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| Page Type: Article Activities: Ice Climbing | Page By: knoback Created/Edited: Mar 26, 2009 / Mar 26, 2009 Object ID: 501137 Hits: 1890 Loading... Page Score: 89.77% - 29 Votes Loading... Vote: Log in to vote |
Desperate Times
The sign is really the only reason to climb here. |
Where should we go? Unless you live in Canmore or Cody, that is the question occupying your mind from November to April, and so it was for us in the Black Hills. Canada ? There’s good climbing up there, but it’s just so, well, Canadian. It could be –30, you might get avalanched, other people will be there and you’re guaranteed to come back with 20lbs. of coins in your pockets. Colorado? There’s good climbing there too, but you might have to pop off a few rounds to clear the bottom of the climb. Even then, somebody will be ahead of you and they will either be some gumby bombing you with every manner of sharp and heavy object, or a poseur from M80 productions dogging his way between bolts for 3 hours so his buddy can cut the footage together into a movie impressive enough to keep them sponsored. Cody? Plenty of steep ice there, but it’s so grim. Anything new or difficult is certain to carry a serious risk of death, and you probably have to trudge 6 miles through cactus, bleaching elk bones and scree to get to it. New England? Too far, and overrun besides. Superior? Sorry, not going to the midwest, upper or not. In the end, only two possibilities remain: Go someplace warm, or stay home. The first option is a form of denial and the road to iniquity. Go that way and before long you’ll be slouched on a beach drinking colorless liquor diluted with fluorescent sugar water. You might as well be dead. So, stay home? With Harney (WI3) and Bridal Veil (WI3) the only local options, it seemed unthinkable. Then the lackluster drought years with their warm winters forced us to stop and look around. What we found was not just good ice that had been overlooked and uncultivated, but the future of winter climbing.Less = MoreLong pitches of vertical ice are everybody’s dream. But if you whip off that section of overhanging chandelier in the middle, what is really going to happen to you? One of those screws is going to hold, you may get banged up, but you’re not going to deck. Now take that 40 ft. section and set it on the ground by a crag and it gets interesting again. For years, Black Hills climbers have used these chunks of crappy, overhanging ice to train. Take away the top rope and you have some of the most challenging ice anywhere, without the distractions of the complicated descent and panoramic view you get at “destination” ice climbing venues. Without those distractions, the locals have begun to notice something else right beside the frozen water they’re climbing, something sport climbers have been misusing for years: frozen calcium. The melting point of this stuff is way higher than water, so high, in fact, that its inclusion in the Black Hills’ portfolio of ice routes has extended the season year round. Ice climbers in other areas have had this epiphany, but their resources have been more limited, and that limitation has led to conflict with the local sport climbing community. That’s always struck us funny, since the sportos’ equipment seems limited to a chalk bag and stretchy pants while all the ice climbers we know come outfitted with a 2 ft. metal cudgel with a sharp pick on it. Such concerns are moot here in the Hills anyway. There’s enough for everybody and the really steep stuff is either impossible to climb without tools or too mungey for our stoned, shirtless brethren, even after liberal application of crowbar and hammer. In fact, some of the best ice routes in the Hills have been scavenged from those godless hippies. It's the Revolution, B. Just as the future of rock climbing is on boulders, the future of ice climbing is on top rope. This is the final piece of the Black Hills revolution. We have realized, as did Maestri, that if it is hard enough the ethics will sort themselves out. Musashi and other high-end mixed climbs are clip-ups because they’re too damn steep to top rope. Here the routes are slightly less steep, slightly more tenuous, and perfect for a top rope. On top rope, you can go harder, without all the screwing around with draws to detract from the experience. Can you see the progression here? Shift your paradigm. Transcend your geography. Get differently abled. Go out and look for the new wave climbs in your area. If you can’t find them there, come to the Black Hills, where it all began. We could use a 5th man. Images
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