Three, two, one...

Three and two are straightforward: last Sunday, the trio of us (Brian, Guillaume, and I) headed back to the Catskills for our second foray onto the ice in as many weeks. As for one, Guillaume took his first big whipper on lead ice; haven't seen that big a fall in quite a while, and certainly not on anything as sketchy as a screw - it was quite impressive, more on it below.

With a four day cold snap this week and warmer temps forecast for the weekend, we decided to get an early start on the ice this weekend, hoping to beat the crowds and jump on relatively unhacked ice. Left the city Friday night and convened for some preparatory shenanigans in G's cabin in the Catskills: examining G's pipe collection, squeezing on a swami belt, and trying to stay warm. We bunked down later than intended, but still set the alarm for the relatively leisurely wakeup time of 6 am.

The Man in Black


Rolled in to the end of the road above Devil's Kitchen around 8, and dropped down into the gully to find it completely empty. First up was a relatively short, stepped vertical line right near the top of the gully - Stairway to Heaven (WI3-3+). Colder temps than forecast, the ice was brittle and hard and coated with a shiny sheen. Vertical climbing to a comfy ledge and small ice cave a little more than halfway, not quite big enough for me to stand in (but I kneeled for a rest).  Two more short vertical sections to the typically uncomfortable Catskills topout - snow, a little frozen grass, and rock. Felt comfortable on the start of the lead, spacing screws out well, but as I got tired I slammed in more screws, which subsequently got me more tired - need to get more endurance, and a more solid lead head. B and G ran up the line quickly, and we headed down-gully to find more ice.








G spotted a great looking line: Snotsicle (WI4), a big vertical column spilling down from a overhang. It sits at the top of a steep slope, which was littered with the remains of the neighboring free-hanging column where Point and Shoot (WI5) lives. Looked intimidating, but G roped up and headed out from the right side (a steeper start than the left). Putting in a few screws, he moved up the steep start and out left to the front of the column, angling right again for a ledge in the column. A good four feet above his last screw, he popped a foot highstepping onto the ledge. I can see the details in slow-motion: the plummet sideways and down, the rope coming taught, tools flying out and down the approach slope. Afterwards, G was a foot off the ground and totally unscathed. Whew! Big fall, probably due to multiple factors, including distance above pro, rope stretch on a double line, Brian getting pulled forward, as well as a deployed screamer (nice trophy!). G was eager to head back up for revenge, but wiser heads prevailed and we headed up to downlead and pull the screws.







What was a quiet morning had turned into a zoo by this point, with multiple individual parties as well as a big guided group on TRs in lower Devil's Kitchen. We decided to head down for the two moderate pitches of Bridal Veil Falls. Easy hike down the gully, with a small rap on the kill at the base of Lower Bridal Veil - probably downclimbable, but we threw a rope. Lower Bridal Veil is short and straightforward though not overly protectable, WI2-2+ depending on conditions with a snowy topout on the frozen creek - G quickly led up to a tree, stopping to only place one screw. Upper Bridal Veil is taller, with multiple lines, easier and ledgey on the right to steeper and vertical on the left. We picked a line up the middle left (WI3?), vertical enough to get the heart rate up but stepped enough to provide good stances for sinking screws. The line we climbed headed up rightwards before trending back left to topout, with a sketchy section in the middle where cascading water ran behind a few-inch thin layer of clear, hard ice.

Dropping in to Lower Bridal Veil

The stealth belay






Good day out, especially with everyone coming out in one piece. And real good to know that the gear works as advertised (never heard the screamer deploy, despite its name). I realize we still don't have enough miles under our belts to be consistent judges of our limits, climbs that are easily within our reaches on TR and still hard on lead (we noticed that many parties stick to TR in Devil's Kitchen). Dialed it down, likely wisely, midway through the day, retreating on Snotsicle as well as saving a nice looking line by Upper Bridal Veil (Tiers of Joy WI4) for another day. Finished everything off with G's excellent mussels and fries.

More pics here and here.