Tim Anderson's climbPA blog

Finally some real ice in South western Pennsylvania

2012-01-22T19:09:00.000-08:00

The south western Pennsylvania woods are finally looking like winter

Laura and I decided to take our chances and head into Sunday School Crag to try and climb one of the new lines I found last week. It was a warmish 29° when we left the house and made our way up to the parking area. Upon arrival it was 23° which made me feel more optimistic that the line would have held over the warmer days this past week.

Parking area for Sunday School Crag

During our hike in to the climbs we were breaking through the crust that the recent ice storm left in its wake. I knew this recent ice crusting might be of some concern on the lines we were going to try and attempt. Sunday School Crag is the most alpine like crags of south western PA.

Coming out of the woods and into the crag

The temps are always colder, the wind is always howling and is usually downright uncomfortable. The ice lines are a lot more committing than most other local crags, with traditional gear being involved in most ascents. Most lines I've climbed here commonly involve some sort of barely held together limestone choss with varying thicknesses of verglas beteween sections of ice pillars and runnels. In other words some seriously fun climbing that might make you stain your drawers and then smile about it after its done.

On the way in we scoped out some of the lines. Here's a couple we want to try in the near future.

Laura below one of several unclimbed lines we eyed

One of the top options for the day!

Not sure if I should be excited or terrified for this one.
Either way its an incredible looking mixed climb that I want to try.

After checking all the other options, we headed to the long alpine looking corner route I found last week. I was really hoping it was in. I had thought about it all week and couldn't wait to get on it. We rounded the corner and it came into view and was looking at least as good as it did last week. I was afraid that the water might have started to wash it out from behind. The temperatures must have been quite a bit colder here that at our house. The climb had very little water running off of it and looked as if it were good to go. The climbs to the right were running hard with water and were dropping some rather large chunks of ice.

Standing near the bottom of our chosen climb

The climbs to right on this wall were running hard and dropping ice

We didn't waste much time. I've never been on this line and had seen it for the first time last week. I looked it over and scoped out a potential line and racked up accordingly. Going ground up is always a little more exciting and I find over-racking is better than under. The line looked a little boney so it was mostly 13cm screws. I also racked some quick draws, a few runners, screamers, a half rack of nuts, and 3 cams. Plus belay coat and gloves, belay device, thread tool, cordage, spare biners, a 22cm screw for a thread if necessary/possible. I recently received a set of the new Petzl dry T rated picks (which is a whole other post in itself). I'd been anxiously waiting to try them on an "ice" route. I resisted the temptation to take them dry tooling and dull the hell out of them over the past couple of weeks. Also new was a shiny pair of Grivel G4 crampons, complements of Rob "Griz" Ginieczki for helping with the second revision of Ice Climbing Pennsylvania (available for purchase soon). All this new gear to try and on a new line, How cool! I'd used the previous versions of the Rambo's over the years and always liked their rigid frame for pure ice. My last pair were hijacked by Laura (who likes them a lot as well) and I just hadn't replaced them when Griz surprised me with these. Thanks again Griz.

Racked and excited to get on some real ice!

The climb was well... Awesome! What a great first ice route of the season. It went well. The ice was mostly very thin. There were plenty "eyelids" on the bulges from the ice storm as expected. Lots of new ice and snow to be cleared as I ascended the runnels that flowed down the 200' cliff. Even with a "soft" swing attitude today I still managed to put falcons beaks on both of my new picks. They performed well and I can say that the new picks perform better on ice than the old Astro picks that I loved so much. Now that I've used them on an ice route I can go out and trash them at will. I have a few more sets coming my way. I'm definately NOT a fan of the new washer design that has now made changing picks in the field a big pain in the ass. Right up there with Grivel's three bolt system. The crampons were sweet as expected! Grivel has the rigid design and point configuration nailed. The extra weight seems to help drive them into the ice with much more authority than the Petzl Darts I've become used to.

We named the line Late Bloomer. We thought it a fitting name for our current season being the worst ice season in area history. Climbing this line today almost made me forget how unproductive local ice has been this season. I'm a little hesitant to grade the line. I'm sure it'll be much easier during a normal season of cold, producing plentiful ice. Today it felt like a commiting WI4+ in lean condition. Protection was a little sparse and I would not recommend this climb for the budding WI4 leader. What it lacked in vertical sections it made up for in sparse protection and lack of ice. Here's the photos of us on the climb.

Starting up the line it got thin early on

Short thin pillars with a few mixed moves, very alpine feeling

I'm in the middle of the photo, Giving scale to the climb

Just another day in the Pennsylvania alpine

Laura moving over a lower angle snow/ice slab

Even enough ice for a V thread rap!

Laura is all smiles on this one!
Late Bloomer WI4+
South Western Pennsylvania

Is there more? There's always more here in SWPA

The End!

So south western Pennsylvania ice season has officially begun for us. Who knows if February will contain colder temps and provide us with more lines to try this year. Hopefully it does. Keep checking back for all our PA climbing nonsense. With some luck we'll be able to send a few more of the new lines at this crag. I hope everyone got as lucky as we did this weekend! What a blast... cant wait to get back for more!

Tunnel Cliffs and Sunday School Crag conditions

2012-01-16T11:11:00.000-08:00

Winter wonderland... for now

I woke up this morning feeling a little sore from my past several days efforts. Needing a rest day, I decided to go check ice conditions high up on the ridge at the coldest areas in the region as well as get in some winter hiking and views. I loaded a light pack with minimal gear. Tools, crampons, extra gloves a puffy and the normal lid contents. I brewed a pot of elixer for my thermos and set off up the mountain to Tunnel road. The road was maintained part of the way making the driving easy. From there on out to the top of NO DRIVE hill (parking area) the snowmobiles had it packed to reasonable passage. I parked there and hiked down the 1.25 miles to the climbing. It was looking pretty good, but I was surprised that the top outs were still looking very wet and boney. Here's a couple of shots...

Hard to believe this is Tunnel cliffs from the ice farming days circa 1999

I like the no maintenance of the new version...
but liked the natural non tiered version better

Here's the beta on the NEW Tunnel Cliffs. I would suggest only using this area on Sundays and keeping a low profile. Since this is the first year I've been back here in years and this one sucks, I'm not really sure of the potential here. Its basically short benches (30'?) that can be climbed in short "pitches" or linked all together. Its a great place that seeps continually from a natural spring and parts are in full shade. It is one of the highest crags as far as elevation goes and comes in quicker than most other areas. This should be a great location with lots of moderate climbing. I don't expect to be climbing here that often, so this is my effort to share with fellow ice climbers an area. I would expect that it will become a good asset for both local and visiting climbers. You can find Tunnel Cliffs in Griz's Ice climbing Pennsylvania guidebook. It'll help get you there, but the routes are obviously different. Unlike the old days of serious efforts required to "farm" ice and climb here, TC has now been transformed into an ice making machine that requires no maintenance. Climbing at Tunnel back in those years was not a problem and could be accessed at any time. Now given its current condition going on days other than Sunday may ruin it for all. Please don't be "that climber" and lets keep this place climbable. Thanks and enjoy! I snapped a couple pics and left quickly as not trying to be the person I just mentioned. I wanted to get a couple pics with it a little thicker than I've seen it thus far and to gauge what it takes for this place to come into shape to help y'all out. I've always enjoyed the walk down into and out of Tunnel cliffs. Its a long gradual hill that goes through some beautiful forest. Its quickly contrasted by the new climbing area as you will see if you visit (some Sunday). Keep this one on your hit list if leading WI3ish climbs is what your after. Keep in mind if not leading that there's not much in the way of anchors (trees, etc) for easy top roped climbing. In addition the ice may be hard to reach from the top and may not offer easy access for screw anchors either.

After my hike up out of Tunnel Cliffs I visited Sunday School Crag. The conditions there look promising. If the cold weather continues it'll be fat by next weekend. If it warms up its going to be very unstable. Unfortunately the forecast is calling for a warm up and rain. I spent a couple hours walking around checking out the climbs enjoying our brief winter experience. Here's what it looked like and a few random shots for your enjoyment.

60 meters of chossy alpine fun

South Park Wall

Near where New Years Revolution once stood.
Looks harder than WI4+ though.
It's waiting for us when you're ready Matt!
New Years Reunion WI?

Dumbfounded self portrait. It was a wonderful 13°
and felt good in the sun

Pennsylvania Alpine? Who remembers the approach?

Another 60meters of more strenuous fun.
Who's coming with me man?

There you have it the ice is looking better than it has yet, but has some building to be considered FAT. Lets hope for some mercy on the warm fronts and colder temps hit the area with fury. I know I'm ready to get some serious climbing done. Mother nature has a different plan. Hard to believe its 44° and raining now just hours later. What a bitch!

Sunday at Ohiopyle State park

2012-01-15T18:18:00.000-08:00

Laura in non typical climbing clothes, imitating an old west gunfight?
Are you sure we're going climbing?

Last night it was a tough call whether to pack for big ice or mix climbing. Laura and I are itching to get in some real local ice and were hoping to climb at SCII. After a little discussion we decided that conditions would most likely not be favorable enough to climb. So we packed up with mixed climbing in mind, leaving the sharp crampons and ice screws at home for a better day. Ohiopyle State park would be our destination. We were going to enjoy the results from yesterdays work. I put in some time equipping a line that we've top roped before at Bruner Run. Its a beautiful line up through overhangs and seams with some funky corner moves. It'll involve spicy gear placements in between bolted blank sections. The route overhangs about 15' in 55' of climbing.

Doing work son!

Steep, overhanging, mixed climbing

Figuring some moves, clearing some cracks, all in a days work!

The sign at the gate on Bruner Run Road. If the gate is open drive to the crag
at the bottom, otherwise its a steep walk down and back.

We set off to Bruner Run only to find the gate at the top of the road leading down to the river closed due to current icy conditions. Bummed by the road closure Laura and decided to visit Lower Meadow Run instead and save the new line for another day. Instead of heading straight to Lower Meadow, we decided to go check conditions at SCII to see how they faired after the several days of warm weather last week. Upon arrival we found the summit to have quite a bit more snow blanketing the ground. We booted up and hiked down to check it out. Conditions are looking way better than I expected. Here's a photo of what it looked like today.

Laura checking ice conditions dressed in
her Patagucci SCII camo edition softshell

Conditions looked better than I expected and some of the ice obviously made it through the last warm up. If the temps stay cold at night things will most likely continue to improve. For now the water is flowing nicely and there is still hope for some climbs this season. After a quick look we hiked back to the car and made the drive back to Ohiopyle to climb at Lower Meadow.

We hiked back across the bridge and up the stream to the crag. The icicles were hanging everywhere. The Main Flow has touched down and is building quick, but will most likely not survive the week as have most of the ice lines. The mixed lines are dripping, but climbable. Caveman is running the most and will involve some serious wet misery if climbed. Anger Management has some usable ice on it, but the finish is not in its thick icy state. Usually this line is about a grade easier without the ice up there, but rules out any pro from the last bolt to the finish. We decided to climb Season Finale a traditionally protected M6 R. This climb is always spooky. Its only about 35' long but packs quite a punch. The minimal gear placements are in questionable rock with the only solid piece being 5' from the finish, after the crux. The climb went well with a little mind management and some encouragement from Laura. I thought I was coming off just after placing the last and best piece on the route. I was getting pumped quick. There was no fear of falling and being injured at this point, but there was the fear of having to repeat that piss poor protected crux again. I hung on and made the last few burly moves to the anchors. Here's some shots of me on the climb.

Making the most of the ice?

Getting a pice below the crux

Working through the crux

A little further to the anchors

The ground shots don't do this route much justice. What it lacks in height it makes up for in spice. Most find the line to be much harder than expected. Here's another perspective. Laura cleaning the route.

Laura starting up

Laura hanging tough through the crux

Getting rough

Removing the last cam fried Laura and a hang was in order

A short rest had Laura cranking through the thin ice finish

It was a great climb and I'd highly recommend it to anyone thats solid at the grade and proficient at placing gear! If you think its a little over your head and aren't ready to tie into the sharp end, don't feel left out. Its an easy hike to the top and the ring anchors make it easy to rig this climb on top rope and provide hours of fun mixed climbing practice.

Unfamiliar with Ohiopyle climbing? Get in touch... I'll provide the info you need to get climbing in this neck of the woods.

Cold temps and solo adventures

2012-01-13T05:21:00.000-08:00

I have to admit when the forecast showed the temperatures dropping from 50°F down into the teens overnight I was a little skeptical. I woke this morning to the thermometer displaying a healthy 16°. Thats all the motivation I need... I loaded up my haul bag with a full kit for new routing (about a hundred pounds of gear for those that have never been involved in routing). I'd rather be heading out to climb, but with the weak local climbing community and Laura at school daily, I guess solo stuff will start to be my norm. Its taking a while to adjust from having a daily partner to being partnerless most of the time. I guess this is the right winter to be partnerless as the ice still hasn't really made a good appearance. I'm headed out to equip a new mixed line that will most likely only see an ascent or two due to the lack of climbers and abilities. How sad! Hopefully the cold weather will get the climbs formed up and bring a few climbers from outside the region to make climbing life better! Don't get me wrong, there's a lot to climb but very few willing to get after it. The story has been the same for years. MOTIVATED CLIMBERS are NEEDED in SWPA! Potential exists but climbers willing to do anything about it don't!

Weekend Summary

2012-01-08T17:50:00.000-08:00

Something is up with this memory card, twisting up images

The summary of the weekend is easy. Warm weather SUCKS for ice season and turf sticks! Laura and I were motivated enough to try to find a little something to climb. We took a drive to see if we could get on some of the better formed lines as of recent, but to little surprise it was a bust. The ice took a severe beating with multiple 55°+ days. Now the ground is thawed and things are back to square one. Here's a photo of what we set off to climb today.

From almost good to almost gone!

Son of Beast was looking good a few short days ago

We left and headed for Rattlesnake rocks salvage the day and get in some dry tool groveling. The woods felt like spring not winter. The ground is no longer firm and has turned to muck. My hopes for a serious winter season are hanging by a thread. Blah, Blah, Blah, enough about our lack of cold... Our hike up to the rocks was pleasant with temps in the mid 30's. We were excited to get on some climbs, hoping to get on or up something new. We decided to warm up on the climb we had done the last time we were there. Its about M5 or so and was a pure blast to climb, so seemed like a great place to start and clear the cobwebs. The climb went well until I realized that the last time we climbed the line the ground was frozen and the rock has ice plastered in some of the cracks. The climb today was nothing like the friendly M5 we had climbed last week. This time the lovely, frozen turf and roots were merely unusable loose dirt. The roots weren't frozen and a couple crucial small blocks that were mortared into place by ice now wiggled unnervingly in their current location. They were quite questionable indeed, but needed to support full weight as the wall doesn't offer much in the way of feet. These moves came near the top at a distance out from my last gear that would land me quite close to the ground. The blocks held and so did my nerves. The fun, warmup climb turned into a different experience.

Laura seconding our warm up and only climb of the day

Laura seconded the climb agreeing that the climb took on a little difficulty and upped the commitment level considerably. We enjoyed a cup of coffee at the top and made our way to the bottom. I decided to do a little dry tool bouldering across the blood wall. I started out with everything going well. Hooking, camming, steining I was like hercules making my way across, well not really, but I went to make a move left and my crampon got a little stuck. No big deal happens all the time. A little jostle and ping out it came. Thinking nothing of it I moved on making moves left. All of a sudden I realized I had no front point.

My dart became a DA. Time for some new ones.
I might have to try the new Grivel G20.
Watch for an upcoming review!

Shittttt! I busted the front point off of my dart. It must've been jammed a little tighter than I thought. Low on morale and motivation, we decided that the broken crampon was the deciding factor. Time to call it a day.

We set off to climb ice, got shut out. Went to drytool, climbed a cool line again. Broke a crampon and called it a day... Par for the season. Maybe our luck will be better next time! Happy climbing to all

SW Pennsylvania ice climbing, weekend outlook

2012-01-05T14:36:00.000-08:00

To climb or Not to climb? the good, the bad, and the wet!

I took a trip out to the local spots to see how the cold contributed to our dismal ice conditions. Things are looking better, but still not quite "in". UNLESS... you've had enough and really want to get out climbing in a bad way. Well its time to get after it. Its not ice climbing, but its winter climbing. The local mixed lines will go this weekend and here's the scoop.

Ohiopyle

has a variety of options at Lower Meadow. Season Finale actually has a thin ice start and is in really good shape for climbing. Its the first mixed line on the approach. Just before the full ice climbs on the trail. There are ring anchors at the finish, if one's feeling froggy and jumps on the sharp end for this R rated mixed delight. Otherwise the rings are accessible from the top for easy top rope fun for all. Either way this climb is looking sweet! Here's a picture of it today.

Season Finale could be your season opener!

The main ice lines of Lower Meadow Run are growing, but not ready. Various mixed options exist, although some ice is poorly bonded and expected to get worse by the weekend. There was a LOT of running water flowing and running down the ice and cliffs. Expect to get wet and dress appropriately it getting out.

Main Flow and left and Lower Meadow Run,
Ohiopyle State Park, PA

Captain Caveman is thin and dripping with water, but it'll go!

IRISHTOWN

Sits at a lower elevation than Ohiopyle, but conditions really aren't that much different. Lots of ice building, but its not bonded well and wet. The only real climbable options at Irishtown are Dirty T the easier of the two bolted mixed lines or Dynamite the harder of the two lines. Both have a bolt or two buried under a little ice which may need cleared away. Good year for water, but bad for ice building temperatures.

Dirty T with ice all the way to the ground

Dynamite wet and climbable

This unexplored, unclimbed, potentially good drytool
line is left and around the corner from Dirty T

SCII

Son of Beast is coming along nicely.

The Grand Central area is building well, but not there yet.
TONS of water coming down. Scuba Style. OUT!

The SICK-le is currently an ice dagger
with a waterfall running down it. OUT!

Bird of Prey for the day!

Today I was lucky enough to see this local American Kestrel eating a mouse it had just captured. I've actually noticed it quite a few times recently. It sits on the wires along the road almost daily waiting on a meal. I was on my way to check conditions when I saw it with a mouse in its grasp. I doubled back to get a photo and watch it pick the mouse apart for a while. It moved across the road to some pines when I snapped this photo. It still has the mouse with it in the photo. The American Kestrel is one of two types of Falcons that we have in our area. Currently this one is living in the vicinity of Brown's farm on Bear Rocks Road in Fayette County.

Winter hits the Laurel Highlands

2012-01-04T07:13:00.000-08:00

Welcome indeed!

Well it looks like the winter weather has hit the Laurel Highlands and should get the Pennsylvania ice climbing season underway. So far its been scratching at rock with little to no ice. The cold weather hit and within 24 hours I had the itch to go see what I could find. Here's a brief photo report for SWPA ice climbing conditions as of January 3rd. I plan to head out Thursday and check again to see how things will shape up for the weekend. Stay tuned...

Ohiopyle State Park

Lower Meadow Run has mixed options already. Both Caveman and Anger
Management are climbable.

The upper, right end of Lower Meadow
still has a long way to go.

Upper Meadow has little to no ice but is building. The
mixed lines should be climbable soon.

SCII

Son of Beast is building fast

Final Obligation and The Awakening

Hard to see, but a potential cool new line!

The Infinite and SICK-le

Irishtown

Dynamite about ready to go, this weekend if the weather holds.
Could currently be climbed, but would better with more ice

Dirty T with a thin ice ribbon the whole way down. Looks fun!

This one could be fun soon. Not a route yet!

Mouth of Madness and The Prow both need a lot more ice

I'll leave you again with another one of those very questionable eerie things you find in the backwoods of SWPA. This is somebody's yard art. Meaning unknown... Awesome!

Happy Climbing!

Laura's last free days

2011-12-29T17:20:00.000-08:00

Well I'm sad to report that my faithful climbing partner has decided to become a full time student starting next week. This leaves me well... needing partners. This was her last free week to get out and climb as much as possible, not an easy task given the current weather trends. Today we made the best of things (again) and since she's never been to Rattlesnake Rocks, we decided to hike there and make a day of it. We had fun climbing the short, but challenging routes. Here's a few highlights of Laura involved in some "mixed" action today. (If you look closely there is a wee bit of ice located in some of the cracks) This may be the closest thing Laura gets to winter climbing before school starts. Best of Luck in school Laura, you'll be greatly missed as my daily partner.

Laura making some moves

SWPA ice climbing season continues (without ice)

2011-12-29T16:47:00.000-08:00

This is by far the worst ice season I've encountered in my 15 years of South Western PA ice climbing. The 10 day forecast isn't looking so favorable either. This morning the Laurel Highlands were dusted with a little snow. Enough to motivate me to load up a full winter kit and set off for the woods in search of some new climbs. I figured if nothing else i'd get some mileage in whilst bushwhacking through the greenbriar filled jungles of Dunbar in "Fayetteville Cong".

I took a hike into a seldom climbed area named Rattlesnake Rocks. It's in the vicinity of Krahlick and Elk Rocks. Climbed mostly in the 80's by Ray Burnsworth and pals. It's a short crag that houses a fair number of climbs in the 20 to 30' range. No sport climbing here. All routes were either top roped or led trad. There are numerous moderate cracks and flake options for the aspiring trad climber. Rattlesnake Rocks got its name from the rattlesnakes that are known to frequent the area during the warmer months. I spent some time dry tooling across the base of an overhanging wall.

The left end of Rattlesnake Rocks is a great place for dry tool training

It's a great place to dry tool train with many variations and a nice flat landing. I was alone and climbed sans crampons in my mountain boots. After about an hour of bouldering and a few shots of the area I set off further across the ridge to see what I could find new. I was bushwhacking and scrambling around the hillsides. All of a sudden out of no where I stumbled into this little place.

Slabs stacked like dominos this newly discovered crag is
approximately 50' tall and has some very clean looking trad lines.
There's more crag to the right of what is visible in this photo.

The climbing looks awesome. I didn't notice any signs of previous climbers, but a few ascents may have taken place here over the years. Ed Coll, Ivan Jirak, Cal Swogar... There were a few folks that thrashed through the thickets, climbed what they could and moved on. Unfortunately many of the pioneers of the area are now deceased or have moved on leaving the history a little less than known. Either way, the routes look like a lot of fun and we're planning our first climbing visit this New Years Day. Here's a few of the plums that adorn this crag.

The first line I walked up to,
a seam system unlike many in these parts

Center section of the crag. Nice flakes and corners awaiting us

It was getting later in the day and I still had quite a hike out. I finished exploring a little and made my way to the car dreaming of the great new climbs I found. I had a great day exploring old crags and finding new. After all the time I've spent wandering the ridges and valleys of SWPA, the thing that I enjoy most is what I find next...

Not only new crags, but this is one of the things you might find in SWPA???

Pike Run Dry Tooling

2011-12-17T15:23:00.000-08:00

The small outcrops at Pike Run work great for dry tooling

East coast ice climbing has had another dismal week. Above average temperatures and rain are preventing the ice climbing season from getting underway. Locally we've had 40 degree rainy days with evening temps hovering around freezing. Yesterday Laura and I had some time to get out climbing and didn't want the lack of ice this season ruin our motivation. With possible rain in the forecast, we decided to hit a small local spot for some dry tooling. We decided to head over to Pike Run for some dry tool investigation. Pike Run is predominantly a bouldering area with a few 25' outcrops that offer a little top roped climbing. I installed a few bolt anchors on top of the outcrops in 2000 to help lessen the impact of anchoring off the small trees at the top. For those that don't know, I used to own a climbing shop and guide service located about 5 minutes down the road in Donegal. Pike Run offered folks a place to climb very close to my shop. Much to my surprise Pike Run is still being used on a regular basis.

Tim checking out the Citronella Cave V4 to V6

Laura getting ready to give it a go...

Laura on our 3rd climb

Enjoying the new opportunities

The approach trail has had some impressive work done to it. Someone also went as far as to build landings at the bottom of the Tower outcrop at the descent trail. My hat is off to those ambitious folks that took the effort to help maintain this local climbing resource. The rock at Pike Run is sandstone. Its coarse, not nearly as compact and solid as the sandstone located in most places on Chestnut Ridge. The outcrops at Pike Run offer some great dry tool options. Laura and I had a great time exploring and trying out some lines. We climbed 3 lines overall taking laps on each several times. The moves varied from easier M3/4 to M8 with the climbing being somewhat technical and not as straight forward as it looks from the ground. Rounded and sloping are the norm with a few usable cracks here and there. It was nice to revisit and take a serious thrashing at an area I haven't climbed in a few years. I'm sure we'll be back to pump ourselves silly soon enough.

Laura practicing climbing in ice boots without tools

On a non climbing note:
On the way home from Pike Run we were pleasantly surprised to see a pair of Northern Goshawks near Acme Dam on county line road. One was actively hunting and perching while the other perched the whole time far off on a field edged by forest. It will be interesting to see if they are here wintering or passing through to other territory. Goshawks are our largest accipiter and are irregular visitors to our region. They live in the colder, northern climates of Canada during summer and migrate south for the winter. The Goshawk is related to our summer resident Sharp-Shinned and Coopers hawks. Here's a photo we shot of one perched on a dead snag.

Northern Goshawk Accipiter gentilis
near Acme Dam, Dec. 16, 2011

Improved ice bouldering 12.13.11

2011-12-13T13:26:00.000-08:00

Laura making the best out of the limited ice currently in the area

Laura and I decided to head out and see if the ice bouldering was still "in". The weather forecast isn't looking too promising for the next week, so we decided to get in what we could. Laura had spent the previous day on the Laurel highlands hiking trail in the vicinity of the ice bouldering with "Shifty" our Doxie want-a-be. He's a 30lb hiking machine that we found at Schoolhouse crag several years ago. Their favorable outing prompted us to take the short drive up the ridge and see if we could scratch around a little. We were pleasantly surprised to see that the ice flows grew a little since my last visit. This was Laura's first visit to our new ice training resource. We spent a few hours traversing the flows and rock getting a bit of a workout in. Laura took advantage of the plentiful sunshine basking and warming when necessary.

Is that a climber in distress? No, its just Laura basking.

Its a lot of fun and a great way to get a little training in. Well worth our time considering it was 45° in Pittsburgh today. We hiked back to the car in a plethora of sunshine and blue skies. A very enjoyable day for sure.

Plenty of training to be had. Lots of traversing on
limestone with a little ice thrown in.

Ice tinkering 12.11.11

2011-12-12T13:33:00.000-08:00

The ice bouldering conditions I found on Sunday 12/11/11

I wasn't sure there would be any ice and I was partnerless, but being an optimist I pack up my tools and crampons and decided to head out and see if I could find anything "climbable". I made my way to an area in the Laurel Highlands that is around 2650' in elevation figuring that as all the lower stuff was sure to be a wash. I drove as far I could until the icy roads and steep inclines would've trapped me for sure. It was a pleasant day with the temps in the mid 20's to 30 degrees and the sun shining. I ended up hiking about a mile down the the icy road to the crag slipping and sliding my way down the hill.

Happy to find ice and enjoy the colder weather.

The ice I found was a little delaminated with running water in some areas, but was tall enough and stable enough that I could get some early season mixed training in. What the ice lacked in size it surely made up for in fun! I was able to traverse several hundred yards covering both ice runnels and rock. The ice varied in thickness from relatively thin (enough to hold body weight) to some decent swing and sticks. It was nice to see ice again. The temps up high have been cold since my visit and should still be good. I plan to visit again this week for some more early season ice bouldering.

After ice bouldering I went to check other areas.
Here's the best I found. Still has a ways to go, but winter
is almost here!

The season is underway... sort of

2011-12-07T16:53:00.000-08:00

Hello again winter fanatics. Hope everyone had a great spring, summer and fall. My faithful climbing partner/girlfriend Larua and I have been out dry tool training and scoping things out for the upcoming winter season. Great News... We think we've found the largest concentration of moderate ice climbs in Western PA. As the weather gets better (worsens) we'll be able to tell you more. It could be home to over 20+ WI3 to WI4 routes. We've also been eyeing up some new mixed lines that are begging to be climbed. It should be a good year full of new routes. We've been getting our workout on as much as possible. Laura has come out swinging! getting early season clean ascents of routes most local "dudes" won't even try. The start of things freezing is (hopefully) a few short weeks away. The woods and cliffs are dripping plenty and all the water looks promising for an incredible year. We didn't rock climb a whole lot this summer, but we did keep our tools very active during the winter "off" season April-November dry tooling as much as possible.

I figure there is no reason to bore everyone with long tales of my off season activities, so I'll sum it up in a few sentences. I spent the spring and summer running... Mostly trails, but also some pavement running with a few races thrown in for good measure. I managed to do quite well across the disciplines. My true love of running is long distance in the woods for many hours at a time. Below is a photo that Laura took during a HOT summer run. She had it set on our computers wallpaper for most of the season. It shows me in all my glory during a run on the Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail. I usually spend 5 days a week training on this 70 mile point to point trail. Its a short distance from our house to the trail which makes training convenient. On the trail I've adopted the name "woodz ninja" although below I look more like "Salt Pig Sweat Hog" It definately keeps me in shape for winter climbing. Laura spent the majority of the off season hiking a lot and volunteering at Powdermill Nature Reserve in Rector, PA. She helped in the bird banding lab.

Around mile 50 or 60 in 90° humid summer
weather at one of our "Mobile Aid Stations"

The other hobby I enjoy is hawk watching. Unfamiliar with it? It's more like the counting, study and observing of migrating raptors for scientific purpose. In particular I've been interested in the migration habits and paths of the Golden Eagle through the central Appalachian chain. Every year in mid September I slow climbing "training" and start hawk watching for a few months. This upcoming spring season I am starting the first official hawk watch in Western MD. If you have any interest or would like to learn more check out my blog for the Cumberland Gap Hawk Watch. It'll explain a great deal. If you have any questions please get in touch. As climbers we spend a great deal of time in raptor territory and being able to identify and understand these amazing birds soaring around the crags is well... pretty awesome!

Another recent project I helped with involved former PA ice climber Rob "Griz" Ginieczki author of the 2006 climbing guide titled Ice Climbing Pennsylvania. Much has changed in PA climbing since 2006 and it was time for an update. Griz approached me to help with the Southwestern PA section. Personally I can say quite a bit has been added to the SWPA section and should help everyone climb even more ice in our region. The book is in print right now and should be out in time for this season. I'll keep you posted as to when they are available. Great job Griz! Keep the PA ice community stoked and getting after it!

Stay tuned as the winter progresses and the climbing starts to happen. I'll be posting regularly again keeping ya'll updated on the happenings around here. Train on! -Tim

New Video from Wildfilm Productions

2011-03-07T12:47:00.000-08:00

Amphitheater II

Our good friend Ray Burnsworth of Wildfilm productions put together a short clip of Upper Meadow Amphitheater. A huge thanks goes out to Rayman for the efforts and great clip. Follow the link from here to view or click on the image above.

WHAT... There's still ice

2011-03-06T09:23:00.000-08:00

Just when I thought it was over. Ice season had ended. Low and behold there's (a little) more. We were given a bit of good news the other day. Laura caught wind from a good friend of ours that there was still some climbable ice if we were interested. Of course we were. He told her of a still fat 20' pillar tucked away in a shaded little nook. She called to tell me right away. Other than some mixed stuff with poorly bonded "snice" we really haven't had much climbable ice in a few weeks due to the heavy rains and unseasonable warm temperatures. Eagerly we made the half hour approach to see if we could squeeze in one more ice climb. Sure enough there was a short 20' pillar with a mixed exit that was still in good condition. Granted it wasn't a rope stretcher by any means, but it sure was fun to get on a little more ice. It was smooth and lovely (a little hollow), but amazing compared to anything I'd seen in a while now. Not to mention that it was a beautiful day for a walk in the woods. A much appreciated thanks goes out to the searching samurai that gave us the tip on this little beauty. Here's a few pictures of our fun outing.

As we set out. I'll admit I was doubtful

a little break for the passing trains, will there be ice?

Here's what we found. Hard to believe!

Laura finishing a screw unaware of the muck that lies ahead

On the ride home we stopped to check
out other ice enthusiasts

Is winter season over in SWPA?

2011-02-24T13:10:00.000-08:00

There's still ice at Upper Meadow.
If you don't mind it being a little detached.
Here's what's left of the Schoolyard climbs.

The warm weather sure has put a hurting on our local ice. The winter season has ended for most local tool swinging folks, but Laura and I have been making the most of the ice still left. The recent below freezing temps and snowfall has helped to prolong our climbing just a bit. We thought all hope was lost, but low and behold we squeezed in a few more days of winter climbing since my last post. We spent a few days at Lower Meadow Run in Ohiopyle. Up until yesterday most of the mixed lines were still climbable. Many of the lines are running with a lot of water. Anger Management was in great condition and offered great dry tooling up to the plastic ice at the finish. We managed to climb Season Finale via the direct ice start in the AM only to see most of it come down by afternoon. Yesterday was the last day we climbed. There may be a little left, but I wouldn't expect much. If you're like us and don't want to hang up the tools just yet, get dry tooling. We've got plenty of great choss climbing around to keep your forearms pumped until next season.

Early Valentine's Day for us

2011-02-13T20:26:00.000-08:00

Laura and I wanted to keep with our tradition of Valentine's day ice climbing, but the temps were already up to 45° today and tomorrow is calling for warmer and rain as is the rest of the week. We decided to make Valentines day come early this year. We headed out to see if we could get one last day of some big ice lines. Our intentions were to climb The Beast and possibly a new mixed gear line on the right side of the cliff that we noticed last week. It follows a fracture line up a blank steep wall for 40' to a flow that continues up another 90' or so to the large Called on Account of Security ledge. Well we went straight to The Beast to see if the bottom 30' came in enough to get on it. It actually got worse since last week, but I was willing to investigate. I started walking towards bottom of the climb to see what I could make happen with the unconnected pencil pillars, when all of a sudden I hear some rockfall. 5 or 6 large basketball sized boulders were plummeting towards earth in Laura's direction. I barely had time to yell "RUN" and Laura had already noticed the panic in my eyes. She took off like a bullet away from the cliff. All I heard was the loud THUD sounds made by the rocks hitting the ground behind us. I was having flashbacks to a day we had at The Gun club several years ago when the large upper tier collapsed and showered us with an enormous amount of ice, large ice. I was extremely lucky to walk away with only some serious deep tissue damage and Laura with a huge bruise on her ass. We could have easily been killed by any number of chunks that came down that day. I still question how we made it through the shower without being pummeled. We stood there for a few minutes, debating if this was worth trying. More debris was falling every minute or so. I debated alternate starts, but all across the cliff it was raining rockfall. Not the little scree stuff that falls at the end of season. We're talking blocks. The air temperature was rising quick and making things worse. Since this was our Valentine's Day climb, we decided to stay a couple a little longer and abandon this wall and try one of the others. We hiked back up to Central and looked down to the right watching things fall all over. Our new mixed line was a seam strewn with smaller chunks and blocks that are usually held together by the ice. It was out of the question as water was now running down the seam assuring us that all the rock in the crack were rendered useless for protection. We were determined to get our V-day climb in so we just picked the biggest, driest, safest line we could find. It was so worth it. I climbed the line enjoying the funky 3D climbing and fresh ice this weeks cold weather formed. I finished the pitch and built an anchor to bring Laura up. She was grinning from ear to ear up until the crux. For that section she had a little more intent look and even called out a rare "watch me". She pulled through without hanging and finished in great style. We enjoyed the view from the top for a moment and quickly returned to to the ground to head out before we pushed our luck too far and ruined our V-day climb by one of us getting crushed. It was still early, so we opted to head to Ohiopyle.

Laura enjoying our Valentine's day climb here in SW PA

The belay offered a nice angle for photos

So much fun climbing ice together, Laura lovin' it!

Smiling through most of it!

My happy girlfriend, the worlds greatest climbing partner.
Happy Valentine's Day

Ohiopyle was interesting to say the least. We walked to the top of the Upper Meadow area. To our amazement we didn't see any ropes set up. I started to walk towards the top of the climbs to peer down. All of a sudden a tool with a rope attached to it came flying up over the top towards an exposed root. A guy was tossing the tool towards the root with the intentions of hooking it to assist him through the last several melting out moves. Crazy bathook antics for sure!

You can see the tool laying on the root ahead of my left foot.

We watched for a few minutes before deciding to leave before the sky started falling! All in all it was a great day and we fulfilled our Valentine's day climbing! (a day early)

Plastic ice, bluebird skies and a good day of winter climbing!

2011-02-11T20:06:00.000-08:00

Behind the ice climbs at Upper Meadow Run, natural lighting.

Winter climbing? It really didn't feel like winter as we stood in the Upper Meadow Run amphitheater in Ohiopyle state park. The warm sun felt good on the face and made for very pleasant climbing. Laura has been sick for the past week and seemed to pass it on to me over the last couple days. She's getting better and I'm now feeling achy and congested. We'd been watching the weather and realized that the end is drawing near and decided to get after it while the getting is good, despite health. The forecast isn't looking that great in the near future. Temps are going to begin to rise and stay above freezing for quite a few days. The ice has been building at an amazing rate since last weekends warm up but this is what I'm assuming is the beginning of the end. Next week may be all we get before the ice becomes unclimbable. Get out and enjoy the great ice here in SWPA this weekend. It may be your last opportunity.

I'm so glad we decided to go out. What a great day of climbing! The warm sun, Ibuprophin and cough drops made the temporary improvements necessary for me to enjoy the day. We started our day off by climbing The Schoolyard pillar which was in great shape on the shaded side. It was very smooth, unlike the chopped out front. The upper section was beat on by the sun and made for little to no protection on slush covered, melted out ice (glad the climbing was easy) up to the Hemlock. Laura seconded enjoying the fantastic ice on the pillar.

Looking down from the belay

Laura finding the "good ice" in the shade

FYI, I've recently placed a rap anchor on the hemlock at the top of the Schoolyard climbs to reduce wear on the tree from everyone pulling the rope after rapping, please do not take the anchor and ring If you need one email me and I'll find a way to get some to you. Enjoy!

Since I was feeling down and Laura was up, she had the opportunity to run quite a few practice laps on the various pillars climbing one tooled, no tooled, etc. to improve footwork and increase efficiency. She had a blast climbing to her hearts content for quite a while.

Laura climbing one tooled, ala Jeff Lowe

With the weather situation looking grim, I figured time was precious. I managed to summon up the energy to get on the project again today. I've been on it about 5 times this season and have been making good progress. Here's some photos Laura took of the route today.

Ray Burnsworth of Wildfilms showed up later in the day to film

a little ice to start

off the ice and starting the business

feels steep at this point

Its a short but powerful line

tool toe cam

moving after the "rest"

exiting onto the pillar

Finishes up on the U.M.P.

After climbing I rapped and left a top rope rigged on the U.M.P. (upper meadow pillar) for Laura to climb. She tied in started climbing up the 35' pillar. She was doing great up through the overlaps that the new ice has created, but the shower pouring down proved to be not worth the climb and she lowered off to avoid becoming completely saturated. Here's a photo of Laura after on a few minutes on the start.

This photo speaks for itself

After drying out in the sun Laura took countless top rope burns enjoying the great ice. Shortly after, we packed up and called it a day. The sun was going down and the chill was setting in. Despite feeling under the weather, Who could ask for more... The climbing and weather were stellar. All while being in the best of company. So did the project go down? Nope (1hang) I hope I have enough weather to put this puppy to bed before the end of season. If not, no big deal. There's always next season and countless other project abound in SWPA. I'm most thankful for such a great late season day. Happy climbing!

Photos

2011-02-09T13:34:00.000-08:00

Laura and I spent the day at Upper Meadow Run last friday. The weather was beautiful, the ice was soft and everyone there was smiling. It was a fun day out climbing...

Tool demo day at Upper Meadow Run

Checking out the creek side boulders

Dr. Bob climbing U.M.P. (upper meadow pillar) WI5-

Conditions after the rains look good

2011-02-08T19:06:00.000-08:00

Most "local" ice climbers are figuring that the season has just ended with all the rain. What ice could be left? I'm happy to report the the community that most held in with minor damage. Here's a photo conditions report from today. Hope this motivates you to come check out SWPA!

Irishtown, The Prow WI4, M3 a little washed, watch the top.

Irishtown, Mouth of Madness WI5-
in slightly easier conditions. The best its looked this season

Irishtown, Dynamite M6+, almost a drytool line.
Not much ice at the top.

Irishtown, Pale Wildwood Ice Tower WI4
makes another appearance

Irishtown, Dirty-T M4 is in great shape for a moderate mixed

Irishtown, Upper Wall, currently OUT
Possibly by next weekend it will rebond.

Upper Meadow Run, Ohiopyle State Park, School Yard WI4- to 3-
held up and is in great shape.

Upper Meadow Run Amphitheater is looking good.

Upper Meadow Run, Ohiopyle State Park, Buckey's Line WI3+
This rare former is in good shape. Watch the thick top out.

Lower Meadow Run, Season Finale M6 R is ready

Lower Meadow Run, Ohiopyle State Park, Main Flow WI3,
Anger Management M6 climbs up through the daggers, currently in great shape.

Lower Meadow Run, Caveman M7 the ice is a little short, but should go

Lower Meadow Run, The Flows WI2 still nice and thick

Other local ice conditions...

The Beast WI5+/6 formed more right due to wind.
Its tentacles are about grounded. Son of Beast WI5+ filled in nicely.

The Infinite WI5+ and The SICK-le WI6, M7

Still plenty of ice and new lines to be climbed...

So there it is. There's still lots of ice in most areas. The forecast looks promising for improving conditions. Now is the time to climb. The ice has finally become smooth and good sticks are easier now than in weeks past. Get out and enjoy the great conditions we've been given. If you have any questions about other local conditions or areas, drop me a line. Hope to see you out there. -Tim

Happy Ground Hog day! Kinzua klimbing and A day at the Cliffs

2011-02-02T16:17:00.000-08:00

Wow... Its looking miserable outside today. Yesterday we had temps in the mid 30's and rain. The forcast was calling for a couple mild days this week. Well mild was an understatement for the start of today. I went out on the deck and it felt like spring. Sunny and 45°. The Weather channel is saying the temps are going to fall into the mid 20's and that it'll be snowing by this afternoon. I sure hope they're right. The last 48hrs most likely put a hurting on the mixed lines I've been working on as well as the ice routes I've been patiently waiting to see come into shape. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I'll try to head out tomorrow to scope the damages. I'm sure a fresh coating of snow will make things feels wintry again. If winter comes to a screeching halt we can all blame that HOG up in Punxy for not seeing his shadow. Well enough about the weather. On to our recent climbing adventures.

The dam located directly across from the climbing

Friday Jan. 28th Laura and I decided to take a short road trip up to Kinzua to climb. The climbing there is mostly casual with WI3 being the common grade. Usually its a great place for beginning leaders to cut their teeth on the sharp end. It was the location of my first ice climbing experience about 14 years ago. I've been at it ever since that first outing. In that respect Kinzua will always be a memorable place for me to visit. Laura had never been there, so we loaded up the climbingmobile and set off at 6:00am friday for the 3.5hr drive north. The drive went smooth considering the snow storm we drove in most of the way. Upon arrival, I was slightly disappointed to see the ice much thinner than what I had climbed in years past. I havn't been there in quite a few years, but every other tip I've made to Kinzua has provided FAT, blue flows. It was a real bummer since the trip was mostly for Laura to get in a bunch of time leading. Instead we pondered over which line was filled in most of the way. I could see rock through the clear ice as well as hear large amounts of running water. Seeing the ice in this current state, I decided to take the lead and check things out before Laura went up. I climbed the line directly across from the Entrance to the first parking lot. Its generally a low angle steeped WI3 with great protection. It took some searching to get in a few 13cm screws that were actually going to do something. As I climbed I could look down into the large holes and see the rock and water underneath. I reached to top and setup the belay to bring Laura up to the trees. She climbed up using her new BD Fusion ice tools. It wasn't much of a route to put them to use on, but she seemed to like them. I brought along some 8mm cord and rap rings to contribute to the local climbing community based on a post on NEice.com about the anchors being ratty and in need of replacement. I set up a station on a large tree up and left of the top out. Heres a photo of the new station and the climb.

Our first climb. Unusually thin compared to what I've typically seen here

Laura coming up the first climb we did

Laura seconding with trucks rumbling below.
Notice our car in the lot? Worlds easiest approach!

Our second climb was to the right of the first one. It was in the little alcove. It went up the low angle start and up to a short pillar. The ice on this route was better up on the pillar, but the bottom was still somewhat hollow and not well formed. I took the line over right above the exposed rock section and belayed/rapped from there.

Laura tooling on the second climb we did.
(The steepest we could find)

Coming up onto the belay of the 2nd climb

Well it only took two climbs and we decided to head back home to better conditions. We'll have to make another trip someday when things are more "in". All in all it was a nice quick revisit the moderates of Kinzua. will I do it again this season? Most likely not with the way conditions have been at home. There's always next season!

Sunday Jan. 30th. Laura was out for the day and I made plans with Dr. Bob to climb at the cliffs. Joel and Matt were already in town and were staying in Ohiopyle. They climbed Saturday at Upper Meadow where I guess quite a display of climbing went on. I wasn't there, but it sounded good. Anyhow... Sunday morning came and I drove to the parking area of the cliffs. It was snowed in and I did some shoveling to make parking better for those involved in the days antics. I was getting ready to hike in when Dr. Bob showed up. We split the ropes and made our way in. Dr. Bob is one of my oldest ice climbing friends. Due to life, etc. I haven't had the opportunity to spend much time on the rope with him recently as I have in the past. Bob and I decided to warm up on Called on Account of Security WI4. It was in great shape. A little new snow and some onion skin made climbing a little more interesting, but all in all it was in the best conditions I've ever seen. I led the pitch and belayed Bob from the top to shoot some pics on my new camera. Here are a few of the shots.

Dr Bob coming up Called on Account of Security WI4

Dr Bob doing work!

For our second route we decided to climb G-Gully WI4+/5- It was one of the driest routes we saw. The climb went well. It was much better than last season when we did the FFA. Bob commented many times how he enjoyed the 3D climbing that the route offered. Here's a few shots of Bob cleaning.

Bob cleaning G-Gully WI4+

Joel and Matt showed up a little later than expected. They had spend the evening before getting familiarized with life in Ohiopyle. Here's a photo of Joel upon arrival at the cliffs. Needless to say there's not much to report on their activities of the day. Matt was the lone climber taking a lap on G-Gully before hiking out.

Feeling a little fuzzy Joel?

Overall there was a lot of running water and things were building fast. The Beast WI5+ was in the process of making a rare appearance. Albeit with massive amounts of water flowing down it. I hope the weather didn't take too much of a toll on it.

The Beast about touching down for the 2nd year in a row!

On the last day of season (last year), Laura and I went on an early morning mission to climb it before the day warmed to well above freezing, but were turned back by the stupidity of forgetting our ropes. It WAS just about ready for the 2nd time in 5 or 6 years... Until today's rain. With any luck the it will be climbable and I'll finally get to climb it. If not there's still lots of mixed climbs out there begging to be climbed. We'll see what the weekend holds.

Overall conditions photo from Sunday

Upper Meadow Project 2011

2011-01-26T21:02:00.000-08:00

Winter is our favorite season here in the Laurel Highlands.

Laura and I spent a wonderful snow filled day at Upper Meadow Run in Ohiopyle State Park. It was my day to pick where I wanted to work out and Laura was my belayer. I decided to spend a little time working on the project that was bolted last year. After it was equipped I spent 2 or 3 days working on it, until the pillar fell and it went out of condition. This season I've spent one day on it about a week ago, but didn't have much success. It was like being on it for the first time again. I had to refamiliarize myself with the moves, which was a workout in itself.

Here's the route description: It begins with about 15' of ice and dry tool moves to the roof. From the roof you work horizontal about 20' while moving up about 5' clipping as many bolts as you can along the way. From there you exit out the cave onto the largest free standing ice pillar and climb it to the anchors at the trees. Sounds easy enough...

I can't remember, but it takes either 6 or 7 draws and an optional ice screw. All of the draws are now prehung, except for the first and last. Its a pretty strenuous climb (at least for me) and has yet to see an ascent. Todays session went much better than the last. I managed to link the line together in about 3 goes and felt better now knowing most of the moves. Laura did a great job keeping me moving while on the route. She was giving me the encouragement only she knows how. While resting between goes, the large falling snowflakes made for an incredible view. The landscape turned white and fresh throughout the day which was a nice contrast to what started out as a drab and overcast day. Sorry "butt" our climbing shots weren't that good since it was just the two of us today. You'll have to be amused by what we did get. Happy climbing!

checking out the view

Eyes closed flipping a tool around? Not good sending technique.

Starting out into the upside down

in the middle somewhere

Exiting and happy to be on ice...

L found these critters crawling around the ice

Laura killing time between laps

Laura standing beside the pillar that the route finishes on

Laura walking back to the car after our fun day!

Recent activity

2011-01-25T20:36:00.000-08:00

Recent searching led us to this interesting looking line.
Fun days ahead! The crack moving left after the ice appears to be
solid and should take gear all the way to the top. Is it possible
to have too many projects?

We've been climbing a good bit. Several days with Ray Burnsworth A.K.A. Wildfilm Productions. He's been shooting some incredible footage on several recent outings. Should be seeing some really cool stuff from him soon. He's been really psyched and working hard to highlight the climbing offered here in SWPA. I've been continuing work on several projects while Laura has been getting on the sharp end more. We've discovered a great way to help one another accomplish personal climbing goals. We've been alternating "personal days" which is a day that is only focused on one person's training or goals. That way the belay slave gets a rest day for their "personal day" to follow. Some days are hard and some are easy, but most of all we've been pushing each other to climb stronger and smiling while being miserable and sore.

So far it's been a good season despite the couple warm ups that caused some serious damage. Things are finally getting back to normal at the smaller crags. Water is seeping and the flows are forming nicely and getting fat. The Big Climbs are in a state of funk that is challenging to say the least. Most of them are very aerated and spooky. Currently they're formed like early season climbs, which is expectedly hollow and difficult to protect. Amplify that with exposure to near 50 degree temperatures (two near melt outs), its made things WILD to say the least. This weekend when it rapidly dropped to zero from above freezing things became almost no fun at all. Notice that I said almost. Looking back it was fun. Its not everyday that we get the chance to climb such scary stuff. Might as well enjoy it while we can! After all... this is climbing in SWPA, make the most you can out of nothing.

Saturday 1/22/2011

Some nice folks we met from VA last weekend decided to return to PA to sample some more ice. We met them at Lower Meadow Run to show them around. We led Hemlock with an icicle start. It's barely touching down, but with some gentle climbing it supported us up to the better ice and eventually solid rock gear. Fred from Exkursion was there with some friends that were new to ice. They were climbing away and having a great day. The weather was sunny and made the chilly day feel very comfortable. By afternoon the ice was soft and everyone was spent. We joined the VA folks for dinner at NY Pizza and Pasta after climbing. They spent the night at The Melody Motor Lodge in Connellsville. Many visiting climbers seem to enjoy staying here. Rooms are warm and reasonable, breakfast is right next door at Ed's and climbing is only minutes away. What more could you ask for?

Sunday 1/23/2011

The temperature hovered just above zero which quickly chilled our hands and feet. With poor conditions and cold temps, Laura and I jumped on the Infinite WI5. I climbed about 1/2 of it and lowered off to rewarm my frozen hands. I went up a second time reaching a reasonable high point where I could safely lower off. Conditions were not favorable for pushing too hard. Our friends from VA were in town again. They made an attempt of Called on account of Security WI4. They made it to the center pillar and made the decision to call it quits and top rope the lower portion. Maybe next weekend things will be looking up. Unfortunately the left wall isn't showing much hope. The new additions Mad Rocket WI5+ and Double A WI6 are far from being "IN". On a positive note The Beast WI5+ is making an appearance for the 2nd year in a row. Currently it's about the most promising looking line on the left wall.

On approach, the first view

Galen belaying Sean on Called on Account of Security WI4

Tuesday 1/25/2011
Today it was Laura's day and she chose to go to Lower Meadow Run. She's recently made a clean go of Season Finale M6. She's been after it a for quite a while now. After a few tries this season she did it with no falls. She wanted to try it again and I wanted to try out the new pocket camera I purchased for shooting seconds coming up. I'd like to get away from lugging a body/lens combo up routes. I've not been very pleased with any pocket camera I've tried so far. This time I'm trying the NIKON S8100. The size is nice. Its small and light, reasonably fast and cheap (almost disposable). Seemed worth a try. Here are a few of the images we shot today. Not bad for a point and shoot.

Supporting the park we frequent

checking Laura's screw placements

Pulling over the crux bulge

Look out guys, Laura shows how its done

For any taker who want the novelty of climbing
Cucumber Falls WI2+. This is as "IN" as I've seen
it in years. Go get it while its still up! P.S. Don't expect gear

Light and toasty,.. The Lowa Mountain Expert boot review

2011-01-20T15:27:00.000-08:00

Putting the Lowa Mountain Expert to the test

Over the years I've tried many boots, starting with leathers, upgrading to plastics then moving back into leather during the lightweight leather craze of the late 90's and now well into the 2000's. Lightweight leather boots now seem to be the choice of most new climbers. During the Early 2000's the boots of my choice were the LaSportiva Trangos of various models, and the Sportiva Nepals of various models. One common thing I noticed about all the boots were that my feet always seemed to be cold. In 2008 after many miserable frozen toe days (even with toe heaters) I decided it was time to change. Was it possible that my LaSportiva boots had a death grip on my toes that was keeping them from being warm and cozy? I didn't want to think it possible, but had to try. Since I mostly climbed in the Sportiva Trango's I figured I'd do some research and see what I could find that closely matched that boot. I had good luck with the Lowa Civetta Exteme plastics years ago and thought why not see what Lowa had to offer in a mixed climbing boot. I checked their lineup and ordered up a pair of the Ice Expert GTX boots. The Ice Expert GTX (currently unavailable) was a Silver and Green leather and hybrid boot sporting an ankle gasket similar to the Trangos. First point is that the Lowas are less expensive. Reatil of about $350.00 compared to the $400.00 of the La Sportiva. The insulation used in the Lowa boots is 200g of Primaloft and a kick ass radiant footbed. I ordered both a US men's size 11.5 and 12. After trying them on I decided to go with the 12 which was a 1/2 size upgrade from my "normal" street shoe size. First thing I noticed when I pulled them on was how much WIDER the toe area is in the Lowa boots. Much more wiggle room then the cramped Sportiva. I was very pleased with the fit out of the box. My only problem was that I had a little heel lift. I ended up placing a partial memory foam footbed liner under the heel to take up the space and solve the problem. I used these boots for 2 seasons often questioning as to whether I should've went with the 11.5. I think being gun shy of having tight boots again prompted the 1/2 size upgrade. After 2 seasons of heavy use the only issues were with a broken lace lock which was easily remedied with some Gorilla Glue and ripped velcro on the ankle gasket. Despite these minor issues, I was very satisfied with the boots and my warm toes. Who could believe that the tight toebox was the cause of so many days of cold toes.

Moving ahead... This season Laura wanted to get a pair of lighter boots. She was wearing women's LaSportiva Nepal EVO's. Hearing me praise my Lowa's so many times I convinced her to try the Lowa women's Mountain Expert GTX which is the replacement boot for my beloved Ice Expert GTX. right out of the box she praised the fit. She too was having problems with cold feet in her Nepal EVO's She's climbed in her new Lowa's a dozen days so far this season and is amazed how much warmer her toes are after the switch.

After checking out Laura's NEW boots, I am fairly certain that its basically the same boot as the Ice Expert without the ankle gasket and with a cool new tongue stud to keep it in the center of your ankle. Which was great to see. I thought the gasket wasn't of the best design and was often irritated by the tongue sliding around to the outside of my foot. I REALLY liked the design of her new boots. After careful thought and questioning my previous 1/2 size upgrade, I decided I NEEDED some. I again ordered 11.5 and 12. After we picked them up from Fred's, I went straight for the 11.5. Bingo this was it. Perfect fit. I've been climbing in them a couple weeks now and have been very pleased with the fit and performance so far. Virtually the same as the Ice Expert with improvements.

No gasket
Lace locks redesigned into a less breakable design
The tongue stud gizmo

Ice Expert GTX and the Mountain Expert GTX, very similar

Lowa's tongue stud keeps the tongue centered, works great!

So if you're looking for a high quality, light weight, ice/mixed climbing boot, don't overlook the seldom seen Lowa Mountain Expert GTX. Its a top performer that offers great ankle mobility, approaches well, stiff enough for pure ice and still light enough to throw above your head like a pretzel if the urge arises. I'd also like to add that for additional warmth on cold days Laura and I both use shake and bake style toe heaters to boost the boots cold weather performance.

Since were talking feet, I thought it also be good to discuss that I currently use Petzl Darts and Darwin crampons on these boots with the Leverlock heel spur rears (with the spurs mostly chopped) I've found this rear provides a much more solid fit than the standard quick adjust heel piece. This combo provides a more snug fit with minimal crampon movement and is lighter weight on the Lowas. I usually get several fronts worth of use out of the heels and its cheaper to pay $130.00 for dart or dartwin fronts for use on old rears, than to pay full price for new crampons. See the photos below

Modified heel spurs, still functional but less to catch the rope and
invert you in a fall. Plus the bolt to linking bar system makes a perfectly
flat platform for your boots heel to sit on (less crampon heel
movement on your boot)

Old rears, new fronts = $130.00 new darts

NOTE: I have no affiliation with Lowa boots. I get nothing in return for writing this review. I just thought I'd pass on a little learned knowledge that might be useful to other folks with wide toes looking for a warm mixed boot! Hope this helps someone.

I'd also like to say your welcome to all who've benefited from my expensive boot experiments and purchased my like new, ill fitting boots, for next to nothing. Happy climbing!

Still climbable...

2011-01-04T05:47:00.000-08:00

Well Laura and I tried to climb yesterday, but unfortunately the rain and warm weather took its toll on the area. We got skunked on our attempt. Dr. Bob and Chip were also optimistic. My phone rang as we rolled into the lot. It was Bob wishing happy new years and telling me he and Chip thought they'd at least drive out to try to climb. Well Laura and I went to take a look here's what we found...

Still there, the rebuild should be fast

Well Dr. Bob and Chip were more optimistic than us. We left and they took a walk down to check things out up close. As per their description "Deep muck led to the ice". They made the (wise) decision not to climb. That was yesterday...

Today... 1/3/2011

Laura and I decided to take advantage of what the warm weather had done (opened up some winter roads). We decided to drive to Krahlick to see how the ice weathered through the storm. I had hiked in several weeks ago to check it out. Its not the same angle, but it gives you an idea. It's still reasonably good.

Krahlick 12/21/2010

Krahlick 1/3/2011

Laura had never been to this location, so it was nice to get her there. Its not that big, roughly 40' tall. Several routes put up by Ray Burnsworth back in the late '80's currently exist. The largest center piece is Wilderness Bound WI4 and the shorter tiered section to the right is Wilderness Found WI3+. There's potentially a nice mixed line that follows the smear on the left of W.B. and pulls through the rock roof and finishes on the short face above. I tried the route in 2000 but didn't have much luck at the time as it was late in the season. It wasn't until this year that I returned to check it out again. This time I found a nicer smear to gain access to the roof. I put a TR on it again today to try to suss the moves and see if it would take gear. After 2 tries on the route and no pre inspection. I was climbing very slow and static the first time and ended up popping out of a flared crack at the lip of the roof. The second go I moved much quicker and more dynamic making the larger ledge above the roof, but ended up having my dull pick pop during the mantle. I was optimistic that I'd found a good "gear" route, but upon some inspection I found the rock to be loose and blocky. I could climb it on gear and make it a dangerous route that nobody will ever try or add a bolt or 2 and make it a much safer line that others will enjoy as well. Bummer there's only bad gear, but its like most of the other routes in the area. Short, chossy, and FUN! Here's a few shots of me on the route.

Going from ice to rock

Moving through the roof...

Should be a good route in the near future.... Keep posted!

Happy New Year; keeping the tradition alive.

2011-01-01T20:03:00.000-08:00

Nothing like 45 and raining for New Years Day ice climbing...

Happy 2011 everyone. Its been a tradition of mine to climb on New Years day for 15 years now. It started on January 1, 1997 with original ice climbing partners, Matt Johns and Scott Richards. It was the beginning of our 2nd year of ice climbing. We decided to "start the year off right" by climbing. We set our ambitions high and decided to try for the first ascent of a 2 pitch route in a local active quarry. The day went great despite a few "minor" incidents. I led the first pitch and Scott led the 2nd. It went successful and we ended up naming the route New Years Revolution WI4+. It was quite an accomplishment for us at the time. We used by today's standards archaic tools and gear. No speed cranks on screws, Snargs, original Footfangs, Black Prophets, North Face lobster mitts, etc. Little did I know that day was the start of a tradition that I still uphold. A year or so later, Matt moved from PA to KY. He's found great climbing life at the mega popular Red River Gorge. He and I remain great friends to the day. We don't get to climb together as much as we'd like, but that makes the time that we share on the rope that much better. He occasionally visits to climb ice in the winter and boulder in the warmer months. Scott moved across country to Wenatchee, Washington to pursue an outdoor lifestyle there. Tragically he died in a kayaking accident on Icicle Creek shortly after his move there. I had no idea we'd never climb together again. Life is different from the old days, but still the tradition continues and each New Years Day I think back to how it all began and am thankful for how much fun I have and all the great friends I've made climbing here in PA.

Starting up the first ascent of NYR 4+ first pitch 1997

Scott Richards on Pitch 2

Enjoying New Years 1997

Today was no exception. It almost didn't happen. Despite an incredible start to the 2010/11 ice season, New Years Day and several days leading up to it, were warmer than normal. When Laura and I left the house the first time, it was 50 degrees and raining. Still we were determined to climb. We drove to Ohiopyle to climb only to have some serious downpour happening at the parking lot. We turned tail and drove home deciding not to climb in the rains. We went home and hung out for a few hours and as luck would have it, the rains stopped and we decided to pack back up and make the return drive to the cliffs. It was raining a lot less, but still raining. We decided to "climb" anyhow. Laura got some new boots to try and was itching to put them to use.

L's new kicks, Lowa Mountain Expert GTX

We rigged the main flow and Season Finale on top rope. We each ran a few laps with some older CF Cobras that Fred from Exkursion lent to Laura to mess with. It was the most fun we've had on 25' of seriously wet ice. What a fun day, no ground breaking accomplishments, just a lot of fun climbing with my incredible partner, Laura. Here's a few pictures from the day.

Fred's tools and a tool happy to be outside for the new year

The warm temps sent the start to my project down.
It about crushed our heads. Get it L!

Happy 2011! from "US"

Laura bringing in the new year on the deteriorating ice

Tomorrow the temps are supposed to drop below freezing and the 10 day is looking very promising. Next weekend we should be out at it again with vastly improved conditions. Hope everyone had as much fun this New Years day as we did!

After Christmas climbing

2010-12-27T22:09:00.000-08:00

I ended up climbing the day after Christmas. I was supposed to work, but in the A.M. I started receiving calls from everyone that they were going climbing. I couldn't resist... I packed my gear and set off to go climbing. We had a great day. It was 14 degrees very windy and snowing. I'll give a quick recap of the days events and throw in a few photos. Mike Royer had an exciting day with an inverted lead fall on the pillar right of G-Gully. No injuries and in good fashion, he got collected, went up and finished the climb. Joel Toretti got on an impressive line to the left of Called on Account of Security. Here's some photos of Joel in action.

Joel starting up his new line, Check out the early season formations

Joel mid route (climbing, loving life, sheltered from the wind)
photog. freezing my ass off, not climbing, so I could take pics of Joel!

Hollow ice underneath?

I wasn't there 5 min until Joel started trash talking, so I had to finish The Awakening WI5 for him. The route is currently in good condition with some delicate hooks near the top on marginal screws. The rest of our crew enjoyed some top rope action on various other lines. Chip Kamin's son Jason was in town for the holidays and got to enjoy some great on ice action with his dad.

What a great way to spend Christmas in SWPA.

Jason top roping Final Obligation WI5

On a final note, After posting a pic of Joel climbing on NEice, I received a call from Ian out in Montana saying that the gems he's been seeking are in some serious avalanche danger zones and that we've got it good back here in the east. I have to agree Ian and for your enjoyment heres the good stuff in its current condition. Hope to see you and Josh this winter!

Mmmmmmm quality mixed!

New Irishtown Mixed Route, Dirty-T M4+

2010-12-22T20:10:00.001-08:00

Laura Hahn seconding the new route Dirty-T M4+

Laura and I put up a new mixed line at Irishtown. Its located a hundred feet or so left of Dynamite. There is a line of ice in between the two mixed lines named Pale Wildwood Ice Tower - WI4. Its not quite in yet, but should be touching down by mid next week. Dirty T M4+. It climbs up through some ledges and face passing 3 bolts. Climb up through a small overlap to the ice and finish it up with turf to the trees. Lots of fun climbing for almost anyone. Great introduction for the climber looking to combine rock and ice.

Pulling up onto the ice

Top of the ice section

Turf to the top

The route name came from all the dirt that came off of the cliff and ended up all over me. It started out with me being clean and the route being dirty and ended with me being dirty and the route being clean. Enjoy!

Dirty deeds done dirt cheap

Ancient ice tool used by the Irishtownian ice climbing tribe

Ohiopyle (Meadow Run) Conditions

2010-12-20T14:09:00.000-08:00

Today I stopped to check conditions at Lower and Upper Meadow Run today. Overall, Lower Meadow is looking bleak. The short supply of ground water is keeping the ice from forming here. Good news is that there IS ice forming on the start to an awesome looking route that I've tried several times over the years. Its in the middle of the overhang between Anger Management (L) and Captain Caveman (R). It comes out the steepest, longest part of the roof. The seep coming down the short face below the roof is almost ready for some action. I think by next week this line will be ready to try. Please don't knock down the icicle that is almost connected to the Rhodie. This is the start to the route.

Just about ready to go. Next weeks line?

The rest of the lines are looking thin, but as you can see in the picture, the finish to Anger Management is looking great for any aspiring senders. Now is the best time to do it. Captain Caveman is also in great condition, but the extension hanger isn't formed up enough to support body weight. Soon enough.

Hemlock is looking thin, but climbable after a thin start.

Walking up to the thin start of Hemlock WI3

The Main pillar is in horrible shape for the amount of cold that we've had. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone at this point. Don't waste your time if you're planning on coming here to climb the normal ice lines, they don't exist yet.

On a positive note. Upper Meadow Run is looking very good so far. The School Yard has a very nice flow for most everyone. Its forming an nice gully runnel just to the right of the normal ice lines. It appears to be thick enough for any length screws. Get it while its good. Here's a photo of School Yard area.

The "NEW" right runnel that usually doesn't form

The steep mixed climbs in the cave are good for dry tooling, but the ice doesn't appear to be long enough for body weight or use. So if you're into the upside down antics give it a little more time and they should be good for some tries. Above all, the best part of climbing at Upper Meadow is how beautiful the area is. Come out to Southwestern PA for some great winter climbing.

The beautiful setting at Upper Meadow Run with the Amphitheater on the right

Another photo looking out of the cave

First real day on ice

2010-12-20T11:06:00.000-08:00

Sunday we spent the day at our favorite ice playground. We were joined by Dr. Bob, Regina, Felipe, Chip and several others. The weather was reasonable holding at about 10 degrees with some snow showers throughout the day.

Everyone eyeing the conditions

Routes are coming in nicely, but most big lines need a little more time. The crew decided to drop top ropes on G-Gully WI4+, Final Obligation WI5 and Son of Beast WI5+. Everyone enjoyed pumping out and running laps on the early season, steep, candlesticked lines.

While the others rigged ropes, etc. Laura and I started our season with Called on account of security WI4. Its currently in very nice condition and but took mostly short screws. This year, there's even some ice at the start making it easier than its usual rock start. Here are a few photos that I took of Laura on our first ice route of 2010/11. We both enjoyed the line very much. Apparently Laura really had fun as she was giggling and smiling as she reached the anchors.

From the belay, Laura coming up Called on account of security WI4

Further up the route - Called on account of Security WI4

Final lip of Called on account of Security WI4

By next weekend we should have some really steep filled in lines. We all had a blast despite Felipe's tooth incident. Good Luck on your climbing trip to Thailand Felipe. Hope your tooth is OK. See you when you get back.

Dynamite M6 First Ascent

2010-12-18T16:23:00.000-08:00

Putting work into Dynamite M6

Recently I wrote about a mixed climb that I had top roped last season. It was a fun line that I thought was worth investing some time and effort into. In recent days I spent some time equipping the route and giving it a few tries with State College climber and friend Joel Torretti. Early season and tired arms shut me down several times. With a night of rest I managed to get it. This new climb at Irishtown crag in Dunbar is now officially named Dynamite and is roughly M6. Yesterday my faithful partner Laura accompanied me to video, belay and motivate me for the send. With several days pump and some sheer determination I sent. I decided to put a short clip together to show everyone the climb. I hope this motivates more folks to come join in the great winter climbing that Southwestern PA has to offer. This is my first ever attempt at doing any video work, so any feedback is appreciated. click here and enjoy the clip!

My newly created helmet art

Tomorrow should be an incredible day. Its Laura and my first day back at the local big ice playground. Laura and I are so excited to get our first pure ice day in (maybe). Rumor has it that ice climbing hardman and old buddy Chip Kamin will be joining us for some tool swinging at some of the biggest local ice he's ever climbed. Dr. Bob, Regina, Felipe, Laura and myself are planning for some big fun on the best looking early season ice in 10 years. Of note, last year I witnessed an incredible mixed line form that I hadn't seen in other years. If its in tomorrow, I think I may have to investigate. Stay tuned for the details!

Projected corner line (last season) - Ohhhh, Ahhhhhhhh!

Local crag feature "Irishtown" past and present

2010-12-15T17:49:00.000-08:00

Well the start of the winter season 2010/11 is underway and slowly I'm getting back into the groove of using tools and crampons on rock and ice again. Like with most previous local seasons, our first few days are spent scratching around on dismal ice, but mostly rock. Yes the cold has hit the Laurel Highlands and the ice is building fast, but the mixed climbing is our best option right now and getting even better. We really haven't seen many climbers out yet, but I'm sure this weekend will have ice climbers out at the easy access crags. With the early season mixed climbing in such good shape, I've decided to try to increase the amount of opportunity for ice climbers to try their hand at the abundance of mixed options we have in the area. I decided to revisit a climb that I top roped last season at a local crag named Irishtown. I've dubbed the route Dynamite. It's located on the lower wall at Irishtown.

equipping the route "Dynamite" at Irishtown

You can see footage of the climb at the end of this short Irishtown video by Ray Burnsworth of Wildfilm productions. Its the last climb of the clip. Now all you young whippersnappers don't be laughing too hard at the vintage '90s climbing attire. This clip shows some of the ice at Irishtown and the above route is located on the lower cliff (the first of the two walls.)
This crag is an old abandoned Limestone mine that seeps water out over the front forming several nice lines. There is a lower and upper wall. The lower wall is obvious, but the upper wall is reached by going right of the lower wall and following the trail to the upper wall. Its about a 5min. walk. The center of the Lower Wall is highlighted by an old mine opening, with many mean looking daggers hanging off the lip. Use Caution - The warm air seeping out of the mine prevents the solid attachment of the sickles hanging over the mouth. THEY FORM AND FALL CONTINUALLY all season long, so be careful! Since it's an old quarry/mine and some of the rock isn't the best quality, it makes for a fun mixed and drytooling crag when other ice isn't fully formed. There are several pure ice lines which have been the main attraction of this crag in past years. Just to the right of the quarry opening is the ice route Mouth of Madness WI4-5. One of the earlier climbs of the cliff which was first climbed via top rope in the mid '80's. Not until recent years have the mixed options become so apparent. This season I hope to establish some new bolted mixed climbs to expand the options at this fun roadside crag. Another quality line at the main cliff is called The Prow WI3+,M4. Its located to the right of Mouth Of Madness. It ascends several shorter vertical sections before pulling through the rock. Finishes at the trees. You can also traverse left and finish that way if the overhanging rock intimidates you. I highly recommend this line.

Laura Hahn seconding The Prow WI4- M4 Feb2010

The Prow's conditions today

Myself on the Prow '09-'10 season

One of the most common email questions I receive is: I'm a newer ice climber, where do you recommend I go? Irishtown is a great choice. The Upper tier is home to several nice, (but short 15'-30') WI 3 to 3+ routes that are usually easy to top rope or great for a newer leader to get their feet wet. Here's a few photos of their condition as of today.

The main central flow of the upper Irishtown wall

Some short mixed options exist on the upper wall as well

The rightmost flow of the upper Irishtown wall

There you have it a brief introduction to Irishtown. By this weekend most lines should be in reasonable shape for this time of year. So come out to Southwestern PA and enjoy cragging at Irishtown.

Saturday 12/11 conditions check

2010-12-11T13:20:00.000-08:00

Here's a few photos from our drive to check conditions. 38° and sunny. Tommorrow calls for rain. Then the temps are to drop into the teens and single digits again. Season is underway.

Overview of local conditions

Early season taunting of the SICK-le

Day 2 of the Season

2010-12-10T16:35:00.000-08:00

After a day of rest, I decided to head back to Meadow Run and take on some more early sesaon punishment. We pulled into the lot and were greeted by Regina and Felipe a newer partner of Regina's that had only been on ice 2 previous days at the end of last season.

Phillipe and Regina enjoy some pre climbing nourishment

We spent the day on a new line to the right of Hemlock. It had a rock start up until the end of the route which has a short easier section of ice. Its seemed to be a nice warmup line and I think will make a nice addition to the numerous routes at this easy access crag. We then moved onto Season Finale which went pretty smooth, then Laura and I each took a turn on Main Pillar right which was mostly verglas and rock moves up to a final short pillar. Laura then took a lap on the Main Pillar left, which Regina and Phillipe were running laps on. Laura smoothed it. I finished my day by taking a run on Captain Caveman. Again the climb went smoother than expected. The final curtain isn't very well formed, which makes the exit moves considerably easier than when the curtain is low enough to get on. I took out most of the serious daggers and by next weekend it should be in good shape.

NOTE: The fixed draws on all Lower Meadow Run routes were nabbed over the summer, so make sure to bring draws if you're planning on doing these lines.

Some Random Photos

Phillipe - third ice day ever

Regina enjoying her first day of the season

Wake up Timmy... Time to climb

Ice season '10/11 begins

2010-12-08T19:04:00.000-08:00

The warm months have come and gone. I've spent most of the year running countless miles, mostly on the scenic 75+ mile Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail. I ran all over and all distances. Some of the miles were in races but most were run for the freedom it provides and the incredible wilderness experiences. It was the first year I spent doing nothing but running. It seemed strange not spending every spare moment seeking out my vertical fix, to make a long boring story short, it turned out to be a necessary break and made my hunger for winter climbing season greater. Here we are on the verge of winter and I couldn't be more excited.

Today Laura and I decided to kick off the winter climbing season and headed to Ohiopyle State Park to clear the cobwebs and get a quick refresher on how to use ice tools. We spent a few hours taking a thrashing on the standard routes in very lean conditons. Seems there isn't much water flowing which in turn isn't prouducing much ice. There is no ice to be had at the start of Season Finale, while the Main flow, Hemlock and the others are slowly building and coming into shape. This weekend will only provide slim mixed pickings for those itching to get out. By next weekend, there should be climbable ice for all along Meadow Run. We were going to check Upper Meadow, but got distracted and completely forgot. Random photos of our day.

Laura crossing the bridge for the first time of the season

Myself below the iceless start to Season Finale

Laura on Anger Management

After Ohiopyle, we drove to Irishtown to see what we could find. Here's the photo report.

Main flow still very thin

Dynamite M6 looks about ready

The Prow coming in nicely

One of this years projects???

O'Yeah I forgot to metion we checked out some ice yesterday as well. I know we're not as lucky as most of the state and don't have much good ice climbing, but this is what we've got so far. I guess it'll have to do. The temperature at the parking area was 16°, less the ten degree difference to the bottom which made it about 6° above there yesterday and it sure felt like it. The wind was ripping which should help to improve things a bit.

Left End 12/7/10 SW Pennsylvania

Overview of the Cliffs

Laura my ice princess was pleasantly surprised

A happy ice climbing couple. Hope to see you this season!

It's still ice season here! but for how long?

2010-03-08T12:59:00.000-08:00

Went out at the crack of dawn to check conditions. We still have plenty of ice (currently). The next 5 days forcast to be really warm. Not sure if it'll hold to the weekend, but we'll see. If there's ice we'll be climbing. Here's a few photos of our outing this morning.

Sunrise through the forest

Laura ready to hike in, 22° and crust packed snow

Snowshoeing in. Still 3'+ of snow under the packed surface

Walking down into the left wall. Best overall shot we got this am.

Still lots of snow under there as I quickly learned

Please stay in, just a few more days.

Enjoying some "bouldering", couldn't resist!

That's the report on what it looked like today. The past several weeks we've hardly seen any other climbers out despite the great late season conditions. We (L and I) know the end is near, but we're not ready to give up just yet!

To our fellow ice climbers: we hope you got out and enjoyed the great season we've had here this year in SWPA. Laura and I had a great time climbing with friends old and new. Thanks everyone for the great sesason and memories! To our ice friends... see you next winter! To our rock friends... see you in a few days after we put the ice season to bed!

Late Feb ice action in SWPA

2010-03-02T07:18:00.000-08:00

Sunday morning and WE were to meet Joel Torretti, Mike Royer and Ian Austin for some SWPA climbing. Although the WE turned into I, but I'll get to that in a minute. Ian is a good friend of Josh Hurst who made the trip down from Maine earlier this year to climb. Josh's trip was fun despite the fact that it was doomed by miserable warm weather and a short, unlucky fall that basically ended his ice season. Upon Josh's recommendation, Ian decided to hook up with our little SWPA posse to sample the ice while passing through PA from out west. Saturday was out for me, so Ian hooked up with Joel Torretti and Mike Royer who both drove in from Central PA to work on the Upper Meadow mixed climbing. Word is that Joel was close to sending the left var. Currently the finish pillar on the direct route has fallen down, making the finish impossible. Here are some photos of the crew working the line.

Joel working the project with Ian on belay, Photo by Mike Royer

Ian Austin giving it a go, photo by Mike Royer

Joel getting close to the send, photo by Mike Royer

Sunday:

Like the post started, WE (Laura and I) were to meet the guys on Sunday to get out to some bigger lines in the area, but Saturday Laura caught ill and was in no shape to be climbing on Sunday. She was seriously bummed out since the steepness is her preference and she had to miss what might've been one of the last days of season. She's had a great season getting really strong and improving on her technique. The hard work has paid off as she's been getting many compliments from other climbers about how smooth and effortless she seconds the steepest ice lines. I hope we can squeeze in another day out since she had to miss the fun this weekend. Get well soon sweetie, lets go climbing! I met Joel, Mike and Ian at Valley Dairy in Connellsville. We made our way to the crag, geared up and set off to the crag. Mike and I snowshoed in while Joel and Ian skied in. A foot of more of new snow had fallen overnight. Parking this week was easier than previous trips here and we wasted no time getting to the climbing. The climbs looked amazing.

End of Feb. and climbs still look great! Photo Regina Schulte-Ladbeck

Looking up the left wall Beast in center, Madrocket and Double A on left, Photo by Mike Royer

The new snow erased any ugliness of melting snow and ice. It looked pretty darned good. It was decided that Ian and I would pair up for Monsta WI5+ 65m which had made a very rare appearance and looked climbable. It was previously top roped about 5 years ago during a fickle season when it formed only half way down the wall, but had yet to be freed. Joel and Mike teamed up for a go on The Beast WI5+ 60m another rare former that is currently in the best shape in many years. Since Ian had driven halfway across the country to climb here I let him have the honors of the beautiful line.

Ian starting up Madrocket, Joel on The Beast, Photo by Regina Schulte-Ladbeck

Joel Torretti is the master of racking big for big lines... photo by Ian Austin

Ian tied in and cruised up through the fat start up to some less than ideal ice in the center portion of the route. At one point there was an amazing bulb of ice that was made for a rest. You could actually sit down and let go, pretty cool. He continued up the line to the overlap. He climbed up under the overlap and placed several good screws in the solid ice against the main rock wall. He then went to work clearing the sicles and chopping a window through the curtain to pull the overhang and and establish on the solid ice above. After several hundred whacks, enough was cleared to pull out onto the ice. Ian rested for a minute at the calf blowing stance, then proceeded to finish the line off.

Ian reaching the top on Madrocket WI5+, Photo by Mike Royer

He built a V-thread and put me on belay. I seconded the incredibly fun line finding the climbing a little easier than expected. Please don't misunderstand "easier" Not that it was easy, just easier than what my visual perception of the line convinced my brain. The climbing was very bold and committing. Great job by Ian on a magnificent send.

Through the final overlap, I'm nearing the belay of Madrocket WI5++, Photo Mike Royer

Topping out Ian's new line Madrocket (note the person above my right shoulder for scale) , Photo by Ian Austin

When I reached the bealy, Ian and I reveled in our happiness of such a great climb. Time to go down. Well I think it took us longer to sort out (untangle) our ropes for the rap than the climb took. Rats nest #1. After some work, we got the ropes in order and made our way to the ground. The new official name of the line dubbed "Monsta" is now Madrocket WI5++. Joel and Mike had been working hard on The Beast. I was up for our team. I was planning on climbing The Beast when Joel and Mike were done, but Ian poked at me to try the line just right of Madrocket. It appeared a little easier than Madrocket but harder than The Beast. It was unclimbed and I like unclimbed so I decided to give it a whirl. We had a sip of coffee and watched the other team for a minute before I started up. Joel was on lead slowly working his way up the line. He was not climbing as he normally would. I could tell he wasn't going under full power. He made his way up a little over half way to the crux sections and just didn't have the steam to keep going. His attempts on the mixed lines the day before got the best of him. Wisely he backed off and came down to the ground. Mike went up cleaning Joels screws and lowering off the thread. Great attempt guys! Well I was up to try a new line. I used a similar start as Madrocket but quickly went right after the opening pillar.

Working up through Double A WI6, Photo by Mike Royer

Last bulge before the final crux on Double A WI6, Photo by Mike Royer

My highpoint of Double-A WI6, Photo by Mike Royer

Moving up through shitty ice, large mushroomed overhangs and barely attached large pillars. The climbing went smooth up the first 140', but I was starting to feel the pump. I guess following Ian up the first line, then jumping right onto the 2nd line without a sufficient rest, proved too much for me. Perched below the final crux pillar, the gear potential looked shotty and I felt Ididn't have what was needed to commit and finish. Ian said that he'd take a go at it and lowered me to the ground. I put him on belay and he went up. In fine style he made his way up through what I had climbed and stood below the crux, resting a moment before proceeding to climb up into the crux. He worked through slowly placing more screws in the final 40' than the entire lower portion of the climb. He made it up to the "top" of the climb only to find little ice worth using for an anchor. None the less he utilized what was there and put me on belay with the intent that when I got near the top I'd build a thread lower down in better ice.

Ian at the belay of Double-A WI6, Photo by Regina Schulte-Ladbeck

I tied in and worked up to the crux section.

Just below the final crux. Photo by Ian Austin

Slightly frustrated that I didn't commit and fire the line, I started the moves. The climbing was steep, but well within my ability. I could see why Ian was plugging screws often. The climbing was strenuous and scary. At one point, I was able to get a hip into a "corner" on my left. This offered a brief no hands rest mid crux.

Yes the ice here in SWPA is a little steep. Final moves on Double-A. Photo by Ian Austin

After the rest, the final several moves stayed solid through ice that was less than ideal. I was a body's length below Ian at the belay. I clipped into a screw at his feet. I quickly built a sufficient anchor and transferred onto it. Ian built what I believe was the most shallow thread I've ever seen. He passed me a bundle of ropes. It more resembled a large ball of yarn. I set to work untangling the mess while he made a short, quick rap down to me at the new solid anchor. This was rat nest #2 for the day and this one took top honors. Thanks Ian, I've been slacking in my balled-up rope untangling skills! This was a great refresher course : ) What an amazing, fun line and experience. We talked about a name for it and came up with Double-A WI6 (Austin, Anderson) Seemed appropriate since this was our first time climbing together.

Who had more fun? Photo by Ian Austin

While Ian and I were taking on Double A, Joel and Mike decided to try Son of Beast WI5, but backed off due to poor ice. Mike decided to try The Awakening WI5. I didn't get to see him climb, but heard that it went very well for him. Great work and congrats on the send Mike! Dr. Bob and Regina made an appearance around noonish. Busy in the hole, I didn't get to talk to them. From what I heard they decided to try The Infinite WI5, but only made part of the route.

Dr. Bob racking up for The Infinite WI5, Photo by Regina Schulte-Ladbeck

Climber, Professor, Photographer, all around fun girl, Dr. Regina, Schulte-Ladbeck

Tough conditions and stinging snow proved too much and they decided to head back to the Burgh. Regina has offically thown in the towel. She said she's ready for warm rock. I wish I could say the same. Laura and I wish the season would continue for a few more months! This has been an incredible season so far. The end has to be drawing near. This past weeked was a lot of fun. Great job and some serious respect goes out to Ian Austin for his efforts here in PA. If you ever get the chance to climb with him, take it. He's a great guy to share a rope with and we welcome his return to SWPA next season!

The completed new lines, Madrocket WI5 (left) and Double A WI6 (right) photo by Ian Austin

SWPA ice conditions

2010-02-25T12:43:00.000-08:00

I spent a couple hours this AM checking Laurel Highlands ice conditions for you icehounds. I've got some great news... Conditions are still sweet! Read on.

Ohiopyle State Park

Lower Meadow Run is looking good and has survived the couple warm days. Plenty of ice to be climbed this weekend. Get on it while it lasts. Here are the lines as walking in on the approach trail.

Season Finale area looking good and climbable.

Hemlock L & R both very nice

Main Flow on the left is fat and the mixed lines are in perfect condition for sends

Didn't check the Upper Meadow Ampitheater on the parking side, but I'm guessing its in good shape too!

Cucumber Falls

More for novelty. Even when formed, the 12' of climbing after the cone isn't worth doing and quite dangerous. Here's what it looks like today. Not this season!

HIGH VOLUME WATER...

Irishtown is looking a lot better than it did last week when we were there. Its fat and blue ready to be screwed. This is the best its looked in years.

Mouth of Madness WI4+ looking good. Top might be a little thin. Take your shorties!

Newer to mixed? This climb is for you! The Prow WI3+, M4 We did it last week, great fun. Topout left. Sling the bent tree in the middle (seemed to work well). Take a few small TCU's for the rock between ice. Great Turf shots at the top.

Looking out of the mine opening at the back side of Mouth of Madness, PA's version of the Mica Mine. Its possible to climb upsidedown for hundreds of yards. (Yo! Will Gadd where are you?)

Here's another shot of the futuristic roof 40' up from the aliens on the floor!

Melting Mount Rushmore in ice aliens... Am I reaching on this one? Its MY blog...

The other areas in SWPA...

Beast Wall

The Beast WI5+/6 appears to be "in" Monsta WI5+/6 looking a little "dicey". The right var. looking safer. left looking more balls out! (to me at least) Could build a little more by the weekend. I'd love to try Monsta!

Looking up the lines Monsta topout in upper left corner, The Beast on the right.

Right Wall

From Left to Right, G-Gully WI4+, Final Obligation WI5, The Awakening WI5, Unamed/Graded Torretti line, World of Pain WI5+, Called on Account of Security WI4 R All routes in reasonable condition after the warm.

Infinite Area

Shot from far away, sorry for the quality. The left line is The Infinite WI5 looking incredible. The SICK-le WI6 M5/6 appears to have a fracture at the lip. Way too scary for me! I saw it come crashing down (extremely close up) once. That was more than enough! I'll wait...again

Well thats my photo report on the areas I visited. Hope it helps in your planning. This may be our last weekend in the area, so get on it while its fat. If you have any questions, please get in touch. If you have conditions reports, photos you think are rad. Anything you'd like to share, get it to me. I'd be happy to post it up for others to see. Thanks and hope to see you out there! -Tim

The Southerner's return to ice

2010-02-22T17:05:00.000-08:00

Day 1 (Saturday)

What a weekend! Hope everyone got out to enjoy the current fatness. Ice climbing conditions were perfect in the Laurel Highlands. Longtime climbing friend Matt Johns finally made the drive up from Kentucky for some ice climbing. It'd been about 9 or 10 years since Matt has climbed ice. For many years the conditions seemed to have thwarted all attempts Matt has made to come climb ice. Well this was the year. Laura and I were in need of another rest day and Matt needed a slight refresher on the art of ice climbing. Schoolhouse was our destination for Saturday. After a delicious breakfast at Valley Dairy, we drove to Ohiopyle. The road into Mitchell parking hadn't been plowed so we had to park at the main parking area in town and snwoshoe 4 miles into the climb. Matt's an adventurous guy and Laura likes to hike so we decided it was a nice way to spend the day.

Laura and Matt starting the day. Photo TA

We set off from the parking area and the going wasn't bad the first 1.75 miles. Snowmobiles had been down the rail trail packing the snow and making for easy travels. Stopped by a downed tree, the easy going ended there. Breaking trail in the deep snow was the norm the rest of the way. I was pulling Laura's and my gear on a sled and Matt was packing his own. It took about 2 hrs for us to reach the crag. I had been worried about the ice conditions with all the sun beating down. Matt and Laura had slowed down a good bit in the final 1/2 mile push to the climb. He was very excited upon his arrival at the cliff. We found the ice in snowcone condition. I quickly geared up and climbed the route. I belayed Matt up as Laura took some photos.

Matt had a good time seconding the climb and getting back onto ice after so many years. We left it rigged on the shuts and walked down. We took turns climbing the quickly deteriorating ice. We finished up a little before 3 o'clock. While packing up our gear Dr. Bob and Regina came walking up the trail to the cliff. We briefly chatted then let them get to climbing as the route didn't appear that it would be climbable much longer. Surprisingly the hike out felt a little better than the hike in. At one point Laura hopped on the sled with all the gear to take the easy way out. She was grinning ear to ear during her 1/2 mile of sleighing through the woods. She was surprised I could manage the load and her. It was the least I could do since I didn't get her a valentines present this year. At the car we snapped a photo and made our way to dinner at Tall Cedars in Donegal. We all agreed that the day was a lot of fun. The weather was warm and it was great to get Matt on the elusive route. Remember Matt, the cliff is always 10min. away!

Laura climbing Flying Dutchman. Photo TA

One of many bent trees on the way out. Photo LH

Laura's view on the Schoolhouse shuttle. Photo LH

The happy crew

The southerner says - mmm mmm good eatin'. Sneak photo LH

Day 2 (Sunday)

We enjoyed our "casual day" Saturday saving our energy for a climbfest on Sunday. We met Joel Torretti, Dr. Bob, Regina, Mike, and Kenny at another local cliff. I think Matt was impressed at his first sighting of the crag. We stopped at the top and I pointed out the different lines while Laura took some pics.

Matt & I checking out the routes. Photo LH

We made our way down to the climbs. Matt and I decided to start the day on Called on Account of Security. It was in the best conditions I've ever climbed it. The normal mixed start was buried under about 12' of snow. It was still thin through the bottom, with a huge middle pillar and a slightly thin finish. It was a lot of fun.

The super fat middle of Called on Account of Security WI4. Photo LH

Matt Johns seconding Called on Account of Security. Photo LH

Laura was giving Joel a belay on G Gully. He led the initial pillar and threaded off. Mike and Kenny did the same on the Central left pillar. Ropes were left on all the lines while we all took turns climbing each of the lines. After our warm ups, Joel racked up for the line he tried last week. He quickly made his thread and pushed up the next step to below the crux. He went up to the crux, poked around a bit and backed down to the rest stance. This happened several times before commiting to the moves. He worked up through on the third try, placing several screws and looking solid. He did a great job of keeping it together and finishing what he started the week ago. Congrats on the send Joel! What's it called?

Joel Torretti on his new unamed line. Photo LH

My goal for the weekend was to get back on my attempted route from Valentines day. Regina and Bob finished up on Called on Account of Security and it was "Go Time" The route looked slightly better or should I say "wetter" than last weekend. Some new blue ice graced the top of the climb concealing the V threads from the week before, all the while making the final bulge a bit bulgier. The water was really running on the route. Temps were on the rise and I wasn't sure if I would get another shot next weekend or even the rest of the season. I figured it might be my last chance. I tied in and started up the route with Matt on the catch.

A cool perspective of me starting up the route. Photo LH

Climbing through one of the earlier crux sections. Photo LH

I found the climbing to feel a tad easier than the previous week. Still very commiting, but not as much work clearing the rotten shit as I had on last Sunday's attempt. Knowing the route, I utilized all the possible rests and things went well (except for dropping my lucky BD stubbie in the snow. Gone forever!)

Finishing up the FFA of World of Pain WI 5+ Photo LH

Matt instilled great confidence as my belayer. I placed nowhere near the number of screws as the week before. Pulling the final bulge and not being pumped gave me a great sense of accomplishment. I placed an anchor screw, clipped in and relaxed. The view from the top was sweet. In a fine show of style Matt offered Laura to second my send. Thanks Matt! She did incredible showing smooth, effortless climbing. Matt was 3rd up the line doing a great job and enjoying the climb. I'm glad my sweetie and old buddy were in on my send.

Laura seconding World of Pain. Photo MJ

"The Southerner" Matt Johns enjoying SWPA ice. Photo LH

Mike led The Awakening with Kenny as the last line of the day. We hiked out to the cars satisfied as the day was drawing to a close. With some luck and cold weather we'll get in another weekend of climbing.

Incredible V-day ice climbing

2010-02-14T21:53:00.000-08:00

It was Valentine's Day ♥ and my sweetie asked for a hard steep line as her present. Being a lover... I did my best to deliver. For years I've refered to it as "big blue". A tall steep line that has seen only a couple TR ascents. I decided it looked good enough and took the plunge to go for the FFA. It was Joel Torretti, his friend Matt, Ray, Laura and I today. Laura and I arrived first and like last week we went to work on shovel duty. We shoveled for about 30min to clear enough space for the 3 vehicles to be off the road enough for others to pass. The snow is very deep up there. We stopped to check the snow depth and sunk a fully extended trekking pole to the grip.

Laura and Ray snowshoeing to the climbs

After the miserable approach last weekend Laura, Ray and I opted to snowshoe in. Joel, was on skis and Matt on his snowboard. The climbs looked amazing. The temps were reasonable around 20° and the wind wasn't blowing too much. The snow was so deep that Matt took advantage and did two new first descents, one down each side.

Matt midway down his run

At the bottom first snowboard descent

We setup to take a go at the new line while Joel and Matt roped up for The Awakening WI5. I took my first go. The ice was brittle and quite aerated. The first good screw was up about 35'. The route was taking a lot of effort to clean and made progress slow up the manky ice. The climbing was burly and relentless. I ended up hanging on a screw part way up. I didn't find much "good" ice for screws. I placed many, but trusted few. Engergy was wasted trying to get good gear only to find they were mostly worthless screws. Flash pump set in and made it hard to recover from that point on. I made about 2/3 of the wall before I lowered off to take a break and have another look at which way to take the line as the climbing was quite commiting and a lot of work and I didn't want to end up in no man's land.

Starting up the route

It was Valentines day and Laura was standing down there belaying for an eternity while I made slow progress to my high point. I felt bad for taking so long. What a trooper! She stands on countless long belays while I thrash my way upwards. She's always supportive and cheering me on in my times of need. I feel lucky to have such a great partner and girlfriend. I headed down and took over the belay. Laura did a great job on her go. It was pumpy for her and she hung a few times but worked up fluidly to my highpoint.

Laura starting up the line

She came down pumped and exhausted. We were hunkered down under a tarp at the bottom of the climb. I had a sip of coffee and we rested for a spell. Ray snapped this shot of us.

We're sitting under the black tarp at the bottom. Happy Valentine's Day

I tied back in and started up. The climbing was better after two of us had been on it. I quickly climbed up to my high point. Once again I was on back on the steep arm blowing climbing that required a lot of clearing and hard work. The steepness was relentless with mostly overhanging candlestick and rotten stuff. This was obviously the crux of the route and it continued for a while. I slowly made my way up the crux pillar wasting engergy on bad screws. I found myself working through the overhang about 6' below the easier climbing at the top when I lobbed off. Yep, I took a fall, no success or true glory for me. I was upset with myself for not hanging in there, but I just didn't have it. I worked back up to my pro and rested for a minute before firing through the bulge only to place a screw at the lip and pumping myself into a hang. Once again I got back on and finished it up to the end. I threaded, backed it up and lowered off. On the ground I realized how wasted I was. It put me in a "World of Pain". No more for me.

Mid crux on my second attempt

just about through the overhanging bulge

Seemed hard to me...

Laura was up for a go at the whole line. She did amazing. She seconded the line with only 3 hangs. Laura is a strong climber with only a couple years of ice experience.

Laura on her Valentine's Day present

Here's a few shots of Joel and Matt working a few lines.

Joel on The Awakening, Matt Belaying and Ray taking photos

Joel working on an unclimbed line

Last but not least a few random photos from the day

Matt getting ready for the day

Almost back to the car

Me and my valentine!

It was Valentines Day, I didn't get the clean send, but it was a lot of fun trying. Upon our return home I realized just how hard the climbing was. The aches were setting in. "Big Blue" is now being dubbed "World of Pain" How hard is it? After a little discussion we think it falls in around WI5+ possibly WI6. The grade is irrelavant. Its solid, commiting and lots of frightening fun. I can say its much harder and susatained than my other recent climbs. I'd say 5+ would be conservative. Only time will tell. We'll be back next week to give it another go (weather permitting)! The 10 day weather outlook is good. Below freezing temps will keep the ice in its current conditon or better. Hope everyone is taking full advantage of this great winter we're having.

The Infinite WI5 FFA

2010-02-07T18:03:00.000-08:00

The Infinite WI5 Photo by Ray Burnsworth

As I write this blog entry, I sit here tired and satisfied with today's adventure. 28" of new snow fell on the Laurel Highlands from Friday at noon until Saturday at 5:00pm. Roads were in bad shape. Snow was to most, a major nuisance. As the events of our Sunday unfolded, we began to agree with the "most". The cold weather has brought new vigor to the ice climbing in SWPA. Everything is back in good condition and almost could be considered FAT. Ray, Laura and I hit up our usual Sunday spot only to find the usual 2 lane road slightly larger than one lane. Ray was already there "parked" in the middle of the road. A 4' wall of snow denied us of our usually easy place to park. After numerous attempted rammings with the whip, we resorted to 40 minutes of shovel duty to clear enough room to park and allow a car to pass.

We took Ray and his car elsewhere to park, otherwise we would have been shoveling X2. We returned to find that someone had shown up to climb and taken advantage of our hard labor. There was a red Jeep Cherokee parked right in our spot (Gotcha...I'm only kidding) Our spot was still clear and we parked without incident. The car was officially parked. All we had to do now was hike in and climb. Not that easy. Today was the worst approach I've ever encountered at our little local crag. Our approach is normally a leisurely 15min. stroll. Today it was 45 min. of post holeing in 3+ feet of snow. I've never sweated so much going downhill. It was a balmy 10° as we reached the base of our climb hot, soaked and miserable. I was first one there, so I proceed to stamp out an area for the 3 of us to inhabit while we got ready to climb and for Ray to shoot some video from. You can check out some of his stuff here Wildfilm Productions

Ray Burnsworth ready to video at camp2

I chose to try the line left of The Sick-le again. It rejected Joel Torretti and I about a month ago. We tried to send it, but were both utlimately shut down. The line had been top roped several times over the years, but it still eluded a FFA. The climbing is often found to be much harder and steeper than expected. A common reaction is "That thing is overhung!" I can't say if its truly overhung, but it is steep and funkified right now. The single digit temps, large amounts of snow, and a nice feed of water has formed this line into a wild 3D landscape. The climb went very well despite the mass removal of crust, snow and daggers. The pitch was demanding. It was apprx. 100' long and took 1hr and 10min to complete.

My gloves were soaked and in serious need of wax on the palms. The snow on my unwaxed palms had me climbing up on my 2nd grips where I seemed to not be slipping off as much. I lowered from a couple screws and Laura tied in to 2nd. She loved the climb. She found the climb to be a lot of fun and opted to take a second lap hooking up through the blobs and sicles.

When she came down I went up, Threaded it out and lowered off. We decided to name the route The Infinite WI5. Due to the infinite amount of snow we received on attempted days. We packed up our gear and made the uphill trudge out. It was nice to have broken trail downhill on the way in. It made the uphill at least slightly better than it could've been.

Laura post climb, 10° and wearing puffy pants

Still it took waaaaaay longer than normal. The large snowfall made the day a little harder on us, but the beautiful landscape, great climbing and friends made it worth the efforts. Hope your day was just as good! Cheers

The happy climbing couple

Next week. A Sick-le attempt? Its almost in...

A few phtos Ray took today

Flying Dutchman WI4 FFA

2010-02-04T20:09:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I spent the day exploring upstream along the Youghiogheny River from Stewarton. I am happy to report that I found several nice flows coming over the small outcrops. Most were in the WI2 to WI3+ range. With sufficient cold weather I think the flows would form up fat and be great fun. Not sure if they've ever been climbed or not. The approach is easy (along the railroad tracks) and the flows start less than 10min from the car. Get in touch if you'd like more info on these. Just before Bear Run, I was looking across the river at Maple Wall and School House Crag. Not much to report at Maple Wall, but as I got in closer view to School House, it came out of nowhere. ICE. It appeared to be on the left side of the cliff about where the rock route Flying Dutchman would be. I was in awe at how cool this would be if one of the best crags in the area had ice routes too. I was stoked. Wearing my ice boots and pack as if for a typical ice day, I set off running the 2 miles back to the car. I had to hurry, I only had a few hours to get back to the car. Drive all the way around to Bruner Run, run the 1.75miles upstream and still be home in time for obligations. Well upon arrival of the gate, I found it to be locked and couldn't drive down to the parking area. So I figured it was not meant to be and made my way home dreaming of what could be waiting to be climbed. I immediately called Laura and told her of my findings. We decided to get out early the next morning to seek out the potential. We awoke today full of vigor. We drove to Ohiopyle and made the 30min downhill walk to the rail trail from The Mitchell Place parking area. Upon reaching the rail trail we had our first find of the day. It was a cool 45' flow right where they have the information sign about coal mining history in the area.

It appeared to be 35' to 40' tall and about WI 3+ For those that love the Lower Meadow ice flows, This should be your next destination. It was thick enough to lead, but the topout was washed out pretty good. With visions of bigger and better we continued on our way downstream and saved that one for another day. Well just before Schoolhouse we had find #2.

It was a cascading waterfall directly across from the RE (Rivers End) trail marker. I figured it would freeze up nicely with a reasonable cold snap. It had a fair amount of ice, but wasn't there yet. I'm sure by next week both this flow and the Coal Wall should be very climbable. After looking at River End flow, we continued down the trail. School House came into view. I was pleasantly surprised.

There was definately a route formed up. It was right over the rock route Flying Dutchman. I could see the first and last bolt, but the rest were buried under ice. The sun was hitting it hard. It looked baked and unstable, but I couldn't pass the opportunity to climb it. Who knows how often it comes in. Laura and I put it into high gear. We quickly set up and got to climbing. I climbed up to the first bolt clipped it and felt a little better. With every swing the ice was sending the eeerie sounds of serious hollow delamination. I gently (and quickly) climbed the line placing a couple worthless screws and happily clipped the last bolt before topping out the 70' line.

Laura tied in and followed up in fine fashion smiling the whole way. We had a blast. The climbing was good. Almost too much fun. We figured the route name shouldn't change and the grade was about WI4. As we left to hike out the route was looking bad and didn't look like it would last the day, but who knows. The forcast looks very promising through next week. If you're feeling adventurous check out these newly discovered areas. The river left crags get sun, The river right crags (stewarton side) doesn't. If you're planning to climb in the area, these flows now present even more options in the Ohiopyle area. Here are a few pics I snapped of Laura on her way up Flying Dutchman WI4

Chillaxin' at Meadow Run

2010-02-02T22:36:00.000-08:00

Laura and I decided to have an easy day. So we spent the morning climbing a few lines at Lower Meadow Run in Ohiopyle State Park. We warmed up with a lap on the Main Flow in very good conditions. If you look back to my post from Jan 29th and compare the photos, its pretty impressive how much ice built in just a few days.

After our warm up, Laura wanted to try out her new picks on a mixed line. She topped out on the Main Flow and went over and rigged a TR Season Finale. She took her turn and made it up to her usual high point and came off. Not bad for her first go.

ROUTE NOTE: Although this line has been top roped for years it has yet to see a lead ascent. I've wanted to give this thing a whirl for quite a while, but the thuggish nature, poor rock quality and my inability to sack up has kept it as a someday kinda thing. Well I decided its time to put it to rest. So this time I decided to take gear with me and see if I could find reasonable gear to protect the route. Well I successfully climbed it and placed the gear on TR. I found 2 placements and 1 stubbie in 35'. Goes like this, first is the screw at the ice bulge (not necessary, but there), next is a #5 BD micro at 15'. Pump through the next 12' of crux to a good hook and a get the #.75 camalot. Finish at anchors. Falling while clipping the cam would most likely result in a grounder. Gonna take some EXTRA spinach to pull this one off. Laura went again pulling the gear as she went up. She did way better this go. She made it up to the cam without falling. If she didn't have to stop to fuss with gear, I think she might've had it with no falls. I'm anxious to to head back and give it a true attempt on lead. SEND or SPLAT! Either way the photos should be good! Since it was a mellow day for us, most of the photos are typical ass shots (we all know how much everyone loves those). I've tried to include a few of the more interesting!

The ice return

2010-01-31T20:54:00.000-08:00

Laura and I decided to take the trip to our local cliffs to see what we could climb. We found that the ice has mostly recovered from the warm snap, although most of the longer routes need a little more time to be safe. The weather forcast calls for cooler temps this week and by next weekend most lines should be in great condition. We ended up getting a late start and only did one line, but we sure did pick a good one. The line was about 150' long and had some serious funkiness to it. The bottom was nice and phat (but took much removal for good reliable sticks). As I got towards the middle of the route the pillar got worse with very new unreliable surface ice. A nice rest made above this section made the final push to easier ground very doable. The upper section was very thin and didn't take very good screws. The last 20' of steepness was a horrorfest of hollowed out shit from the previous freeze. The final topout was an overhanging lip consisting of sloppy mud on my right and on my left was a 300+lb block of old ice with nothing but 10" of air between it and the wet rock. Not really sure what was holding it in place. My last piece of gear was 15+ feet below me. It was my last long screw into a blob of ice not fit for the using. It made it to about the 4th thread. After a serious hesitation, mental prep. and almost sharting in my goretex, I commited to the final moves of mud and deathblocks. It seemed like an eternity, but I made it to the tree and slung it with pride. I was happy to be standing in 3" of muck and water for my belay. I cringed as I peeped down over what I had just overcome. I swapped golves to bring life to my hands. They were wet and cold from being on the pitch for 1hr. and 15min. I'm sure Laura was freezing from her extended belay session, so I quickly put her on and got her climbing. She did very well coming up the steep section and made quick work through the easy section. The top proved to be tricky for her as well as she rolled herself onto the top, muck and all. No style points, but success was ours. We setup a rap made our way to the ground. We decided one was enough and opted to head home. Our day was not without incident though. I ended up getting nailed by a UFO on the back while cleaning up ropes. It left a nice knot on my back. Wrong place, wrong time. All in all it was a great day. We dubbed the line G Gully WI5- with full pucker rating for the topout in current conditions. Here's a few photos from today!

Thug life and ice conditions!

2010-01-29T12:45:00.000-08:00

I'm sure my skis have been feeling neglected due to all the ice climbing, so with miserable ice conditions I decided to treat them to some time on the snow. I spent the last week hanging out in the Terrain Parks at Seven Springs We went up for some sessions of body battering and severe pain infliction a.k.a. (Jibbing) For those not in the know jibbing is freestyle skiing (doing stunts) on man made obstacles like hand rails, boxes and many other items. Similar to what skateboarders do in the citys, but on snow skis at ski resorts see the link. Fun Stuff! Skiing was cold and windy most days, but with the recent build of The Spot, it was worth cold digits. They've built the half pipe, jump line and set up two tiers of new rails. What can I say... They did a great job and things are sweet. Each day the weather was foul on one side of the mountain or other. So we got to spend a couple days each sessioning The Alley and The Spot. Today with seriously sore legs and many other body parts, I decided it was time to take a break from the parks and check conditions to see how the ice rebuild was going. I can happily report that the ice has rebonded to the walls in most places and is looking good for the weekend. Here are some photos of current conditons.