The Chimney Dribble

Reading Justin Harkins blog gets me psyched on ice. I’m always hatching plans to move up to Bozeman or down to Ouray for a full season of endless water ice pitches. There’s not much ice around Fort Collins, there’s some up the Big Thompson , and plenty of ice up in the Park (Patagonia Training Center) – but trips up there can hardly be considered for “cragging” and I’ve ended up just “taking the tools for a walk” a few too many times already this season.

Isn’t there any ice closer to home?

Driving up Poudre Canyon, going for trail-runs up different gulches, I’m always searching for ribbons of ice, or where I think they might form. Right now I know of four climbs that are “in” up the canyon. Most, if not all of them are very small and require long approaches that in my (lazy) opinion aren’t worth the effort. I do have hope for one little mixed climb I’ve been eyeing from the road. The approach is easy – park car, walk across frozen river, scramble up scree for about thirty feet – There’s a thin line of ice gracing a wide [Read More]