Took a drive up the Crystal Valley on Tuesday. Most of the ice climbs in Redstone form via snow melt, and there is no snow, so it’s looking pretty dry out there. Tomato Chimney and the other routes in that vicinity are coming in, as they are fed by ground water that seeps all year long. Single Parenting will probably be in soon, as it too comes from spring flow and not melt water. Other than that, it’s looking slim. Some ice on the Redstone Pillar, but not much. Hays will probably be a good bet in a couple of weeks, depending on how warm it stays.
Until we get more snow I’d probably head down to Ouray and Silverton if you’re looking for good ice to climb.
Hayden Carpenter and Tom Bohanon recently repeated an obscure ice climb on the south side of Mt Sopris. Given a brief mention in Jack Robert’s ice guide, Bulldog Creek Walk is described as being 100 meters of WI 4. What they found was seven pitches of ice in a remote setting that makes for one […]
Not much ice in SW Colorado, we are expecting rain on Friday.
Yeah, I hiked up to the base of Avacado on Monday… Dry as a bone. Officers Gulch is in nicely as is Lincoln Amp. Hopefully heading down to Stairway of Heaven in the next week or so.