I am in the process of moving the content here to blog.OregonLive.com/climbing
I will move it back in the future.
Plaidman
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Monday, December 7, 2009
Searching For Gorge Ice
Searching For Gorge Ice
12/5/2009
It was cooling down in the Columbia River Gorge. I could see ice forming on the upper water falls on both sides of the river. Rick McDonald my ice climbing partner was just itching to try out his new ice tools. So a reconnaissance was in order. Mist Falls is the first ice to form normally in the Gorge as it is North facing and has a misty fall, hence the name. This mist falls from about 200 feet above the lower cascading section. The upper portion of the cliff is undercut and the headwall juts out from the face, so this allows the mist to blown about like a big sprinkler. It was really early in the season to expect that ice had formed but I could not tell from the road. The falls are located just West of Multnomah Falls and there is parking just below Mist Falls on the Old Columbia River Highway. The approach is short so taking a look would not require too much effort.
On gaining the cascade at the bottom of the falls the ice was about 3/8 of an inch. Not much to look at. The mushrooms had not even started forming. As the ice builds it billows up into mushroom and pillows of ice. Layer after layer build as the water mists from side to side. So at times the sloping cascade will be a series of steps up to the rock face above. With a 70 meter rope the rock face can be reached where there are bolted anchors to rappel down off of. But there would be no ice climbing today. I made my report to Rick and he suggested we go out again the next day and look at a few other sites of other ice flows.
Rick picked me up at 8:30 am and off we headed to check out Ainsworth Left. This is an ice waterfall that is near St. Peters Dome East of Multnomah Falls. We has never been up to see it but it is on the tick list of a friend of ours Ben. So with some sketchy directions and Tim Olson’s guide to Gorge Classic Climbs I was able to discern the approach to this climb. We proceeded up from the Ainsworth camp ground. The trail starts from the parking lot on the East end and crosses a bridge. After .2 miles it joins another trail and we proceeded West to the first large rock filled gully/stream bed. Then it was straight up to the bottom of the ice flow. Ainsworth Left is left of a large canyon that ends in an amphitheater. Rick walked up left of the canyon to the bottom of the ice flow. This thing is huge. The first and second pitches look doable. With think we can make it up at least 4 pitches, as there are definite steps and pools to rest and set up solid belays. But the upper section is going to require a real mean experienced ice climber. That can be Ben’s pitch. Don’t know if it has been done in the past. The upper section looks real burly and long. In looking at the whole flow I think that the climb could go in not less than 5 pitches. We will see.
Rick and I ran down and got lunch and headed to look at Cabin Creek and a flow just West of it. I thought the flow would come in as it cascades over rocks and could build into WI2. WI stands for waterfall ice. Here is a link to the grading system: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_climbing#Waterfall_ice_grading
We looked at it but it seemed to be only 30 ft tall and the water fall above comes out of a man made tunnel. We were not sure why the water was diverted but it is definitely man made. The tunnel is directly across from the O.D.O.T. weight station just West of Starvation Creek. Starvation Creek is just East of Cascade Locks on the Oregon side of the Columbia River Gorge. After looking at the disappointing possibilities we decided to explore the trail #414 which goes from Starvation Creek rest area and proceeds West passing Cabin Creek and goes up to Mt. Defiance. We were hoping to solve the mystery of the tunnel through the rock so up we hike the trail We came to a split in the trail and turned left. Proceeding East we were taken up to a prominent ridge and after realizing the trail had taken us well above the fall we did not feel up to bushwhacking above the falls to solve the mystery. On our return moving West and from the ridge we could see what turned out to be Warren Creek. We were very excited as it was one that we had seen from I-84 many times. From the split in the trail that we had turned left on previously we went straight west and passed the split in the trail. We did not walk far maybe a ¼ mile. Warren Creek had some ice forming and it looks like when it is in it will be a good one. WI2 maybe WI3 would be the grade for the lower section near the trial. We could see at least 2 or three steps and pool sections from the trail. I wanted to see higher so we moved up and climbed the hillside to the left of the water fall.
There is a split in the cliff face that allowed us to gain the upper section of the water fall and we were standing next to and slightly above the upper section of the water fall. WOW! It looks great and the ice was already forming on the cascading sections. The pool we were standing above had a cascading section of WI3 with a good rest before starting a section of WI4. We had a great day of getting ready for the up coming season which can be short in the Columbia River Gorge. So you have to hit it hard and fast if you want to get some.
Videos:
Mist Falls Columbia River Gorge checking out the ice #1 Early season ice climbing
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4wi4uPPC9k
Mist Falls Columbia River Gorge checking out the ice #2 Early season ice climbing
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5AiKUZ99j0
Mist Falls Columbia River Gorge #3 Ice is not thick. 3/8 of an inch
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04EvYLq8co0
Ainsworth Left Ice Water Fall #1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sR5k6vaC5KU
Ainsworth Left Ice Water Fall #2
Bad wind. Turn down volume before watching.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SeSR5cHDGLI
Ainsworth Left Ice Water Fall #3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFx_kfuNca4
Ainsworth Left Ice Water Fall #4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=poQ9RsBrncY
12/5/2009
It was cooling down in the Columbia River Gorge. I could see ice forming on the upper water falls on both sides of the river. Rick McDonald my ice climbing partner was just itching to try out his new ice tools. So a reconnaissance was in order. Mist Falls is the first ice to form normally in the Gorge as it is North facing and has a misty fall, hence the name. This mist falls from about 200 feet above the lower cascading section. The upper portion of the cliff is undercut and the headwall juts out from the face, so this allows the mist to blown about like a big sprinkler. It was really early in the season to expect that ice had formed but I could not tell from the road. The falls are located just West of Multnomah Falls and there is parking just below Mist Falls on the Old Columbia River Highway. The approach is short so taking a look would not require too much effort.
On gaining the cascade at the bottom of the falls the ice was about 3/8 of an inch. Not much to look at. The mushrooms had not even started forming. As the ice builds it billows up into mushroom and pillows of ice. Layer after layer build as the water mists from side to side. So at times the sloping cascade will be a series of steps up to the rock face above. With a 70 meter rope the rock face can be reached where there are bolted anchors to rappel down off of. But there would be no ice climbing today. I made my report to Rick and he suggested we go out again the next day and look at a few other sites of other ice flows.
Rick picked me up at 8:30 am and off we headed to check out Ainsworth Left. This is an ice waterfall that is near St. Peters Dome East of Multnomah Falls. We has never been up to see it but it is on the tick list of a friend of ours Ben. So with some sketchy directions and Tim Olson’s guide to Gorge Classic Climbs I was able to discern the approach to this climb. We proceeded up from the Ainsworth camp ground. The trail starts from the parking lot on the East end and crosses a bridge. After .2 miles it joins another trail and we proceeded West to the first large rock filled gully/stream bed. Then it was straight up to the bottom of the ice flow. Ainsworth Left is left of a large canyon that ends in an amphitheater. Rick walked up left of the canyon to the bottom of the ice flow. This thing is huge. The first and second pitches look doable. With think we can make it up at least 4 pitches, as there are definite steps and pools to rest and set up solid belays. But the upper section is going to require a real mean experienced ice climber. That can be Ben’s pitch. Don’t know if it has been done in the past. The upper section looks real burly and long. In looking at the whole flow I think that the climb could go in not less than 5 pitches. We will see.
Rick and I ran down and got lunch and headed to look at Cabin Creek and a flow just West of it. I thought the flow would come in as it cascades over rocks and could build into WI2. WI stands for waterfall ice. Here is a link to the grading system: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_climbing#Waterfall_ice_grading
We looked at it but it seemed to be only 30 ft tall and the water fall above comes out of a man made tunnel. We were not sure why the water was diverted but it is definitely man made. The tunnel is directly across from the O.D.O.T. weight station just West of Starvation Creek. Starvation Creek is just East of Cascade Locks on the Oregon side of the Columbia River Gorge. After looking at the disappointing possibilities we decided to explore the trail #414 which goes from Starvation Creek rest area and proceeds West passing Cabin Creek and goes up to Mt. Defiance. We were hoping to solve the mystery of the tunnel through the rock so up we hike the trail We came to a split in the trail and turned left. Proceeding East we were taken up to a prominent ridge and after realizing the trail had taken us well above the fall we did not feel up to bushwhacking above the falls to solve the mystery. On our return moving West and from the ridge we could see what turned out to be Warren Creek. We were very excited as it was one that we had seen from I-84 many times. From the split in the trail that we had turned left on previously we went straight west and passed the split in the trail. We did not walk far maybe a ¼ mile. Warren Creek had some ice forming and it looks like when it is in it will be a good one. WI2 maybe WI3 would be the grade for the lower section near the trial. We could see at least 2 or three steps and pool sections from the trail. I wanted to see higher so we moved up and climbed the hillside to the left of the water fall.
There is a split in the cliff face that allowed us to gain the upper section of the water fall and we were standing next to and slightly above the upper section of the water fall. WOW! It looks great and the ice was already forming on the cascading sections. The pool we were standing above had a cascading section of WI3 with a good rest before starting a section of WI4. We had a great day of getting ready for the up coming season which can be short in the Columbia River Gorge. So you have to hit it hard and fast if you want to get some.
Videos:
Mist Falls Columbia River Gorge checking out the ice #1 Early season ice climbing
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4wi4uPPC9k
Mist Falls Columbia River Gorge checking out the ice #2 Early season ice climbing
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5AiKUZ99j0
Mist Falls Columbia River Gorge #3 Ice is not thick. 3/8 of an inch
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04EvYLq8co0
Ainsworth Left Ice Water Fall #1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sR5k6vaC5KU
Ainsworth Left Ice Water Fall #2
Bad wind. Turn down volume before watching.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SeSR5cHDGLI
Ainsworth Left Ice Water Fall #3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFx_kfuNca4
Ainsworth Left Ice Water Fall #4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=poQ9RsBrncY
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