Ice Climbing

“I just made a reservation this morning for one of the clinics. Anybody been to the festival before?

http://www.ourayicefestival.com/”

“Anybody going this year??”

“Lucky guy. I'd love to go.

I hope to make it to the festival in Keene, NY this winter; and maybe to one or two here in Quebec.”

“The only drawback to going is the possible creation of another black hole of gear wants and needs.”

“that's exactly why I can't go.”

“the problem with me and ice climbing is that i would do it once and then all i would do is dream about going to these whacked-out places to climb whacked-out frozen waterfalls. i know myself too well. that and i would have to tell my wife i was out taking pictures or something 'cause if she found out i was ice climbing she would kill me faster than a badly set ice screw.”

“My primary climbing partner here has tried all summer to convince to climb ice with him. I keep resisting citing a lack of proper gear.

His overriding comment is that you don't truly know terror until you've been on lead on ice.”

“Don't everybody look at once.”

“Don't worry, we won't. ;-)”

“how'd you like that over thar at Ouray?”

“It was great. I'm planning on going back next year. The area down there is beautiful.”

“maybe I'll go next year and check it out...”

“A certian gear-whorian that we know would of been drooling over all of the stuff you could demo.”

“Hey - who is depending on this really poor belay:

”

““Hey - who is depending on this really poor belay:

"The leader must not fall", still applies to ice.

To many sharp, pointy things to get ya on the way down ;-)”

“Nice Adventurist!

Excellent day. :)”

“A certian gear-whorian that we know would of been drooling over all of the stuff you could demo.”
Adventurist

Hey, I think I resemble that remark. I probably have it all anyway. heh heh. Crazypace and I are taking a 2 day course this weekend in the Dacks. Woohoo!

Sweet pics Feen! WHO is that belaying? I have a Jeff Lowe dvd (thanks to Bobo) and it features highlights from past Ouray festivals. Very cool stuff out there.”

“LOL.. I wasn't talking about you but you fall in line with the individual I was talking about! I got to climb using a set of brand new Grivel Carbon Fiber tools. They only cost $280 each. You should buy a set Pennsy!

Chris was just posing for the pic. I don't think the instructor had show him anything yet and there was nobody climbing. I was his backup belayer.”

“Egads man! There's TWO of us??

$280 for a carbon tool? That actually sounds reasonable considering good tools run $200+. I'll stick with my Petzl Quarks for now though.”

“aha - i just couldn't help noticing the rope was slack in his brake hand....

never climbed ice myself, but i'm told that you don't know true terror until your leading on ice! :)”

“People still belay with Stitz plates? Not that there's anything wrong with that (but they're a pain in the @ss).”

“Yeah, I didn't like that belay device that much. I prefer my ATC.”

“Pennsy and I took an ice climbing class with EMS up in the Dacks. I'll let Pennsy tell all the details of what and where we climbed. But here are the pics

http://community.webshots.com/album/562228628VAaOyQ”

“Cool! Was it just you 2 and the instructor? It looks like a great piece of ice too!”

“Nice pictures, the ice looks challenging.”

“1 instructor + 2 boneheads = good time.”

“Looks like one of the ice routes on Pitchoff Mountain.”

“Nice pics CP! I like #17.

Zacaroo - you are correct sir. The first 20 pics are on a grade 3 called Buster, which is next to Pitchoff Left. We spent most of the 1st day there because the other routes were busy. 21 and 22 is to the left of Buster, called "Sister's Right." We finished day 1 on this one and needless to say, 90' of sustained grade 4 was a challenge, especially the overhanging bulge at the top. There would have been more pics but the Cascade Pass winds were really picking up and it was getting brrrrrrr cold.

Sunday, we went down to Chapel Pond hoping to get on Chouinard's but too many people were on the route. We ended up just to the left of Chouinard's on a grade 3+ called "Dogleg Right." We didn't take any pics because the temp never went above 0. We did several laps and left for home a little early.

We a blast and learned a lot from Chad, our EMS guide. I would recommend the EMS Climbing School to anyone.”

“cool pics and report!”

“Dude. This thread got me thinking... and planning.

Last Saturday night, the low was forcast to *almost* reach freezing, so I implemented Operation Deep Freeze.

I gathered my crampons and axe and headed to Kimenems. Five of us emptied the chest freezer and drug it out to the driveway, where we then lifted it into the back of Keith's pickup. From there, for the thrill of elevation, we hoisted it to the rim of the basketball goal adjacent to the driveway. We lashed it securely to the backboard with a ski rope from Kims boat; standing it tall-ways, with the door agape.

As an experienced cramp/axe user, I was the first to take my eight minute interval in the white abyss. The others watched from below - taking turns with the binoculars that I always carry, and Kim's - which he retrieved from his bedroom.

Within threequarter hour, we had all had our turns, and retired, numb-fingered, to the garage, where we discussed our individual experiences over beers and billiards. The concensus was unanimous - the North Wall was by far the gnarliest, and we each, to the man, vowed to never again venture up that edifice - that Son of a Bachelor - so help us God.”

“That's more creative than your "will it boil?" experiment. ;o)

Poor Giz and Belle probably mumbled to each other, "What the &^%$ is he doing this time?”

“I was watching the local news last night and an ice climber was injured while climbing what looked like a frozen waterfall in Luzerne county PA. off Rt. 309. He fell 45 feet after the rope he was on broke. His climbing partners were able to get help and they expect him to make a full recovery. That seems like a long way to fall and he's pretty lucky to survive it. They said he was an experienced climber and had been climbing 5 years.
last edited: 2/03/08 6:58:40 AM”

“wow, I am surprised you guys have ice up there. Nothing is frozen around here.”

“We had an ice storm Friday and everything is a sheet of ice except on the roadways. We did have some cold weather so there are some frozen waterfalls around.
last edited: 2/03/08 7:19:51 AM”

“their names weren't Bruce and Todd were they?”

“Nope, it wasn't us.

Rich, a 45 foot fall from rock is very dangerous. Falling from ice while holding and wearing pointy objects multiples that danger. It sounds like he came away fairly fortunate.

I'm curious as to how the rope broke, whether while rappelling, or from a leader fall. Even if he cut through the rope with his tools while climbing, it wouldn't necessarily cause a fall. It would scare the crap out of you because all of a sudden you're free soloing. A lot of ice climbers use double ropes which gives you some insurance if that does happen. I just bought 2 myself yesterday. If you hear any more details, please let us know.

Also Rich, where the heck is this ice up your way? Crazypace and I climbed in the Gap last weekend but everything is gone because of the rain and warm weather.”

“I'll keep an eye out for any details in the newspaper and TV if they happen to mention anything. The only thing they said on TV about the rope breaking was that it's a very rare thing to have that happen.

The only thing I know about that frozen waterfall is that on the TV report they said it's in Luzerne county somewhere off Rt. 309. It looked pretty big to me so maybe it's listed in a climbing guide book.”

“Here's a newspaper article I found online.

"New Hope man falls about 30 feet while ice climbing in Luzerne


COURTDALE, Pa. - An ice climber in northeastern Pennsylvania is recovering from broken bones after a fall of about 30 to 40 feet.

Police in Luzerne County say Luke Wolfgang fell when a guide rope was cut on jagged rocks as he tried to climb the Buttermilk Falls area of Toby Creek.

Rescuers say the New Hope man was climbing with friends yesterday morning when the accident occurred. They say he was taken to a Scranton hospital with injuries that did not appear life-threatening.

Officials say his friends had to walk to the highway to get help because there is no cell phone service in the climbing area."”

“Here's another article with even more details.

"Ice Climber Rescued From Buttermilk Falls

COURTDALE, LUZERNE COUNTY – A dramatic rescue of a Doylestown man who spent his Saturday ice climbing in Courtdale on Buttermilk Falls. He was hauled off in a stretcher but is expected to make a full recovery.

Drivers hit delays in the Southbound lane of the Dallas Memorial Highway near Wasserott's and Pioneer Avenue Saturday, as emergency crews rescued an ice climber from Buttermilk Falls.

Steve Scott is the victim’s ice climbing friend, "My group of friends have been climbing for several years and ice climbing in general is an extremely safe sport and unfortunately today we had what I would consider a freak accident." Scott of Doylestown and his ice climbing buddy were lowering their friend Luke when all of a sudden the rope snapped over the edge of a rock.

Luke, described by his friends as a 28-year-old with five years experience, fell 45 feet before landing on his toes.

Scott added, "My other friend and I were right there, assured him everything was going to be ok assessed his injuries and made sure none of the sharp tools were impaled or anything like that." Another group of nearby climbers called for help.

Within ten minutes emergency responders arrived ready for a high angle rope rescue.

First, They had to fight the winter weather. Deputy Fire Chief Frank Slymock of the Edwardsville Fire Department said, "its bad conditions, cold wet, icy. But people like to do their hobbies, we can't stop that.."

Kingston Township Firefighter Paul Klecha, "We set up a very small pulley system to be able to lower him and he was already packaged into a basket and all we needed to do was send him down the hill safely."

Steve Scott never expected his ice climbing adventure to end with his friend hospitalized with injuries to his wrist and ankle.
But he's thankful for the men and women who saved Luke's life. Scott added, "They're really professional and we got Luke and I'm sure he'll be ok he's a strong guy." By the way, Scott and his friends say they protect themselves with helmets, harnesses and other gear.”

“Thanks for the update, Rich. It looks they were top roping, which is normally quite safe with a solid top anchor. Typically, you would set up your "master link" so the climbing rope would never go over an edge. I'm not going to speculate on their setup though. They may well have set it up proper and the rope freakishly caught an edge. Sometimes stuff just happens. Another reason why I am going to start using 2 ropes.

I'd like to look up that falls but dang it, I can't find my Pa ice climbing book. :o(”

“Two ropes sounds like a good idea just in case. That waterfall sounds like it gets some traffic from climbers based on the article. It looked like it had quite a bit of ice from what I could see on TV. I'm not sure how it'll hold up this week because it's supposed to get in the 50's midweek.
last edited: 2/04/08 5:04:31 AM”

“I found this post on NE ICE (neice.com) from the injured climber's partner:

*******
My friend and climbing partner Luke Wolfgang was injured in a climbing accident this past Saturday February 22 at the Rout 309 Quarry Wall in Courtdale/Luzerne, PA. Luke remains in the hospital and is now receiving the first in a series of surgeries to repair the badly broken bones in and around his left ankle and left wrist.
The accident occurred while we were toproping a climb on the far right side of the quarry: I hiked to the top of the wall, anchored a toprope from the trees and rappelled down; the line consisted of steep ice capped by 15-feet of mixed climbing and dry tooling. The initial rock section above the ice was formed by a blocky overhang/roof; our party of three intended to climb the ice and mixed ground above. I climbed first, twice failing to pull the initial mixed section above the ice: I was lowered from the climb and Luke tied in. Luke climbed the ice section and achieved a stance on top of an ice bulge and just below the rock section: tired, and satisfied with the ice portion of the climb, he signaled that he was ready to be lowered and alerted the belayer to lock him off. As Luke disengaged from the climb the rope came taunt, and his momentum carried it across a section of the overhang: the rope was cut by the rock and Luke fell nearly 45-feet straight down, initially landing on his feet.
Luke suffered compression fractures in his lower vertebrae and broken bones in and around his left ankle and wrist: we are grateful that his injuries were not worse. Luke will make a full recovery in time.
Sincere thanks to everyone who was involved with the rescue effort, especially to Sean, Mike, Steve and PSU friend who were climbing alongside us.

*******”

“He's very fortunate it wasn't worse. I'm sure all the climbers that have read about it will make adjustments to try to avoid that situation from happening to them.”

“wow -

lucky to be only in the hospital.

So - to critique, it would appear that his toprope setup was faulty, exposing the rope to a sharp edge. Should have used longer slings to place the rope beyond the sharp edge.

Even so - i would venture to guess that the rope was old and perhaps had a weak spot? Wonder what kind of rock it was, but to cut thru a climbing rope is not an easy thing to do with even a sharp edged rock.”

“Roamy, I was thinking the same thing about the anchor setup. I usually use 11mm static rope for tr anchors and many times, the route will be shortened because I make sure the master point is below any edges.

But, it's possible they did everything right. He mentions the rope becomging taut and his momentum carried the rope across the sharp edge. Maybe he did a pendulum to a bulging sharp edge that wasn't part of the route?

Anywho, here's a followup post on that forum:

***********
The question as to the type of rope we were using when the accident occurred has come up:
The rope was a 10 mm, dynamic single line about 4 years old, never having taken a lead fall.
The rope was cut about 2 feet above Luke’s head, but previously showed no sign of damage in that area. It does not appear that the rope failed from defect or damage but rather from very unfortunate circumstances arising from a “perfect storm” of mechanics/physics that lead to the tensioned rope being drawn across a previously unidentified area of sharp rock.

I visited Luke last night, he came through his surgery well, was in good spirits and appreciates the well wishes from the climbing community.
***************
last edited: 2/06/08 6:05:51 PM”

“4 years old.... i bet that at some point in that ropes life, it had gotten pinched (rock fall, being stepped on, or even getting pulled tight over a point of rock/ice) and had a core defect (invisible to visual inspection) at the point where it broke.

Seems like i read that ropes should be replaced at least every 3 years, and more depending on use/abuse and general conditions.”