Ice season is upon us in Montana! Well a little while ago it was anyway. Right now its raining outside and temperatures have barely dropped below freezing in Hyalite for the past several days. Snow is forecasted tonight and let's keep our fingers crossed that it stays cold enough to preserve the thin ice there is up in Hyalite. So here's a recap of my early season ice hunting.
First Sam Hennessey and I drove down to the Beartooth Mountains to climb Funeral for a Friend. This route usually is one of the first to come in, being at 10,000 feet definitely has something to do what that! The approach was pretty painless due to lack of substantial snow accumulation. The climb itself was fat compared to what Sam and I were expecting. While the climb wasn't overly challenging, spindrift and hard to protect ice shells often reminded us it was full on winter up high. Regardless, the climbing and setting was incredibly aesthetic and my favorite start to an ice season yet.
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| Sam approaching Funeral for a Friend |
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| On the approach, the climb is hidden around the left of the face |
After our Funeral for a Friend adventure up into the Alpine, we decided to pick shorter approach for the next climb. Colder temperatures had our hopes up for climbable ice in Hyalite so we ventured to the Unnamed Wall. Nothing happening. So off we went on one of the longer approaches in the Canyon and up to Twin Falls. The single digit temps were even nice enough to treat me with the season's first dose of the barfies.
The ice just wasn't forming in Hyalite, so back to the Beartooths we went. This time Sam and I picked Ice Dragons. This climb sits high above East Rosebud Lake at just about 10,000 feet. And what an approach it had. Seemingly endless boulderfields and about 2 feet of snow aren't the best combination. After many many times falling through the cracks and into the creek we reached the cirque containing our sought after climb. Though the line was very appealing, large sluffs occasionally poured down the face. Sam and I had a quick chat about things and since the route seemed surprisingly sheltered, we headed up. The climb was pretty much opposite of our last Beartooth route, with thin brittle ice rather than the dripping and fat (for early season) ice found on Funeral. Furthermore Ice Dragons is the most prominent ice feature in the whole cirque, much unlike the hidden gem of Funeral for a Friend. Regardless, the climb was spectacular in both its setting and how it climbed. We stopped at the end of the ice. My legs were still tired from the approach and slightly fearing the boulderfield descent, so no easy mixed finish for us. A few v-threads, some better route finding through the boulders and we made it back to the car in less than half the time for approaching. Car to car in 13.5 hours. Unfortunately California Ice was in the dark on both side of our day climbing. Next time!
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| Ice Dragons |
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| Looking back down towards East Rosebud Lake on the descent |
While this winter is off to a slow start compared to last year, every cloud has its silver lining. With good ice early last year in Hyalite I never had the desire to trek into the Beartooths. I'm sure glad I did this year though. Now let's hope for cold temps up in Hyalite!
