!