RRC Archives

JB, you seem to be on the wrong end of that rope in all those photos. And don't you all have some longer flows then that out there? Looks like ice at the red...

It is getting hella cold down here already, so I think there will be some ice within a couple days for sure. Probably not leadable, but you can maybe rig a TR. The little water fall near gladie comes in sometimes. And the slabs across from the bear trailer (though no idea about access).

There are roadcuts that form up as well around the KY river and Danvile...

JB wrote:you mean like this:







Okay, won't post em

OK, I guess I'd rather see the nice photos too. Hey, that stuff looks nice and easy compared to what we get here to climb. We have no seeps or drips down low angle walls. Just free fall water forming a steep or overhung pinnacle

Is there any ice climbing out at Eagles Nest? I have seen it get pretty iced over out there before but that was a long time ago before I would have noticed.

that flow was over 100 feet long thanks... wi4 for 20 feet, then snow and barely consolidated ice over rocks, then vert ice again for 20 feet, then a gully of snow over scree.

and it was my first time swinging tools, so no sharp end for me!

Conditions in and around the gorge are looking good. However, we will need about 2 weeks of really cold weather to make any magic happen. So far we have had 2 days. If I find any I will post it here.

Problem is, it's very rare to have two solid weeks of really cold weather in the Gorge. Back in the '70s there was some pretty impressive ice, but modern tools didn't exist. What I get all weak in the knees about is the waterfall that comes off the big rockhouse up by Eagle Point Buttress. How high is it from the lip all the way down to where the spray lands? Well over 100 ft.? I bet that thing freezes top to bottom every hundred years or so.

Sounds fun! Or maybe not... My ice climbing career only lasted a couple years, but it was kinda fun sometimes. Bouldering in the South is a better way to spend the winter though. You need to get up to cody or MT... Leading ice kinda seemed like old school trad - not trying to stay safe, so much a limit the damage in a fall.

Pretty cold at the red this AM, little bit of snow on the ground. A few flows were forming, but nothing much yet. Maybe by the weekend, though it looks like it might warm up a bit by then.

JB wrote:that flow was over 100 feet long thanks... wi4 for 20 feet, then snow and barely consolidated ice over rocks, then vert ice again for 20 feet, then a gully of snow over scree.

and it was my first time swinging tools, so no sharp end for me!

Ice is great if you can deal with the cold. Leading is a huge headgame, since often even if the climb looks great, you won't know what the protection is going to be like until you are on it. Problem is there is nothing good or reliable near us.

As for the red, it will be interesting to see if anything forms. This cold snap is good, but to build thick ice you need freeze/thaw cycles. Daytime temps in the 30s and cold overnight lows is likely the best.

I'm making an illuminated ice climb. Will post photo if it works.

Nothing like making your own 10 foot ice formation. No headlamp required.

<img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_Fwi1Mkq4rKA/SW_R3 ... G_5782.JPG">