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Helmcken Falls Spray Ice Continues

Date: 22nd January 2011


The last two weeks have been higher speed than usual. Travel, prep, closed roads, full chaos, but Tim Emmett and I have now been at the Helmcken Falls Lodge for five days, and climbing every day. So far the climbing has consisted of super technical radically overhanging ice action to just get a line of gear out the cave. Yeah, CAVE!

We’re bolting ground-up ’cause it’s too steep to rap, and there would just be no way to find the line from above. It’s just nuts, insert expletives here. And we haven’t even climbed anything new, just worked and worked. Each time one of us comes down after a bolting session we’re just done mentally and physically, battered and bruised and stomped upon by falling icicles
The icicles in Christian Pondella’s photo above are anywhere from ten to 50 feet in length. The snow cone is at least 100 feet high. We had to rope up to cross the crevasses, that’s how big it all is in there, the scale is just mind-bending. If it gets too warm we’re done without climbing anything, but the temperatures are holding, we found last year’s bolts under the ice, and it’s all ON! We start really climbing tomorrow, but realistically have another two days of prep to get to the top of the ice. Yesterday we sent down tons and tons of icicles, and yet you can’t even see where we’ve climbed unless you’re looking at just the right angle.
Seldom have I ever been involved with a route that feels so far out there. Icicles, rock, angles, crevasses? But one thing is for sure: We’re exactly where we want to be, have received far more than we dreamed of, and are totally stoked to be doing our best. You don’t get too many times like that in life really, yeah! Upward.

Posted in: Blog

Comments

  1. Anonymous   January 23, 2011 3:38 am

    go hard will. sounds amazing.

    one question: what kind of rock is it out there?

  2. Will Gadd   January 23, 2011 6:24 am

    Anon, I think it's basically old lava flows. Some basalt sorta column things for a few feet occasionally, then another layer of total junk rock but very compact lava flow, then another, all stacked on top of each other. Lava tube caves occasionally where some of the water comes out, but mostly just lava flow junk show. Weird stuff, reminds me of Iceland and Idaho.

  3. Marc Hanselman   January 23, 2011 8:50 pm

    That's right! Idaho!!! Too bad we don't have any ice in the lava tubes around here… I really ruffled some feathers this fall when we dry tooled some rock routes in the caves. I guess I'll have to bolt some more with the purpose of dry tooling!

    Really cool stuff Will! More photos PLEASE!!!

    Cheers, Marc

  4. Some Good   January 24, 2011 4:41 am

    Sounds like a wild time. Can't wait to see the final results.

  5. splitter choss   January 24, 2011 5:08 pm

    Super inspiring, excited to see how it turns out!

  6. JD LeBlanc   January 24, 2011 6:48 pm

    dood you suck – why you gotta remove some stairs to the new indirect-start to the cave man (haffner cave)- everyone was so nice – i just could not add to that? is it just like plice – will the red bull bolting party be there, or just in the Patagonia …
    Looks damn fine and i await another fine display of climbing and a nice pull on the grade …
    jd

  7. Anonymous   January 26, 2011 6:41 pm

    Will, have you seen the latest drama in Patagonia?
    Wondering what your contacts inside RedBull have to say about it?

    http://blog.jasonkruk.net/2011/01/david-lama-to-rap-bolt-cerro-torre.html
    http://colinhaley.blogspot.com/2011/01/cerro-torre-david-lama-and-redbull.html

  8. Mark   January 26, 2011 9:00 pm

    Hi Will, I've been following this project since last year and it's amazing – nice work.

    I've been curious – each year the ice forms again and it's probably somewhat random, and might cover some or all of your bolts.

    So if someone wanted to repeat your lines say 5 years from now, it sounds like they would have to start with some prep, digging out the bolts?

    Hopefully when you're done development of the current routes you can provide good topos showing the locations of bolts, so no-one will feel the need to re-bolt any lines. (Assuming anyone is crazy enough to follow in your footsteps.)

    Keep us posted on your efforts!

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