Donner Peak: a myriad of mixed

Despite surprisingly good snow conditions (not brutally icy everywhere) it's pretty hard to spend more than an hour or two on the planks right now.  As long as it keeps not snowing, might as well keep on not skiing.  The best thing going at the moment is the ice climbing.  If you're not too picky and don't need a consistent 300' (or even a 100') vertical wall of ice, then Donner Peak makes for amazingly fun adventure climbing.

Tucker Cunningham, Jeb Mirzak and I went out for a day to test the conditions on this juggernaut of a peak (...maybe juggernaut is the wrong word).  After looking at the pile of snow-drifted granite our skepticism in finding decent ice grew.  We lackadaisically set out to find a smear or two of ice close to the snow shed to muck around on.

Our first option was completely detached from the rock and a couple light taps with a tool was all that was needed relieve the granite of the clinging ice.  After dry-tooling the crack next to the former icicle, we ascended to another gully where we found this nice piece of ice:

Enough ice to keep the tools wet!

A thin trickle provides a vein of ice thick enough for one tool.

Pulling up the final bulge- fun climbing!

Jeb starts out on the lower section, a few delicate icicles low with some good tool placements higher. 

J-Lo called...she wants her sunglasses back...

A steep section before a two move traverse.

The final move of the first ice mini-climb.

Tucker watches the belay closely as Jeb climbs below.

One pitch led to another and we found a whole series of small ice flows.  Some were purely ice.  Some were a few moves on ice then a few dry tooling moves on rock.  Below, Jeb maneuvers the ice between boulders of granite.

Jeb solos another flow about halfway up the peak.

Tucker follows a safe distance behind.

A really cool ice feature where we set up an achor before the last couple pitches.

The jaws of an ice monster gape open above our belay.

Walking off at dusk.

A great way to end a great day!  Walking off with just enough light to scrape by without headlamps.  Our lax approach stretched the day to its fullest.  We were happy to have discovered pitch after pitch of ice and still made it out under the beautiful light of the evening sky.

Tahoe ice ... have you heard of sucha' thing?

It's not something many people think of in Tahoe, but with a ski season opener like we're having you have to think outside the box.  With the weather still high and dry sitting around and sulking is certainly no option.  If you're sick of carving crowded ski hills for three and a half minutes only to ride the lift for 12, then dust off your crampons and ice tools and take advantage of the ice climbing that's in.  These are some pics from Cascade Falls on the West side of Lake Tahoe.  Pretty fun!

Logan Talbot of Alpine Skills International places a screw while leading up the main flow at Cascade Falls.

Morning light illuminates bulges of water ice.

Nick gets a good placement on the main flow.

Matt Paul buries a pick with a spray of ice.  Perfect ice conditions!

Me leading up the left flow.

At the next screw.

Getting a grip...this section was super thin and fun.  The 5mm thick ice was just enough for the tip the tools and crampons.

Matt continues delicately on the thin smear.

Me getting into the meat and potatoes above the rock section on a short mixed pitch.

Some real ice to swing into!

Double end roping on a couple of twin ropes for the last pitch of the day.

Logan making the most of it on his last pitch.

If it's not snowing, go climbing...The Eastern Sierra in December

Well, here we are again in the middle of December with a snow pack you can count in centimeters...but why complain?  When the weather's not cooperating a simple shift of focus makes lemons into lemonade.  So while it hasn't been snowing, I took advantage of the little bit of snow that has fallen this year and the cold temps to do what might can't be done often with big snow loads: climb some ice!

A few friends from the Eastern Sierra called and said that the ice in Parker Canyon was in!  This is usually a flow that gets buried within the first heavy snow of the season, but due to the high and dry conditions the blue mass of ice was visible from miles away.

Parker Lake - frozen solid..mostly.

Thomas Greene charging towards the blue stuff.

Viren Perumal reaching for a screw while leading Parker Falls Left.

Lyra Pierotti, of California Alpine Guides, swims in a sea of ice.

Getting ready to climb and trying not to freeze!  Cold for California!

I talk, Thomas belays, and Viren leads.

Viren sending the first bulge.

Me following the falls.

Me soling a serac that had snapped off the pocket glacier above.

Smith Rock ~ dreams of welded tuff

After being told about the horrors of rock quality at Smith Rock, I first thought it might be a gross exaggeration to even call it rock.  The rock in the main part of the park is commonly referred to as "welded tuff" which doesn't exactly conjure thoughts of beautiful rock suited for climbing.  From wikipedia, Tuff (from the Italian tufo) is a type of rock consisting of consolidated volcanic ash ejected from vents during a volcanic eruption... sounds like great climbing to me...

When I arrived on Halloween day this year not only was I completely blown away by the beauty of the park, but the climbing was fantastic.  Don't get me wrong, it took a little getting used to the sometimes crumbly, sometimes knobby, sometimes dirty cliffs of Smith Rock, but the climbing is as advertised: world class.  Thin, balancy, technical, thuggy, and crimpy are all adjectives that describe the classic climbs at Smith.   And that's exactly why it's so much fun!  Here are a few pics from my trip:

The Crooked River curves by the Monkey's Face and the Smith Rocks Group.

Cattle and horses graze in the pastures on Smith's outskirts. 

Topping out on Wherever I May Roam, 5 pitches of 5.9 sport climbing.

The glassy Crooked River reflects Shiprock on the east side of the park.

Smith's dramatic skyline at Sunset.  The Smith Rock Group, Asterisk Pass and Shiprock loom above the glitter of the Crooked River.

The Asterisk presides over a beautiful Oregon sunset.

An old farm in Terrebonne with an amazing view of the Sisters.

Dustin Hardgrove leading a crack in the Dihedrals area.

Looking down from the first pitch of Wherever I May Roam.

Molly Moonbeam leading an interesting crack.

Climbing the Desert: Red Rocks 2011

If you've never climbed at Red Rocks turn off your computer.  Pack your climbing gear.  Get in your car and start driving to the amazing sandstone cliffs just outside of Las Vegas, Nevada.  The place has everything from hard single pitch sport to 2,000' multi-pitch trad marathons.  And that is where this venue really shines, it is a trad climbers mecca.  Here are a few pics from my last trip with RMI guide Thomas Greene.

The deceptive scale downplays the size of the features at Red Rocks.  This frame is probably about 2,000'. 

Red sandstone meets white.

Thomas Greene scrambles to the top of a rock feature in Calico I.

The start of Frogland, one of my favorite climbs at Red Rocks. 

Topping out on Frogland.

Gear hanging from my harness as I belay Thomas up the 9 pitch route, Crimson Chrysalis. 

Another small belay ledge a few hundred feet up on Crimson Chrysalis. 

Thomas cranking varnish on the 8th pitch of Chrysalis.