Extreme: Climbing Curtains Of Ice
by Hershel M Fassbinder
http://www.atozclimbing.com
I have two types of friends: those who think I'm crazy
and those who think I'm a lot of fun. The day after
Thanksgiving I was with the 'fun' group of friends. There
are two "awkward" seasons here in Colorado, late fall and
late spring, when the weather and the terrain limit
outdoors fun. Sure, you can explore caves any time of
year, but there are a limited number of caves I know about.
Word was just out: "The ice is in!" This meant the
awkward season was over ... and ice climbing season was
here! Of course, the three of us weren't alone in coming
to this realization. There were two cars parked at the
trailhead to the icefall ahead of our group.
The hike to this icefall near Leadville, Colorado is only
about 15 minutes long. You walk up the frozen stream a few
hundred yards and you're there. It's easy when the stream
is frozen really solid. But the stream hadn't realized ice
climbing season had begun, and it was still in it's own
awkward season. So we had to walk carefully to keep from
falling through the thin ice.
The guys who had gotten there ahead of us had already put
up a rope from the bottom of the frozen waterfall to a tree
above the top, about 65 feet up. This rope is used to stop
a climber's fall. One end is tied to the climber. The
rope loops up and around the tree and then right back down
to the climber's partner. The partner's job is to make
sure there's just enough slack in the line so the ice
climber doesn't drop very far in case he or she "peels
away" from the ice.
Why climb curtains of ice? It's spectacular and great fun.
It's wonderful whole body exercise, requiring skill,
balance, and stamina. And if anybody accuses you of being
a half bubble off center, you can just smile and know it's
worth it.
After awhile, the group that had arrived first realized
they should make room for us as well. They offered to let
me climb their rope so I could secure our rope. This was
the moment I'd been waiting for! I tightened my boots and
grabbed my two ice axes.
The first few steps were easy because the ice sloped out at
the bottom. I threw one ice axe into the ice wall above my
head. I also kicked my crampons firmly into the ice. Then
I threw my other ice axe above the first. If done right,
the ice axes are used for balance above, and all the real
work is done with the legs, which take steps one at a time
up the ice, like climbing a ladder.
About three fourths of the way up, I found out that the
icefall itself was still in it's own awkward season. My
ice axe hacked right through the curtain of ice and into
the cascading water inside the not-quite-frozen falls. I
had a brief vision of a Disney cartoon sequence in which
the icefall would crack and crumble around me, crashing
down on my buddies below and leaving me swinging wildly
back and forth in mid air. But the ice axe held firm, and
I reached the top of the falls without a single mishap.
I slid back down the rope and helped my friends take turns
climbing up the falls. Before I knew it, the day was over
and we had the kinds of silly grins on our faces you can
only get from a day of playing hard outside in the snow,
sun, and ice. Once again, I had made it through the
awkward season and the winter fun season was upon us.
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