Tough love (Valentine's day special)

Went to Stoney Clove with Guillaume looking for some ice, with the goal of doing some of the harder multi-pitch lines at the south end of the west side. Our primary target was The Curtain (WI4), which we tried at the end of the session with Brian the last go-around. The second pitch looked in and interestingly long, and we planned on my leading off the ground and G tackling the upper pitch.

The Curtain goes up the flows on the left (WI4, two pitches)

For whatever reason, it was one of those days where the climbing just didn't feel right from the outset. The approach was particularly rugged, with the recent warm temps making a lot of the stones mobile. I managed to pop one of the pieces in our belay anchor leaning backwards, and also tripped and nearly tumbled down the approach slope while starting to climb. The flows were fat and solid, but despite the moderate temps (mid to high twenties) the ice was surprisingly brittle; lots of dinner plating, multiple swings required for most sticks.

The start of the first pitch felt good, solid screws and relatively easy placement on the picks and kicks. The crux - pulling left onto the curtain - is awkward, and my feet placements were crappy all day; laces weren't tight enough, need to really crank down on the boots next time. Despite scaring both Guillaume and myself out of our wits by cutting my feet a few times, managed to negotiate the low angled topout and delicate traverse to the belay tree. G followed up in short order.

Post approach and racking up hurdles (surprisingly difficult today)
Getting to the good stuff, first pitch

We moved the belay to a tree closer to the second pitch, set back fifty feet or so from the first pitch topout. Longer than the first, this pitch goes straight up through a series of vertical sections demarcated by small stances. Guillaume headed straight up, making good progress and placing screws from tough stances; unfortunately, about 2/3 of the way up and just before the lowest angled part of the pitch, he ran out of screws and made a dicey mixed traverse over to a small tree in the corner to the left. Whether it was fatigue or the fact that I forgot my lucky socks, even on TR I found the pitch difficult and more intimidating than the one below.

G has a penchant for ropework
The backside of the curtain on rappel
We decided to head down after the second pitch, neither of us felt entirely on today and were just happy to get down with gear and limbs, if not egos, intact. More pics here. Tough love from the climbing gods: a stern lesson to hone the skills before getting on the real steep stuff. Felt like one of those days where I was climbing hard, but not particularly well. The conditions might have had a little to do with it, but better footwork will help immensely. Looking forward to next weekend, where we'll have a good crew out for some easy climbing in the area.