Misadventures High and Low

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Mt. Robson, the Emperor Face is the steep right facing wall

Mount Robson, Canadian Rockies, Canada

Alpinists Barry Blanchard, Joe Josephson and Steve House are bivouacked high up the northwest face of the highest peak in the Rocky Mountains. They're attempting a new route on the 6,000 foot Emperor Face, the most difficult route on the mountain. As recounted by House:

"We are 4,000 feet up a north face; the temperature is dropping quickly to -20 degrees, We finished the last of our water four hours ago and a north wind is picking up". 

Josephson is prepping to melt some ice to resupply their drinking water; "Hey Steve, the pump isn't on the fuel bottle."

An exhaustive search by House throughout his pack and gear comes up short; "Definitely, I definitely don't have it."

Blanchard and Stephenson say nothing.

House gauges their predicament; "Without a fuel pump we have no stove. Without a stove we have no water. Without water we have no food. Without food and water we cannot continue... we will not summit tomorrow. Even tonights bivouac in these temperatures, in this worn out state, could end in disaster. Frostbite, hypothermia, even death, stalks climbers in our condition: exhausted, hungry, dehydrated."

"It fell out. It must have fallen out of my pack."

Again no words.

Tomorrow [they] will have to traverse to the emperor ridge and descend that route for 3,000 feet - without water. [They'll] walk a couple of miles around to the base of the Emperor Face, collect [their] skis and ski 18 miles to the road.

Arriving at the road and their vehicle at dark, they'd been in the mountains for 12 days and had not had a sip of water for over 30 hours.

"Barry and JoJo had already accepted my mistake, forgiven my faults..."

'Beyond The Mountain', Steve House (2009)

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Mount Watkins, Yosemite Valley, California. The South Face route goes directly up that great center-face scoop of granite.

South Face of Mt. Watkins, Yosemite Valley, California

Big wall climbers Warren Harding, Chuck Pratt and Yvon Chouinard are attempting a "golden age" first ascent of a 2,200 foot, Grade V big wall in the mid-summer heat of Yosemite Valley. As recounted by Pratt:

"After only one day on the wall it was evident to all of us that our greatest difficulty would be neither the climbing, not the logistics, but the weather. It was middle of July and temperatures in the valley were consistently in the high nineties... we had allowed ourselves one and one-half quarts of water per day per person... still, we were not prepared for the intense, enervating heat in which we had found ourselves sweltering for an entire day."

"After nearly three days of climbing, the heat had reduced our strength and efficiency to the point of a snails pace... we were well aware of our critical situation. We had brought enough water for four days. It was now obvious that we could not reach the summit in less than five. 700 feet remained between us and the giant ceiling at the lip of the summit and the route remained uncertain. We reluctantly agreed that it would be necessary to reduce our ration of water to provide enough for at least one additional day on the face..."

"By the fourth day Yvon had lost so much weight from dehydration that he could lower his climbing knickers without undoing a single button. For the first time in seven years I was able to remove a ring from finger, and Harding, whose resemblance to the classical conception of Satan is legendary, took on an even more gaunt and sinister appearance... the fourth day proved to be one of the most difficult and uncertain any of us had ever spent on a climb... Warren had nearly fainted several times from the heat. Yvon was speechless with fatigue and I was curled up in a semi-stupor trying to utilize a small patch of shade beneath an overhanging boulder... that morning we had had two full quarts of water for the three of us. Yvon and I had already finished one quart and when he joined me I was surprised to find he still had a full quart. Warren had refused to take any water that day, preferring to give the climbing team every advantage. His sacrifice was a display of courage and discipline that I had rarely seen equaled."

"Yvon... tapped his way to the crest of Mount Watkins just as the sun went down. His triumphant shout told me what we had all waited five days to hear. Warren... asked to clean the last pitch as he felt that he had not contributed enough that day! Warren Harding, who had been the original inspiration for the climb, whose determination had gotten us over the headwall below and who had sacrificed his ration of water after five days of intense thirst felt that he had not done enough!"

'The South Face of Mount Watkins', Chuck Pratt

The American Alpine Journal (1965)

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These two excerpts always come to mind along some low adventure when partners dramatize trivial incidents, e.g., wasp stings*, mis-step crossing a stream and their boot gets soaked, minor falls, scratches, contusions, abrasions, cuts (class I hemorrhage - short of stitches) and such, into tragedy of Shakespearean magnitude. And more often than not well-nigh a 1/4 mile or less bail back to the vehicle if necessary for them to "quit and go home".

The Mt. Watkins tale has forever been our gauge for physical endurance when considering "bagging it". Never even came close.

We always carry a quart of water per day, but have seldom ever drank more than a pint. Ever since store-bought bottled water became available years back, we just toss two of those in the pack. Almost always return with one full. Haven't carried a canteen or Nalgene bottle in many years. 

Had a buddy who tagged along with us once, forming a three man crew. Supposedly sporting a rough hangover, he drank our entire three quarts of water for the day before we were on the trail for 1/2 hour. A pretty hot day ta' boot. We stayed out a few hours extra just to punish 'em. He'd probably have gotten tossed off the side of the mountain if with those guys.

* The third guy (or gal) along the mule train is always the one who gets swarmed when accidentally disturbing an unseen ground wasp nest. Usually yellow jackets hereabouts. Happens every time. Always pretty comical unless it's you.

Perfect Storm (A Brief Review of SWPA Ice Craft) Part II, aka: "Last of The Buffalos"

 "Few people are as passionate or as dedicated to rock, ice and mixed climbing 

as Tim Anderson... he continues to develop new areas and pioneer new routes

at existing crags... the climbing community is very fortunate to have such a strong

climber with such a powerful drive to develop modern routes for all of us to enjoy."

                                                

                                                            - Rob (Griz) Ginieczki, 'Ice Climbing Pennsylvania' (2006)

Quite of an accolade , and from the esteemed "Griz" himself. We'll add:

"If Tim ain't out climbin', or at least involved, ain't nothin' happenin'."

List of Modern Laurel Highlands Ice: 2002 - Present

Secret Cliffs II, Grade 4+ - 6

Secret Cliffs, Grade 4 -5

Confluence, Grade 4 - 5

Plus many, many new routes added to earlier era walls and flows along with introduction of mixed lines and dry tooling, that, knowing Tim and a few of his cohorts, probably grade up to the M10 level of difficulty.

Boy, until setting down to compile this information we had never really thought about it, but just to summarize for the sake of brevity, "That f*k'n Tim put up a lot of impressive sh*t!"

Cover art for a photo book that we began in 2010. Got a few pages into it but then abandoned the project. Never went back to finishing it.

Viewing southeast along the approximate 1,500LF expanse of Grade 4+ to Grade 6 continuous, steep, vertical ice forming the Secret Cliffs II. The northeast striking wall return off in the distance offers very difficult mixed climbing potential.

Lean conditions viewing along the central and right walls.

The awe-inspiring 'Beast Wall'

Viewing up the Grade 6 'Beast' ("Griz" Ginieczki climbing) - we're gonna' go on record to comment that, "This is the largest concentration of hard single-pitch ice routes in the eastern USA"; a bit of paraphrased homage to Vermont's Lake Willoughby's claim to the "hardest multi-pitch" moniker.

Two video clip screenshot extractions - Tim on the imposing, free hanging 'Sick-le'

The 'Beast Wall' in lean conditions (Dr. Bob Coblenz climbing)

'Central-Right Wall' in big conditions (Laura Anderson climbing)

'Beast Wall' in thin, mixed conditions (Tim climbing)

Climbers adding scale to the 'Beast Wall' (Tom Kopler foreground)

An airy spot high on the 'Beast' in good conditions (Tim climbing)

Two new, seldom formed routes at the 'Gun Club' (top: Tim climbing; bottom unidentified)

Video clip extractions - mixed dry tooling at the Meadow Run Amphitheater, Ohiopyle SP (Tim climbing)

Meadow Run Amphitheater (Laura Anderson climbing)

Our loyal scribe at Buzzard (Krahlak) Falls in superb, fat, plastic blue ice conditions - need a thousand feet of this stuff!

A fat 'Irishtown/Mouth of Madness' (Tim Climbing)

Video clip extraction - mixed 'Gun Club/Internet Connection' (Tim climbing)

(Tim Anderson Images)

Always the innovator - Tim and Laura on some SWPA alpine they found

Looks high, windy and cold... we wanna' go!

Overlooking the vast Allegheny Plateau from high in PA's "Twilight Zone"

We came across this old Geologic Map of Fayette County years back. It was annotated with all the old, mostly abandoned mines and quarries of record. We highlighted the mine/quarry markers in blue for clarity. We further annotated the marker bed Loyalhanna Limestone crop lines in red. The Loyalhanna Limestone mines are usually location of steep ice flows as well as karst cave formation. An added bonus - the Mauch Chunk sandstone formation sits directly atop the limestone. The Mauch Chunk formation where exposed, be it walls or breakdown boulders, forms the majority of climbable rock in the Highlands. We further annotated the map with a few locations of the climbing areas discussed herein for ease of navigating the map features..... you're welcome.

Finally, more unexplained phenomena from SWPA's "Goblin Universe" - the odd and mysterious "Wild Climbing Man". Those who have encountered this strange being claim that he leaps from the forest from nearby rock outcrops without warning, usually naked, and in a high pitch screeches "Hey mister - you wanna' climb with me!?" He then swiftly scampers spider-like up the rock face and disappears. Prior to each encounter witnesses claim to an odor similar to "burning fiber rope or burning dry grass and hay", some say "ganja", minutes before his appearance. 

Outer space alien? Inter-dimensional being? Inner earth denizen? Or hoax? You be the judge!

And lastly, we'll speak for all....

Thanks Tim!!

Perfect Storm (A Brief Review of SWPA Ice Craft) Part I

                  "Sports are just like most other human activities. They go through times that, when

                    we look back on them, seem to have been usually lively or dynamic, just as they

                                      go through times when it seems little is happening."   

                                                                               - 'The Bear Hunters Century' (Paul Scullery, 1988) 

... to which we add "especially if the sport is as singularly dependent to optimal weather conditions as climbing frozen waterfalls,"

Been quite a few years since we've experienced cooperative weather conditions conducive to the efforts of a few local folks pursuit of the fun of more often than not enduring near frozen fingers and toes and occasional self inflicted fear and dread while dangling high above implacably hard ground secured to a hulking, unpredictable sheer wall of ice by nothing more than the tempered steel points of two potentially body piercing pickaxe and a few foot spikes, themselves potentially limb breaking, body flipping (or both) in the event of a fall; the ice protection is sparse, spread out and unpredictable; the golden rule of ascent being "the lead climber must not fall!"

Maybe ten years.

So, ventured out to the 'Gun Club Wall' a few days back to check out the current ice conditions. Temperatures hereabouts have not breached the high 20's (Fº) as yet this new year, piquing curiosity. Still, didn't expect much considering the "flash freeze" and dry, near desiccated ground consequential to consecutive months of drought weather pattern and low relative humidity.

The extended dry period prompted this mid-summer warning posted to the club's facebook page

Gun Club, 24Jan25 (or, 24 days -32ºF)

Our expectations were somewhat correct. The main flow not lookin' bad, with an added opportunity about for a mixed line or two. Using this as a visual measure augmented with past experience, we're bettin' that proximal walls with sufficient channel flow; e.g., Layton Falls, Buzzard (Krahlak) Falls, were maybe "in"; possibly "fat". This also considers ice buildup we've observed along the waterfall of a local nearby creek as well.

Gun Club Wall 2014, when it all comes together. 

Alternating cycles of freeze/thaw (cold nights/moderate days), sufficient seeping groundwater, adequate snow precipitation, moderate relative humidity.

Gun Club Wall early 2000's

Then if lucky ya' get the super elevated conditions (abundant precipitation and groundwater, cycling freeze/thaw, moderate to high humidity). Maybe once every fifty years. We'd been climbing there for around twenty years prior to that season. If we'd have had no knowledge, or had not been there ourselves, and ya' sprung this image on us, we'd have had no idea where this was.

Used ta' be that touching upon the notion of climbing ice, or "mountain climbing" in general, within the Laurel Highlands region, and specifically the 'Chestnut Ridge' of SWPA, was looked upon the same as if ya' mentioned encounters such as Bigfoot, UFO's, Thunderbirds and such phenomena frequently reported, always unsubstantiated, throughout the forests of the "Pennsylvania Twilight Zone"... "Ya' need to go out west to Colorado for that stuff!" was always the comment, even from seasoned climbers that we knew. 

Well, we knew that stuff was out there - and some pretty spectacular 'ta boot (through the help of a few bygone quarry operations). We'd seen it. And had photographic evidence...

Early encounters, '80's - '90's:

(For historical purposes, note that blue highlights, i.e. '00, indicate first year that we, or others we know of, have climbed on these frozen formations.)

Layton Falls '82 - a large portion of the upper falls collapsed, precipitated by that large pothole, shortly after taking this photo - and after having been ascended a few times this day. Just missing us. Our introduction to ice climbing.

Layton Falls late 80's. 

Meadow Run, Ohiopyle SP '82 - some now archaic gear. High tech at the time.

Buzzard (Krahlak) Ice Falls '84

Buzzard Ice Falls early '90's. Standard rack for the (Grade IV) vertical stuff pictured herein. A few Black Diamond SS chromoly screws and quickdraw runners pictured.  All these areas are pretty short lengthwise; <80ft. Heck of an improvement over the earlier (Type 4340?) steel Chouinard screws, along with a couple cheap Russian titanium screws we owned. And you could set and place 'em with one hand. The crux of the climbing using the old steel screws, commonly more so than the actual climbing itself, was hanging and getting the screws to bite, needing both hands free, then cranking them into the ice. 

We seldom placed more than 2-3 screws. Other than the pump factor, vertical, thick, plastic ice seldom feels (at the easiest) more difficult than 5.8 rock climbing. Usually liked to get a screw near the top, though. Steep top outs with tools and crampons always felt two grades harder and quite often scary when the ice doesn't form all the way or falls short of the face, with the top frozen turf or rock.

Still wish that we had that now vintage 'NFL Films' cap. Was given to us by a retired NFL films cinematographer we had come to know. He'd worked most of the 60's and '70's NFL seasons and was full of tales. Flipped a river boat once and lost it. 

Meadow Run. Testing out a budget tool set. 'Sabres' we think they were called, manufactured by Forrest Mountaineering. Bought 'em as a spare set for use whenever we could coerce a non-ice climbing friend along. More ice routes than climbers back then. Not their 'Lifetime' brand tools. Fixed hammer/adze heads (although, recall a roller pin fastener - never saw replacement heads in their catalog, though). If ya' broke 'em they were done. Unless swung dead on they skipped, bounced and vibrated like crazy. Scary stuff - don't flame out with these in hand. Their lifetime tools and Mjollnir hammer were ok, though. Still, all that stuff was susceptible to breaking. First time we observed "modern" dry tooling which involved liebacking and torquing pick tips in thin cracks, successfully without breaking of coarse, we were bitin' our nails. We'd broken earlier picks just levering them, overdriven, out of plastic ice. Breaking a pick was our biggest dread if on lead. Never passed up an opportunity to hook a tool. No excuses, though -  a crusty, old time '50's-'60's era river runner once harrumphed, while lookin' over our flashy new Dagger WW canoe "Hey - if you can really paddle you can navigate a ten foot wood 2x12 down the river!". We still believe 'em.

'Sliding Board' at 'Victoria Flats Ice Falls', Ohiopyle SP '87.

There's a few pretty good Grade 2/2+ gullies flanking the Yough River gorge. Over 200ft length and a bit of a wilderness experience. Used to be able to drive to the base of 'em before the Yough River Bike Trail was built.

Ice "bouldering" along the upper wall at 'Irishtown' '84.

Ice bouldering the small flows along the old 'P&LE' mine on a warm day, '84

Although dated much later, we're including these two images as they illustrate optimum conditions. Both areas were climbed back in the '80's.

Top: 'Irishtown' and 'Mouth of Madness' '84 (photo: early 2000's)

Bottom: 'Rod and Gun Club' '84 (photo: early 2000's)

List of significant Laurel Highlands ice, 1980 - 2000

Rod and Gun Club, Grades III - IV

Irishtown, Grades III - IV

Buzzard (Krahlak) Falls, Grade IV

Layton Falls, Grade III - IV

Meadow Run, Grade III - IV

Darlington Quarry, Grade III - IV

Victoria Flats, Grade 2 - 2+

P&LE Mine, Ice Bouldering

We'd hung up the tools at the beginning of the current millennia. Shortly thereafter we became acquainted with a highly motivated and (as ourself) wonderfully irreverent fellow named Tim Anderson. Quite a bit younger, Tim was out lookin' to climb everything. At the time climbing in general was experiencing a bit of an overall transformation: popularity, ethics and gear innovation. Tim was on top of it all. We acquainted 'em with a few areas he wasn't aware of as to unburden 'em with much of the search and error that we experienced throughout the earlier years. Photography was goin' thru a bit of overall transformation as well: conversion as an overall digital medium including simplistic video editing systems. After little consideration, we figured "Well, we'll stick by for a few more years to follow this guy around to see what he's up to. An opportunity to experiment with some digital photography as well -  Sounds like fun!"... more on that in Part II...

'Stinky', lookin' a bit haggard after a long day

                                                        

Seemingly Snow

Made it out into the woods this past Sunday to take advantage of a few bouts of recent snowfall. Headed up to the standard trail. Appeared a winter wonderland...... appeared, if goin' skiing. A bit deceptive conditions, to say the least. Local temperatures have barely topped the high 20's (F) since the first of the month. All the snow that fell, say four to six inches, laid as totally dry, unconsolidated powder. Usually what you're lookin' for ya'd figure. Not so much this stuff. If it had had any moisture at all it would maybe have been an inch in depth. Zero structure. You could have probably had blowed the trails dry using a power leaf blower (as we had earlier noticed the neighbor using to clear his walks down to bare concrete). No consolidated base ta' boot. Gliding along ya' usually just plowed thru the stuff right down to the turf - constantly stumbling over choked gravel and rocks. Downhill was pretty rough, anticipating the hidden tripwire that ya' knew was commin'. An entertaining tumble or two - especially if dashing ahead. Was about ready to pick up the phone and call the groomer... or a taxi.

An at times borderline "It don't have to be fun to be fun" ordeal. Hey... still beat home confinement ducking a rainy winter day, as is the norm now'days. 

These guys didn't seem to mind...

... having seen countless days of better conditions, I sure did... must be gettin' old.