By Kevin Landolt, on January 12th, 2010 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]
By Justin Harkins, on January 7th, 2010 Enjoying puffy warmth at the top of pitch one.
There are few things in this world that make me happier than an intermediate belay. For the uninitiated, an intermediate belay is the stop-over between pitches – you ascend a rope-length or gain a nice ledge (whichever comes first), plug in some gear to build an anchor, affix yourself to the wall, and relax. It’s a perfect place to get some water, eat a snack, wrap yourself in your favorite puffy jacket, slip into some heavy gloves, and enjoy the view.
The intermediate belay is a payoff several times over: you get to rest and recharge from the often stressful and strenuous climbing, you get to check out the scene from a place that few people ever stand, you get to solve complex anchor-building puzzles, and there’s often no one there to see the tears in your eyes as the warm blood refills your frozen fingers.
Over the years, I’ve stockpiled memories of my favorite belays – some noteworthy for the scenery, some for the relief, and some for the shenanigans – and the top of the first pitch of Hyalite’s Silken Falls ranks right up there with the [Read More]
By Justin Harkins, on December 30th, 2009 Hyalite Canyon from the "Unnamed Wall"
I got off of work at 3:00 p.m. on Tuesday and met Jason at Hyalite for some afternoon laps. The sun sets between 4:30 and 5:00 these days, and we had just enough time to hike in and hang the rope before the headlamps came out. We spent the next hour cruising up various lines of WI 3-3+ as a mostly-full moon painted an eerie glow on the mountains across the canyon.
It was completely dark by the time I put Jason on belay for his last turn. I doused my headlamp and took solace in the company of the winter constellations until my eyes adjusted to the dimness of the moonlit night.
As Jason picked his way up the climb, I privately enjoyed one of those priceless liminal moments – suspensions in time when self-awareness is at its most complete. With stars shining above me, the luminous moon hovering just above the canyon, and Jason’s headlamp turning the wall of crystallized water into a monochrome fireworks show, I gave profound and silent thanks for the perfection of the moment. This is precisely the type of experience I was hoping to have [Read More]
By Justin Harkins, on December 24th, 2009
While a rogue storm recently turned the homeland into a snow globe, I’ve been enjoying relatively mild weather up here in Montana. It’s been hovering right around the freezing point for a week now, and a lot of the ice that had been iron-hard prior to the festival is now soft and forgiving. We’ve taken advantage of the favorable conditions with several dawn patrol missions into the canyon. The hikes have been cleansing, the climbing has been classic, and I’m constantly reminded why I had daydreamed about this winter for months.
Just another December day in Bozeman…
When I say “we” in reference to my climbing outings, I’m almost always referring to my new friend, Jason. As I mentioned a while back, Jason responded to a post I put up on the Montana Ice website. He was interested in a weekday partner, and I had no real obligations at the time. Since then, we’ve tied in together no less than twice a week, and we are gradually turning into a pretty good team.
Jason tests the bottom of "Curtain" — Hyalite Canyon
It’s a rare and beautiful thing when you [Read More]
By Justin Harkins, on December 16th, 2009 Adam and Jason rack up at the bottom of "Hangover" – Hyalite Canyon
The Bozeman Ice Festival was last weekend. The festival – like its counterparts in Ouray, Cody, Valdez, et al – is organized to celebrate the local ice climbing culture, bring climbers together, and introduce new people to the sport. On the schedule for the weekend were two competitions (a pro invitational on Thursday and an open on Saturday), several clinics, slideshows, movie premieres, gear expos, and, of course, beer specials.
On Thursday, the day of the pro comp, I drove into the canyon with Jason and his friend, Adam, to get in a few pitches before the weekend rush. The recent frigid temps left the ice hard and dry, and we wore ourselves out on four- and five-swing pick placements on brittle flows. The tough ice conditions and near-zero temperatures chased us after just a few hours, and we were hiking out with plenty of time to clean up and change for the movie later that night.
When we got back to the parking lot, though, we were met with a troubling scene. Several somber-looking climbers were milling about, surrounded by trucks and snowmobiles emblazoned [Read More]
By Justin Harkins, on December 3rd, 2009 Justin enjoys moonlit walks in the mountains, margaritas on the rocks, and the occasional Peter Cetera love song. He wants you to know that he'll be the hero you're dreamin' of.
After a week or so of deliberation, we finally pulled the trigger on a trip back to the Sphinx. Several intervening factors led to the decision: Jason wanted to lead the first pitch, I wanted to find my crampons, and we were able to talk Ryan, one of Jason’s old climbing buddies, into coming along to further split up the weight and trail-breaking duties. Instead of sleeping in the parking lot and tagging the climb in one 17-hour push like last time, we decided to leave early on Monday afternoon and camp at the saddle; we’d succeed in shaving five miles off our climbing day, and we’d be able to sleep an extra three hours.
That’s what we like to call a “win-win situation.”
It didn’t make a difference in the end.
We hiked in by moonlight and set up shop in a protected grove just beneath the saddle. A storm blew in during the night. By the time we woke up, the snowfall was so [Read More]
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