An Ice Filled Weekend

Good fun to be had in Redstone right now, all this snow means great ice climbing. Friday afternoon Bob and I got out to Marble Falls. I’d been there once seven years ago, and we had to bail because it was mostly a water fall. Never went back since it seems to be hard to catch in solid, thick conditions with all the water that flows behind it. We figured with all the cold weather we’ve been having it should be in good shape, and it looked nice from the road. No one had been in recently, so we got to break trail in snow that sometimes came up to our waists, which was fun.

The ice looked good from the ground, and I offered Bob the lead, with stories of people falling through the ice into the waterfall still a little too fresh in my head. And wouldn’t you know it, about halfway up, things started to get spooky. He could hear a lot of water behind the ice, and there was an occasional loud cracking as it sounded like the whole formation was shifting. I would have bailed, but Bob pushed on and tip toed his way to the top. It was even spooky to follow, with the occasional loud cracking noise sending your heart into your throat every now and then.

Sunday I got to check out the possible FA of a new route near the Redstone Slabs. Kevin Cooper lead a rowdy line up a steep mixed corner to this hanging curtain of ice. Great climbing. Hopefully I can get Ryan Jennings to write a post about it, this was pitch 5 of a new route that they started on Saturday.

Everything is pretty fat out there right now, get on it!