Please feel free to reach out with any questions or observations from the field. (AKolos AT hotmail dot com). I’m happy to share them in the interests of growing the community and encouraging folks to make the effort to enjoy winter in Ontario! The following personal and friends’ notes, accounts and observations are from across Southern Ontario, or from their travels further abroad. Please remember, however: climbing is dangerous; ice/mixed climbing is more complex than summer rock climbing; conditions can deteriorate quickly; don’t blindly follow/trust others; make your own assessments! You, and you alone, are responsible for your decisions.

Happy and Safe Climbing - Andriy

OAC Membership

The Ontario Alliance of Climbers is focused on building a community of mutual respect between climbers, landowners, conservation authorities, and other property managers. They’re committed to fostering strategic relationships to educate, mediate, and negotiate the various needs of all parties. They’ve launched an annual membership that costs less than a cup of coffee a month. Consider supporting them here as a show of support, so they continue working with all landowners in addressing concerns, and maintaining/expanding the number of climbing possibilities we have access to in Southern Ontario. Thanks!

No Updates from Bancroft re: Eagle’s Nest Access

The Town of Bancroft has expressed interest in securing access to the base of Roller Coaster. The proposed plan has yet to receive the necessary support from the Town Council. As such No Trespassing Signs have appeared below Roller Coaster to protect the landowner from liability.

Climb On Equipment on board!

Excited to be working with Climb On Equipment to make SOIce Selects available to more climbers!

Belated Updates and Reports

• Check out Danylo’s and Brent’s Family Day Updates from Algoma (Feb 17/18/19)

• Now Posted: Dacks MountainFest Report from Brent (Feb 10/11)

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Thanks for your patience while I look to balance the site between a bit of advertising (to help cover hosting costs) and a delightful user experience that keeps the collective SOIce psyche high and proud!

March 24, 2024 - Madawaska (Brent)

Mugur and Mike were game to meet up! Driving through Bancroft we saw ice there was fat, but decided to continue… We thought maybe Black Cat Hill, but the lake ice situations had me concerned about safely crossing the final pond at the outlet, and more importantly, returning at the end of the day! So, we made a prudent call to climb at a land crossing, and ended up at Papineau Roadside.

We got there and walked the cliff hoping for a glaze of ice on Zipidee-Do-Da. Nada. Very little ice was found except Consolation Prize! We looked at some of the newly bolted lines there designed for summer use. Some lovely rock to explore, but it certainly seems odd to me to climb winter routes in the summer and rename them! Rock shoes don't change history! 

Anyways, lots of fun was had on the ice of CP, though it was brittle from a cold night temps. Laura then led Clip and Go. She went, it was good. I drafted with the draws already up. Laura then got a clean lead on Algonquin, which was cool to see. Again, I drafted (with difficulty!). 

Mike and Mugur got some laps in on all the rock routes and moved Clip and Go over to Office Hands so we all got a TR lap. Fun climbing! Physical at the bottom, emotional at the top! haha

I got to test the new prototype tool on rock and ice this weekend, too. I'm pretty happy with it. It feels solid and comfortable and drives into ice well with a bit of extra head weight! Hope to see you soon buddy!

March 15, 2024 - Gaspe: Mouth of the Shark (Danylo)

Where to go? It had rained quite a bit in the evening and everything was soggy. Apparently the temperatures had dipped down to -1 briefly during the night, but it was +3C already at 8:30 am.

We first checked out Aqua Velva, WI 4+, 60 m, a mere two kilometres from our hostel. From the road the ice still looked good (it’s north facing), but it was up a long narrow chute and I couldn’t tell from the highway, if there was a line easier than WI4+. I didn’t feel like battling my way up a steep climb. We drove on.

Cigarette Bleu, conveniently roadside, was pouring water – no go.

The Montagnes Russes area looked good and had 3-4 climbable lines, but the main one was really close to the road (10 m) and there was a house above it. I didn’t feel like getting sworn at in Quebecois after topping out into someone’s yard.

The P’tite Cirque climbs on the Corneille Wall were looking worse for the rains – next time.

 We then checked out La Gueule du requin (Mouth of the Shark) high up on the slopes above the south end of the town of Mont St. Pierre and easily visible from the road. It looked big, fat and blue. The guidebook described 3 separate lines on the ice wall, the easiest of which was given a WI4 rating, but it looked to us like there were definitely easier lines up the left and right sides. We hoped we weren’t deceiving ourselves.

For the record, the guidebook descriptions say the left line is Dequelasse, WI4+, 45 m, the middle line is La Luette du requin, WI7, 45 m (yup, that says WI7 – apparently the line goes up an overhanging rock roof) and the right line is La Pierrot, WI4 to WI5. The guidebook photo shows a lot less ice than what we were looking at – it was almost a solid wall of ice from left toright.

The guidebook said that the approach was 45 minutes. It took us an hour. The first several hundred meters of creek crossing, swamp shrubbery and thickets slowed us down a bit. For future reference, park right at the Highwaty2 sign and strike out directly right to the creek – much less shrubbery.

The ice wall was easily 500 m wide and had lines of all sorts of difficulty on it. The right side looked the easiest (about WI3), but it also had the most sun and we had seen some ice or rockfall come down it. The middle lines were fiercely steep (WI5 and WI 4+). We settled on the left side, which looked slightly easier and more shaded.

I chose the line of least resistance, first angling rightwards, then back up left, up a slight groove. The half-ropes proved very useful. The ice was once again covered in wet, mushy snow and the screws bit into mush for the first couple of centimetres, but the sticks were heroic. You could here the water gurgling merrily below the ice on the far right side of my line. I’d say the climbing was WI3+. Quite enjoyable, but I got thoroughly wet, because the melting snow was dripping all over everything.

I set a belay off trees and brought Chris up. He moved the anchor 10 m right above a much steeper line in order to tope rope it; we rappelled down that line.

By this time another pair of climbers had arrived. They originally set up at the right side of the wall, but thought better of it, because the ice was too soft over there and came over to the left side. The leader started up the same line I had just led, but got to the steep part and realized he was running out of gas and likely didn’t have enough screws to reach the top safely, so he set up a screw anchor and they top-roped on that. See, I’m not the weakest climber in Quebec. He later finished the route.

We top-roped the line we had dropped the ropes on. It was steep – probably WI4+ and the steepest ice I had climbed all year, but because the sticks were so heroic, it went quite easily. A good climb to end the season on.

We packed our bags, made our way downhill back to the car (only took 25 minutes) and started the long drive back to Toronto. We stopped in the Hotel International in Riviere du Loups again. We stayed in the cheaper dorm room and had it to ourselves. Did I mention that breakfast is included? I like hostels.

That’s all for this season for this ice climber. Apparently, temperatures are dipping down again this coming week in Gaspe, if anyone is still looking to ice climb.

Life is good!

Danylo

March 14, 2024 - Gaspe: Cavaliers du Vent (Danylo)

Chris and I went back to give Cavaliers du Vent, WI3+, 160 m another go. This time there was no-one there. We hemmed and hawed about heading up a long route, since the weather forecast was calling for a 40% chance of rain at 1:00 pm and 60% at 3:00, but in the end Chris made the call that we should give it a shot. We don’t have such 160 m routes to climb in Southern Ontario.

The climbing went smoothly. The route climbs a large couloir with ice pitches interspersed with snow slopes. We hiked 50-60 m up a snow slope, put on our crampons below a small 1 m ice step, popped over it, then cramponed up the remaining snow slope to where the continuous ice started.

Chris led the first pitch of 45 m of rolling WI2 up to a point where the couloir narrowed and the ice steepened. He set up a screw anchor and brought me up.

I led the next pitch or mostly avoided it. There was an initial 8-10 m of WI2+ ice, but then you could mostly by-pass the rest of the pitch by snow slopes on the left, which I did, keeping in mind the threat of rain in the afternoon and the need to move fast. In hindsight, I should have just led straight up the ice (but hindsight is always 20/20). I set up a tree belay on the right side of the couloir just above the second ice step and brought Chris up.

Above there was another 35-40 m snow slope. Chris slogged up the slope and set up a belay on the bottom of the right side of the next ice step. I plodded up to join him. The next pitch looked to be about WI3 – right up Chris’s alley. I gave the pitch to him. It was his birthday after all.  He led it in good style, set up a belay and brought me up.

That was the last of the ice. Above was a steep slope of snow. The pair of climbers we had met the day before at the base of the route had headed up to the left, but I went straight up, since the guidebook description said the descent was by a treed couloir 60 m to the right (so why head left). The snow slope proved to be hiding more of the craptastic shattered schist/shale. Foot placements were unreliable and the snow was not firm enough for axes to grip. I progressed carefully and entered krumholtz shrubbery at the top. I belayed at the end of a full 60 m pitch from a stunted tree (the only one in the immediate vicinity). Should have followed the tracks left – there were solid trees over there. I brought Chris up.

We had climbed the route in good time and thankfully it wasn’t raining. I continued up the slope to see if I could find any trails leading to the right. About 100 m on I came upon a flagged trail coming in from the left. There were crampons steps on it, heading away from the top of the couloir. Probably the climbers from yesterday. I followed the trail and in another 40-50 m it reached a major hiking trail with a trail sign saying the town of L’Anse Pleureuse was 3.5 km away. The crampon steps continued along the main trail to the right. I figured they were heading to the descent gully.

I went back to where I had left Chris. We had a pleasant lunch break with beautiful views over the Gulf of St. Lawrence and then set off along the trails I had found. It soon became clear that the crampon steps we were following were going much further than 60 m. Some 300 m on we came to a viewpoint. The steps continued along the trail. I wandered down the treed slope below the viewpoint to see if there was an obvious way down.  The trees seemed to continue down the slope for quite a way, but I couldn’t be sure the trees would end at a cliff. I couldn’t see a couloir anywhere. Should have done a better job scoping out the immediate area around the climb from below.

Oh well, better safe than sorry. We trudged the 3.5 km along the trail back to town. At least it was mostly downhill. Plus, we got another view of L’Epee du jade and Leve toi and grimpe from up high across the valley. A quick 1 km hike along the road brought us back to the car. I still couldn’t see an obvious descent couloir to the right of Cavaliers du vent from below – more like a nasty-steep treed gash with some rock steps. We weren’t sorry to have gone the long way around.

It had been a full day. It finally started to rain on the drive home at 5:30.

March 13, 2024 - Gaspe: P’tit loup (Danylo)

P’tit loup 60m WI3+ looked just fine from the road. It was a Guy Lacelle route! So we geared up at the car and headed 60-80 m up the slope to the first ice step. From here Chris led some 15-20 m of easy, rolling WI2 steps, set up a belay at the start of the steeper ice and brought me up.

The steeper pitch fell to me. The easier left side was positively plastered with a thick layer of wet, sticky snow and the right side didn’t look completely well formed, so it was up the steeper middle line for me. I reckoned it had enough rest bulges to make the climbing manageable for a Southern Ontario “hard man” like myself. As always, the rest bulges were mostly illusory – the gloppy snow was somehow sticking to vertical ice and giving the impression of rest stances. Several body lengths of 86° vertical ice had me cursing my choice of line. As it was, before every swing of the axe I had to make several sweeps with it to clear snow and then the snow would glop onto my axe in a big heavy ball, making every swing like swinging a sledgehammer. The only saving grace was that someone had recently climbed the route and I kept finding deep pick holes in just the places I was swinging into (not that you could see them thanks to the snow) Screws were good. I was more than relieved when the angle relented, and snowplowed my way to the top, only to be forced across somewhat sketchy turf and crappy rock to a big tree. I was a wet, sodden mess, but quite pleased myself. It doesn’t take much to keep us silly humans happy. I brought Chris up. We were both quite gassed, so we placed some tat around the tree, rappelled off and called it a day. Yup, one 60 m climb and done.

Since we still had some time and daylight on our hands, we drove up some of the side valleys, looking at ice routes. Le P’tite siren aux yeux bleus, 40m WI3 in the village of Gros Morne looked blue, fat and inviting and not too far up a slope. Two of the routes in the valley just south of L’Anse Pleureuse, positioned way up high above long, steep snow slopes, were particularly stunning – L’Epee de jade, 100 m WI6 and Leve toi and grimpe (Get up and climb), 60 m, WI4+.  How Leve toi and grimpe is graded “only” a WI4+ seems incomprehensible – it’s a long, steep, narrow pillar. Les Surfeurs d'argent, WI4, 70 m looked really good but was marked Private Property. The Mur des Crapauds de mer was also stunning, but looked baked. Loulou, 45 m WI3+ to WI5 above the town of Mont Louis also looked impressive (and still blue) and even doable on the easier side by punters like us. So much to do!

At the end of the day we checked out the Caroune Ski Shop in Sainte Anne des Monts which also sells some climbing gear. I had broken the toe-bail on my Lynx crampons two days previously on Tom and Jerry. I’ve been using the plastic universal all-boot front-bail since breaking both metal front bails 2 years ago. The plastic didn’t break; the metal bar that goes under the boot did. Unfortunately, the store only had wide Black Diamond toe bails; no Petzl ones. And why does the Petzl front toe bail cost $50 for one (a lousy bent wire) and BD fron toe-bails only cost $10? Grrr….

According to the store employees, it’s been a bad skiing season, but a good ice climbing one.

At any rate the store currently has a sale on screws, ropes, crampons and some tools, if anyone is interested.

https://www.carouneskishop.com/collections/alpinisme-et-escalade-de-glace?page=1#collection-root

Finally, we checked in to new lodging – the Chill Shack hostel at the Auberge Festive Sea Shack in Sainte Anne de Monts. It’s new, clean, spacious, comes complete with a cat and dog, we have the place practically to ourselves and it’s much cheaper than the Motel Mont St. Pierre. Hard to beat the view out the Motel Mont St. Pierre though – seas, cliffs and ice climbs (Corneille Wall).

March 12, 2024 - Gaspe: Mont St Pierre (Danylo)

Woke up to 4-5 cm of fresh snow on the ground. Wet, heavy stuff. Cloudy and overcast. Wind from the north, bringing big waves with it.

Got in the car around 9:00 and drove west for 40 km, almost back to St. Anne des Monts, just to see the ice we missed driving in the dark yesterday. There are a LOT of routes along this stretch of highway – they are not as closely spaced as Orient Bay, but just as numerous. Lots of the routes were in: some slightly baked, others were fat and blue. Some selected observations:

• Corneille, WI5+, 75 m, just 1 km west of the motel looked thinner than the guidebook photo, heavily chandeliered and very, very difficult.

• Petit cirque. WI3 65 m, 200 m left of Corneille looked much more doable for the likes of us.

• Corbeau, WI6+, 50 m, 100 m right of Corneille – not in, broken off stump.

• Minus, WI4, 40 m, another 600 m along – in

• Barriers, WI3+ to M7, 15 m – roadside roadcut ice, looking a little white and bleached

• Tom and Jerry, WI3+, 25 m – fat, blue ice

• Meduse, WI4, 60 m – not very fat/wide, almost no cauliflowers, mushrooms, medusas

• La Cigarette bleue, WI4+, 30 m - in, bur fairly narrow column, much steeper than the WI3+ shape I found it in when I led it 17 years ago.

• Montagnes russes, WI2-5, 25 m to 45 m. 3-4 climbable routes of good ice.

• La Voile de la mariee, WI3+, 40 m – lots of water flowing behind the ice. Didn’t look entirely stable.

• Aqua Velva, WI 4+ to WI5 – looked to be blue and fat; couldn’t quite see the whole route from the road. 

We then drove all the way back to Mont St. Pierre with the aim of climbing Petite Cirque, next to town. Parking is not allowed roadside below the Corneille Wall, and there was nowhere to park on the west end of town, because nothing was plowed, so we went all the way back to our motel to park (only 800 m from the climb). It had snowed heavily enough that our car got stuck in a snow drift in the motel parking lot and we had to dig the car out.

By this time the wind had really picked up, and visibility had dropped. We trudged miserably along the road to the climb with the wind pelting snow into our faces from the north. The right side of my face was soon frozen. I turned around and trudged backwards for a bit to let my face thaw out. Going up the steep slope below the climb deepened our misery. The slope was composed of shattered slate type rock and it was covered with 10 cm of unsupportive fresh snow. You couldn’t see what sort of ground you were placing your feet on. For every two steps up, you’d slide 1 step down and sometimes more than that. Even worse you couldn’t even look up to pick out what easier rolls in the terrain to aim for, because the wind at the east end of the cliff had travelled all the way long the 1 km long, treeless cliff wall and was pelting snow at us in full fury. Climbing in those conditions wasn’t going to be fun. In fact, we’d likely turn into human popsicles – 0C at 100% humidity with driving winds is much more unpleasant than a nice dry -10C day. We bailed partway up the slope and returned to the warmth of our motel room to dry out and eat lunch.

At 2:30, even though the wind had not abated at all, I convinced Chris that we should try again. I figured that the wind was likely the worst it could be by the Corneille Wall and we could find a more sheltered place to climb. Our options were limited by the fact that we couldn’t park anywhere at the side of the highway, because the snowplows were out in force. We decided to head for Tom and Jerry which is located some 500 m west of the village of Marsoui where hopefully we could find parking.

We parked in town. Walking along the highway was still miserable, but once we started up the slope below the climb the trees on either side provided shelter from the wind. The snow on the slope was deep and wet, but provided much better traction than the slope below the Corneille Wall – the slope was only slidey in a couple of places.

The climb itself proved to be really nice. I chose the easiest-looking line straight up the middle, thinking it looked somewhat rampy. I soon found myself on vertical terrain. Ice is always steeper than it looks from below. But the ice was thick and solid, the picks sunk deep and the screws bit really well. I drilled my way up. Fair value at WI3+. It was more than the stated 25 m to the belay tree – about 35 in fact. I brought Chris up and then we rapped down the left side. It was really steep – looked to be WI4+. We debated doing a lap up the steep side, but in the end we called it a day. Good call – it was already 6:30 when we got back to the car. Time flies when you’re having fun (and even when you’re not).

March 10-11, 2024 - SE of Quebec: Riviere de Loup (Danylo)

Decisions, decisions…. Where to go ice climbing for March Break? Everything in Southern Ontario is done – way too warm. New Liskeard, Rouyn-Noranda again? Nah, did that last year, plus it’s looking quite warm - +4, +5.

Laurentians & Lanaudiere in Quebec look to be cooked as well. Even Charlevoix and Hautes Gorges look like they’re getting warm temperatures.

OK, then how about Orient Bay? Blast – forecast is calling for sunshine and +8 on Tuesday. I’m sure we could find some shaded stuff though.

Wait a minute – Gaspe is looking overcast with highs of 0, +1, +2 and overnight freezes. Plus, the climbs are north facing, right?

Sunday, March 10, 2024

Driveway conversation at fully packed car: “Chris, where do you think we should go?... Gaspe? Really? You know they don’t speak English there? …. Fine by you? …Gaspe, it is then!”

9 hours later we were in Riviere du Loup, checking out the farmed ice climbs at Parc des Chutes in the dark. There was still a huge amount of ice, although it looked pretty baked. We decided to stay the night and climb there the next day.

Checked into the Auberge International, a hostel in a lovely old building with a delightfully dilapidated air to it – worn wooden floors, classic bathroom fixtures, but lovely wood trim, and mosaic art. No crooked staircase like at the Arlington though. We were the only ones there apart from a family from Japan.

Monday, March 11, 2024 - Riviere du Loup, Parc des Chutes

It snowed overnight – 5-10 cm of fluffy stuff. We made our way down semi-plowed streets to the ice climbing site at the Parc des Chutes.

The flippin’ town fathers in Bancroft should learn something about ice climbing from Riviere du Loup! The town supports ice climbing and promotes it through a website and a local climbing organisation called Grimpe on Ville (https://www.grimpeenville.org/) (and also with the help of the FQME and a dedicated page). The ice is “farmed” – water runs through insulated pipes at the top and trickles down the climbs. A trail leads to the base of the climbs and there’s also a trail to the top. And even across the top there’s a trail and signs naming the tops of routes, so it’s easy to set up a toprope if you want. Very thoughtful and convenient. Signs declare Grimpe en Ville, Climbers only past this point, Use at Your Own Risk, Put your helmets on and …. What’s this? – even a sign depicting how to join two ropes together (because the climbs are longer than 40 m).

We made our way down to the base of the ice climbs in the Secteur Est. The ice was looking suspect. I sunk a trial screw that went through layers of ice and snow, but seemed to bite satisfactorily overall.

This convinced Chris to give a lead a go. He started up Le Grand-duc, 37m, WI3+, but partway up he found the ice too punky and screws unreliable, so he detoured left around some trees to a more northerly face where the ice was better. The detour created nasty rope drag, so instead of topping out he downclimbed to a tree, set up a belay and brought me up.

Partway up I noticed a dude with a big camera filming me. I figured the local TV station, whose building backed onto the Parc des Chutes, was getting some local colour for the news and waved at him. However, when I got to Chris’s belay stance and looked around I noticed a emergency vehicle with flashing lights down below in the parking lot and small groups of people in the parking lot and on the pedestrian bridge. Clearly something was amiss somewhere. I continued the last 8-10 m to the top of the climb and set up a belay off a big tree.

A minute later a fireman/paramedic in full kit showed up on the other side of the fence. A stream of French poured out in my direction. I answered, in French, that I didn’t speak French too well, because I was from Toronto, whereupon the stream was reduced to a simple “Ç'est correct?” “Correct,” I replied. More French flowed into and out of his walkie-talkie. “Oh-oh.” I thought.

But no… “Have a good day,” he said in English and went on his way.

We happily top-roped a couple more lines and then wrapped it up in the early afternoon in order to hit the road early on our way to the Gaspe peninsula.

Along the way we detoured down to look at the town of St. Fabien sur Mer, where there were supposed to be some climbs further down the coast west of town, but high tides, storm surges and lots of private property signs turned us away. Dramatic setting though – prominent ridges, big cliffs and high waves. Worth the detour.

Pulled into Mt. St. Pierre on the Gaspe Peninsula at 9:00 pm in a snowstorm. Checked in over the phone into the Motel St. Pierre where I stayed last in 2007 with Tiago and Andriy. Promptly blew the fuse in the room when we turned the heater and the microwave on at the same time. Had to resettle into the adjacent room.

March 9, 2024 - Timbertrail (Matt)

All the ice has melted. Only Big Time remains, but it opened up halfway and is flowing really well! Bring your snorkel.

March 03 - Dog Bay (Brent)

Hey Andriy
Got out with Gabby and Alec. Quick stop by Eagle’s Nest on the way to consume sticky bun calories from One Fine Foods and get condies pics!

New ice formed in spots on Dog Bay. But it mostly seemed to be turning back to liquid. We started on the thing on the right where we climbed with Danylo, Laura, and Mike. It was in fun shape.

Alec gave the pitch on the left side of the outcrop a twirl (just right of the gully right of La Chienne). I heard a *ting *ting *ting and looked for the biner that fell off his harness, only it was one of his front points. He put a screw in and came down.  Somehow Alec’s eagle (young) eyes spotted the bolt and he got things sort of back together. Blade runners looks cool but the front point attachment is ridiculous.

Anyway, we toproped some of the rock beside the ice and it was quite fun. Maybe worth a bolt or two?

Good times by all!!! Hope there will be more days like this to come, but we’ll see…

Focaccia of the day was caramelized onion and sundried tomato. Yes, it was good. Yes, you missed out.

We passed by JP’s in favour of being home quicker, which may have been an error given our conversation revolved around food, recipes, and picanha… next time!

Feb 25 - Bear Lake (w Matt)

Wonderful Sunday adventuring with Matt - thanks for getting me out of the house! While I typically drive in civies clothes for comfort, lookin at the bird on my trusted climbing pants kept the stoke high, during the early morning drive. That and the strong bialetti-style coffee!

Good travel across the lakes. Conditions looked leaner than ever (for end of February). Frankenhooker’s first pitch slab isn’t in, but you can sneak up the gully and cut back right to gain icy bumps and the belay ledge/tree. The upper pitch looks good. Actually, Frankenhooker is a unique climb that’s actually easier in lean conditions - when it thickens up it’s steeper with fewer resting ledges and stances. Collective Arts could go and be fun to the top (if you could get past the first roof). Crankenhooker is likely not worth the trouble - looks lean, thin and angry.

But we had our eyes set on Ultrahooker. I warmed up by putting up the draws on the p1 direct start (that I bolted a few years ago, around m6) and familiarized myself with the moves - no quicker way to ruin a day than with a flash pump, so a warm-up is key. I was worried about the exit onto the ledge… after Matt gave it a warm-up burn (he did great for his onsite try lookin for the tiny edges and curved rails before getting to the jugs), we geared up and committed to the upwards adventure. After the last bolt at the lip, there ended up being enough of a hollow slab of ice to help me get up and over, and then work up turf and ice to the bolted belay down and right of the crux corner. Not sure of the ice above, and exactly what was needed, we hauled up plenty of widgets and gizmos, so we could safely “stick our nose in and take a closer look”.

As beneficial of a spot as this is for not cramponing your belayer in the head on the crux pitch, it does position them in the line of fire once the climber is onto the ice, so pick your poison. (The ledge is big enough that with enough slack, the belayer should be able to dance out of harm’s way should anything fly towards them.)

I’ve not climbed Ultrahooker’s corner before and wasn’t quite sure what to expect (My first time up it was a free-standing pillar (remember finding a orange metolius placement in a good horizontal on the right 1/2 way up; second time was when ice spilled down the “slab” to the right - 70m monster pitch from the ground - not recommended as a warm-up).

There were plenty of cracks, but at least to start, they were choked with ice. I could tell that higher up larger ice-free cracks awaited cams. Interesting climbing there: steep stemming, good ledges on the right, and an undercut wall on the left meant a full body workout with shoulder and knee scumming. Good gear compelled upward movement. The ice was as plastic as could in its somewhat dry state - ice was the most fun this season. Yahoo!

Rather than delaminated, sunbaked, but dripping pillars above, I opted for the shady ice gully to the right and set a belay in a nook above. Matt quickly followed, complaining that the wobbly first nut but was better than I suggested. We ran up the 3rd pitch to the top for the summit selfie. But the adventure wasn’t over. I forgot it’s 43m from the trees to the bolted anchor, and so we were left making a no-thread (V thread with just the rope, so as to not leave behind a cord that would melt out and end up at the base come spring). With no hooker-tool on my harness I remembered a trick from an old, long-lost Rockies-ice-page of using an 8 or 10mm sling to fish out the rope from a v-thread in situations exactly like this… and within 3 minutes I discovered I’ve had a new skill in my quiver of tricks, and a new favourite piece of gear!

Thanks for the adventure Matt! The Neil Young concert will be awesome buddy!

Feb 25 - Diamond Lake (Brent)

Lots of parties out at Diamond lake today. Guardian Angel was solid looking, but thin.

The mixed sector to the right had nearly no ice: Every day is Training, Ever Day is Real is just rock. I looked at Dirtier Harrier, but it too was rock (and I do remember following you up Andriy that one time that we used ice up high, so I kept on walking…)

Where Egos Dare had grown a bit of new ice since we were there last: thicker at the bottom, corner looked stellar. There are still a couple moves on rock to get to the corner. Ivo took a run up this using a couple pieces of rock gear. Ice at the top was reported to be getting aerated and sun baked, but ok.

After watching you whip on that first RP go (but still talking about Little Snowblower non-stop) I finally worked up the gumption to try it. I took my stick-clip thinking I’d work it a bit. I found it incredibly difficult: vague and awkward, insecure hooks with a hard start, as you said. (I’m willing to get back on it, but only if you belay - ha!) It’ll go. I knocked a block off up top. The anchors have some sharp rock right below that fuzzed the rope a bit - next person up should bring a yosemite hammer / file and clean it up.

Between Egos and Wimps (BEW) was thinner than last time and Where Wimps Dare (WWD) was thin, not at all inviting.

Tammy Baker’s Face was a lovely face of thinner than normal, sporty ice. Good times.

The set of mixed routes opposite of Tammy Baker’s Face that’s been dubbed the Community Wall was nearly ice free, but dripping. From left to right that’s Tooth Floss (fully bolted, anchors at the top), Ski Bums and Energizer Bunnies (fully bolted, anchors at the top) and Teenage Fatty (two bolts up high, anchors). All are about m5/m6.

As always, ONE FINE FOOD (Bakery and Cafe) in Peterborough delivered! Their roasted garlic, and rosemary and olive focaccia was awesome. That, as well as the pierogies at the WILNO TAVERN (on hwy 60 in Wilno between Barry’s Bay and Killaloe), got us through the weekend. The Wilno shouldn’t be missed!

PS - remember that time on Frankenhooker? Where I broke my toebail and had to use 4mil cord to strap it back on? It happened again - I should have just replaced both bails when I got my replacements. I got to enjoy Tammy Baker’s Face twice, once with a broken toe bail, and once using Laura’s crampons! Ha!

Feb 25 - Restoule (Danylo)

Lake ice was solid with minimal snow on lake. No slush.

Only the Snake and the Octoblobby Thingy in the woods were in.

Ice on the Snake was solid, although not as fat as it usally is. Screws were good. 

Photos from Daunte.

Feb 25 - Papineau (Goran)

Consolation Prize was a treat: fat and brittle. It was running down the middle, so the ice there was plastic.

Feb 22 - Handwarmers

Found good pricing for hand warmers at SAIL. 60% off, so unit price is way less than a buck a unit. A good friend once said: “Any monkey can be uncomfortable when it’s cold…”

Some good msr snowshoes to be had there too.

Feb 22 - Outlook

Mild during the days, and cool overnight is good for ice building, so the days ahead look promising. But keep an eye out for extreme temperature swing of >20 degrees as it makes for brittle ice. Be especially mindful on rowdy, free-hanging features. With this year’s El Nino cycle, it’s best not to look too far ahead and take it week by week.

Feb 17/18/19 - Algoma (Brent)

We drove up Friday night to Sudbury getting in pretty late.

Saturday am we needed a quick hit, so decided to find something with a shorter approach. Brendan Barrs, who’s explored and developed a lot of the bouldering in Algoma, including Nooks (Goldmine area), has been passing me info on ice climbs he’s seen when he’s winter scouting for boulders. Following a tip from him, we walked west passed the Goldmine and back to a drainage that faces north-ish. Eureka! Ice!

There’s a nice line back there with some potential for variations in a fatter year. Laura led it and is calling it Cold Gold. It’s 2+ or the right and grade 3 on the left and about 24m or so.

To get there, park at the bouldering trail, walk in and go right. Follow the height of land around right to a drainage and follow this back. You’ll get to a fully on the left at about 40 mins. Walk up this to the ice.

Beautiful views from up there!

We were staying at The Little White River Resort, which is a nice little spot. It’s a bit rustic, but quite convenient!

Sunday we followed another tip from Brendan and took a long walk to an un tapped cliff. Pics only here as this will need some more work!

Beautiful line, but it was too sparse for me to commit to being 2 hours from the car! I got scared and safely came down. We somehow managed to get around to the top, set a rope on it for some play. It was lean through the mid-section, but at least I know what I’m in for when I return. And I will return!

Nice dinner at Restaurant 17 with Danylo and the ACC crew (Mark, Cynthia, Alex, Chris, Anna, Matt), who were all in good form! So comforting having good friends with whom to share stories. Even if we’re out at different crags during the day, coming together in the evenings is great.

Monday we were back at the Bombsicle cliff, south of Constance. That’s the area we explored last year (check back to last year’s updates for new route descriptions).

From the Junction of the 546 and the 554 North of Iron Bridge, continue on the 546 towards Constance Lake. After 1.9 km, after going down a small hill on a corner, a cliff is visible on the right. This is the Bombsicle area. Park at 46°22'58.1"N 83°15'05.5"W. 

To get to the gully, go left for about 500m. The climb can be found here: 46°23'16.2"N 83°14'53.9"W

There are many other possibilities on this long cliff that may come into being on an icier year! 

The routes we climbed last year were not in shape! Just wisps of ice on rock leading to anchors or trees.
So, we walked a couple km of cliff, and walked back to the car. On our way we saw a metropolis of hare sign, and a couple actual snowshoe hares! Cute, curious creatures!

We ended up climbing a narrow chimney to some rock and thin ice. Not significant, but a fun M3 if you’re passing through. A small rock rack was helpful as there wasn’t much ice. Walk left of the bombsicle for 15 mins and you’ll pass this! It’s about 25m total in a couple steps. Ends at a big, solid pine!

Constance, from the road, looked like there was no ice. You can’t see Waiting for Godot from that view, but nothing was visible clinging to any rock.
We heard that Go Go Beavers and other climbs at that cliff were in bad shape. Randy had popped by.
Lauzon was much the same. Danylo and crew found some ice, but Notorius for Wolverines was apparently thin at the bottom.
Lean. 
Still a super fun weekend.

Feb 17/18 - Algoma (Danylo)

I was up in Algoma leading an ACC - Toronto Section trip with 6 other people. (BTW they’re currently organizing Banff Mtn Film Fest at the Hot Docs Centre March 8, 9 and 10 - looking forward to the show!)

Ice climbing conditions, in general, were the worst I’ve ever seen them. 

Saturday, February 17

- Checked out Intersection Rock first thing in the morning. Nothing was in. Most lines had only slim, or detached, smears on them. Only one line (One Good Screw) might potentially have been climbable.

- Hungry Man at Stoney Creek – One steep line up the middle was in and the easier left side as well.

- Bog Wall – Smash and Grab was in, although thinner than normal. It looked like Sink or Swim was also in.

- Granary Lake – Randy K reported no climbs no climbs were in. 

Sunday, February 18

Climbed at Lake Lauzon. Notorious for Wolverines wasn’t touching down. We ended up climbing Himalayan Monk Pants, Cold Plates and Battle of the Bulge. All climbs were much thinner than usual. The other climbs weren’t in.

Monday, February 19

- went exploring, found ice, but it wasn’t in climbable shape.

Feb 16 - Bear Lake (Matt)

TR solo lap at Bear, followed by an ice line. Ice was cold and brittle. Had good luck fishing, but bad luck with a fox (who took my dinner).

Feb 15 - Outlook

Despite warm weather last weekend, there’s reason to be optimistic. Less rain fell than expected, so ice should continue to be well-bonded.

Weather outlook (for Haliburton, but it applies equally to Madawaska too) is nothing to be afraid of. Snow accumulation followed by clear sunny skies, and cool temps should make for good ice growth/conditions over the medium term. (Even the rain event looks to be a “cool rain” which is good :-)

Keep your tools sharp, and swings precise!

Feb 13 - Timbertrail (Matt)

Climbing was good. Ice lining was better. A bald eagle did a fly-by. Great day.

Feb 11 - Haliburton Observations (Danylo)

Went for a drive up north just to look around, took my gear for a walk and then did some exploring.

Grey and overcast all day with temperatures hovering around 0C. Still at least a foot of crusty, dry snow in the woods. No snow on lakes, just bare ice with open leads near outflows, dams etc Lake ice was plenty thick to walk on. No snowmobiles though.

Raven Lane - looked fine, as glimpsed from the road.

Little Wren Lake - went for a walk along the cliff line. Only Road Warrior (WI3, 10-12 m ) was in.

Kushog (as viewed from road): Blue Boy and Caramel Coating looked fine. Blue Pillar wasn't touching down. Lake ice on Lake Kushog north of the Ox narrows was solid; there was some open water south of the narrows.

Kennisis - looks like there is construction development happening down the old logging track that we used to take to get to the base of the cliff. It's been massively widened and big No Trespassing signs put up.

Feb 10/11 - Dacks’ MountainFest (Brent)

We left the car at Knob Lock parking in mid-morning with 8C temps on the car’s thermo. We walked up towards Lost in Reverie, which is a newly reported WI4-ish route on the left side of the cliff.

We dodged the really wet ice by ducking through the cedars for a couple pitches. At the crux pillar up top, water and hollow ice spooked me into backing down and moving right to the top of JW. We rapped in and climbed the upper ice there, which was also wet, but fun and moderately steep!

A couple sodden raps got us back to our packs and back to the car shortly afterwards.

Amazingly enough, the fest was our first! Vendors were making the most of the warm temps, spirits were high, and beer was free! Of course we ended up at the Mountaineer.

We caught up with some old friends and scooted over to the film and presentation. Charlie, the new owner of the shop, introduced the fest and opened the night’s line-up. After some opening comments, he brought Mellor to the stage. Mellor had just come from Jay Harrison’s funeral. He gave a heartfelt tribute to the climber who took on a lot of the work of developing Crane Mountain and who worked hard to raise a family in the north country. Jay also lived and guided from the base of the cliff. We never met Jay, but exchanged some emails with him at some point and thanked him for putting so much effort into that cliff and area. Crane Mtn is just over 5 hours from us, but over the years we’ve climbed there so often it felt like our home cliff. Jay is a loss to our community.

The film was Jirishanca, presented by Vince Anderson. It’s of his and Josh Wharton’s climb of that mountain in Peru. Very good watch. Nice to hear Vince’s take on the climb, metal, and other topics during the post-film questions. He had tight salmon pants on, and kept a wide balanced stand. Tight pants, wide stance. Maybe a good route name? Ha!

Anyway, we won some swag (blue ice pack and crampons), then went to a friend’s place in town for a few laughs.

Sunday was Chapel Pond Canyon time. Our expectations and ambitions were low. But oddly, the weren’t as many people there as I expected. Hot Shot was free, so we climbed that, and the route beside it too for good measure. We walked out and drove home in fine weather, recognizing a “good climbing weekend” is more than just the climbing.

Feb 4 - Bear Lake (David)

Feb 4 - Dog Bay (Danylo)

Solid lake ice as well.

Dog Bay isn't as fat (yet) as it normally gets, but we found enough climbable lines:

• Runt - in, formed to the right, as it normally does, not around the front as it formed last year

• La Chienne - a top-heavy pillar with only a couple of weak tentacles touching down at the base. We let it be; hopefully the base will fatten up.

• Stray Dog - in

• Dog Day Afternoon - only the easier left side is in; hasn't filled in and touched down on the right

• Mad Dog - not in; only one thin icicle touching down

• Horn Dog - in

• Dog Bay Delight - in

• Junkyard Dog - in

• Puppy Slabs - not in

• Missy, Fetch the Draws - only one climbable line

Feb 3 - Diamond Lake (Danylo)

Lake ice was solid with minimal snow cover - easy travel. Lots of people - close to 20!!!

• Gurading Angel - almost baked out

• Where Egos Dare - mixed start, good in the middle and top (we top-roped it)

• Malachite Brochade, Blue Velvet - good

• Thunderdome - not in

• Kermit's Finger - in, was lead, but top of pillar section was breaking apart

• Bad Case of Climber's Block - in

• Tammy Baker's Face - thin; was led on the right side

• Zero Gully - thin, not leadable; was top-roped

• Curtain Call - in; was led

 The Arlington was full (every room/bed booked) on Saturday night- incredible. Not just climbers.

Feb 3 - Timbertrail

Approached from the south. Good hardpack trail made for a quick walk.

Photos attached, but in general there was less ice than we’ve seen in year’s past. It continued to take a hit in the afternoon, thanks to the bluebird day. Despite breaking the dagger, Broken Arrow is still climbable to the top with ice above the lip. Thanks to Matt for two new bolts to guard the topout.

You Learn is a nice addition to SO’s bolted mixed climbs… positive edges to start, but the character changes towards the top as the angle lessens: holds become rounded, and balancing over your feet becomes more important. Thanks Matt!

Feb 3 - Bow Lake (Brent)

Lake was well frozen. Ice was good, times were fun. Hit One Fine Food just off of Hwy 7 in Peterborough on our way up… Forgot how big (and good) their focaccia is. You ate that whole square for breakfast? No wonder you were feeling heavy last weekend!!!

Feb 3 - Raven Lake (Matt)

Checked out Raven Lake today. As expected the ice is getting baked and is pretty white in colour, but there is more ice there than expected. Climbed Mr. Poe and Hungry Man.

Feb 01 - Brule Lake (Derek)

Went to Brule Lake proper. The lake was crossable but inconsistent. Ropes were a must, in my opinion. The main flow was an entirely hollow mushy bongo drum. I doubt it'll handle this warm spell well at all. The gulley was excellent, at least. 

I ended up putting together a little mini guide for that small roadside crag by Brule Lake - calling it Plan B. I've attached a copy in case it's something you want to share on the site. We went back out there on Sunday and Alex Atkin tossed up a fun little bolted M4 line.

Jan 31 - Diamond Lake (Ray)

Diamond Lake is well frozen. Guardian Angel does not have sufficient ice to top out. The ice is hollow in the bottom section and is layered in spots with a melt (rain?) crust. 

Apparently Egos was led on the weekend as a mixed climb.  Forgot to take pictures of Egos but from lake the ice looks black (thin).

Jan 27 - Diamond Lake

Mild temps, made for plastic ice. Surprising just how mild, given the overcast conditions. Brent, Laura, Danylo, Dave Britnell and I were joined by Kevin Mackenzie, who made the drive to join us from Adirondack - there it was even milder!

Lake crossing was sloppy, but snowshoes helped. An application of T Zip gel on zippers the night before helped keep the water out, until it didn't.

Guardian Angel has taken a beating and is in mid-December shape - not inspiring.

Where Egos Dare - wonderful, except for an unformed, wet, unbonded start.

Between Egos and Wimps - thin start, and narrow. The exit had a nice ribbon of frozen drool that helped exit with a moderate amount of grace.

Malachite Brochade - fat from left to right.

Tammy Baker’s Face - from a distance it looked thinner than usual.

Jan 22 - Lawrason Creek (Timon)

Starting to come in…

Lots of snow cover, climbers should be aware that the pond surface is thin and in some places open by the beaver dam. Easier to approach from the parking spot under the big pine tree even with snowshoes.

It’s climbable, but very thin - chopped the pond a little and the ice is not really trustworthy - quite soft. I would try to belay from solid ground.

Jan 21 - Elora (w Brent and Laura)

Wonderful to get in some training laps. Apart from some slackliners, it was pretty quiet in the gorge. One Axe’s farmed routes look to be in great shape. The walls on the curling rink side of the Irvine River are leaner as expected.

Jan 20 - Brule (Derek)

Took a chance and headed to Brule Lake with Tom, Alex, Sean, and Chris. The lake had about 4” of variable-quality ice and a thick layer of water and slush on top. We decided not to risk it. A local in Plevna confirmed it was a good call stating inconsistent ice depths across the lake so far this season.

We opted to climb at a roadside crag that Tom Martinek and I found in 2021. We’d gotten skunked on the lake crossing back then, too, and Tom just happened to catch a glimpse of a sheet of ice in the woods while we drove past.

I’ll put together a PDF mini-guide with more details at some point, but in the meantime here’s a quick summary.

Approach: Same approach as for Brule Lake heading north from Plevna on Mountain Road. About 950 m after taking a left at the fork between Brule Lake Road and Mountain Road, keep an eye out for a trailer up the hill on the left with an old tractor at the end of the driveway. Immediately after, you’ll see a hydrocut on the right. Park about 80 m past the hydrocut on the right just before the road starts bending slightly left. If you hit the swamp on the right, you’ve gone too far. Hike straight in on the right (east) side of the road and you should see the cliff and ice through the trees quite soon. Five minute approach.

The Left Side has room for 5 or so ropes on lines around 12-16 m ranging from WI2 to WI3-. The Right Side has short albeit steep 6-8m lines up pillars pushing WI3+. The topouts of all routes involve a bit of landscaping up thawed turf and buried rock but lead to solid belay trees. 

Jan 20 - Tiffany Falls (Brent and Laura)

Jan 21 - Oxtongue (Matt)

Jan 20 - Fish Lake (Danylo and Chris)

Followed somebody's track across the lake from the previous day. Their footprints showed that they had some glop on their crossing, but everything was well frozen on our crossing except for a gloppy section in the final 20 metres of the little bay approaching the shoreline.

Conditions were scratchy. Lots of snow - especially at the base of the slabs (snow had sloughed down the slabs and accumulated at the base).

Slabs - Thin. Had to go about 15 m up the central slab (very easy-angled ice though) before I got my first screw - got 2 blue screws in the first vertical step and then only 4 stubbies to the top. Incidentally the central slab is much longer that the stated height of 25 m. It's between 45-50 m from the base of the slab to the belay/rap tree. 

Crown of Thorns had only 1 narrow pillar touching down at the bottom and two steep ones at the top (we top-roped it). I suppose a strong climber could lead it, but I wasn't about to, especially after morning temperatures of -17C. Don't think it got much above -15 during the day.

The Fortress of Solitude area (past the pond right of the end of the main cliff line and 150 m up the creek bed) had 3-4 lines of fat, blue ice (WI 2-3, 10-14 m).

Jan 19 - Fish Lake (Matt)

Jan 14 - Hidden Gems (Derek)

Lake ice was solid with variable slushy sections. The bases of all the lake edge routes were super soggy. The base of Onyx was a proper pool under the snow. 

Onyx and Jade were in remarkably good shape considering the lousy start to the season so far. Both took good screws and climbed well. Jade was dripping lots and growing rapidly. The upper ramp looked like it was going to be a bit too much landscaping, though, so we lowered after the main course.

The icicles on Black & Blood Diamond and the Pedestal were quite small. Black Pearl had virtually no ice.

Overall a late but great start to the season! 

Jan 14 - Lawrason Creek (Ted)

Checked out Lawrason Creek with a friend. We found some pretty good ice up on a ledge on the west side of the north side of the pond. The edge of the pond was strong enough to support us and was dry.

Jan 14 - Raven Lane (Danylo)

The pond was mostly frozen. We crossed it without any difficulty; only the occasional gloppy spot.

- We climbed the rightmost flow, Nose to the Grindstone (?). The ice was very thin, not nearly thick enough for screws, so we top-roped it. It's wide enough for three lines. The two flows further left were also climbed. The ice there was thicker there.

Note: Don't park at Raven Lane proper. Cottages pay to have it plowed out and there's a a no-parking sign where it's wide enough to park a car (just off Highway 35). We parked 550 m further up the road at Nest Lane where it had been plowed out quite wide. Apparently you can also park at the end of Grindstone Lake Rd, south of Raven Lane (some 450 m away).

Jan 13 - Timber Trail

Danylo, Cynthia, Mark, Alec, Laura Woodall, Laura D, and Ivo trekked in. Party on!
Nobody sent the new You Learn that Chris put up last weekend, but it got some laps. Laura got the rope up to the second last bolt, but the top was completely snow covered (including the last bolt and anchors). But they’re there!

Snowed all day. Lots of snow on the ground and on the routes.

- Big Time - in, very cauliflowered, hollow shell near top.

- Broken Arrow - very little ice, but it can go!

- Changing Highways - in, but thinner than usual

- Scattered (at the south end) - looked in (webut hard to spot

None of the other pure ice routes were in. Most of the mixed routes didn't have a whole lot of ice either.

Jan 13 - Bow Lake (Derek)

I made it out to the Bancroft area this weekend with Clark. Started off with a visit to Bow Lake. If it snowed overnight, consider waiting until the lot behind the firehall has been plowed. Park in the back, out of the way.

There was open water at the culvert, but we bored a couple holes about 75ft away. The ice was 6-7 inches with the slush layer typical of Bow Lake on top. 

The flow was leadable but very thin and rocky in spots with variable ice quality ranging from okay to snow cone to slushie. Top outs had no ice but adequate snow and frozen turf. My lighter conked out while replacing the anchor tat for the left flow; if anyone gets there in the next couple weeks, consider bringing a lighter to burn the frayed end of the new cord.

Jan 7 - Watt Lake

With Brent and Mugur. Fun times. Drove in to the campsites along Watt Lake and enjoyed a peaceful (easy) walk to the crag with low snow cover. Less ice than usual (especially for January) but the bolted mixed routes could be climbed. Being day 1, we opted for TR. Brush is useful after a heavy fresh snow ;-)

Jan 6 - Timber trail (Matt)

Big Time is coming along nicely. Bolted and climbed a new route just to the left:

You Learn M6 WI2, 25m (Jan 6, 2024: Matt Ferguson, James Walker)

Climb the initial bump of Big Time to the ledge. Stick clip the second bolt and dance your way to the top. 7 bolts.

Jan 6 - Dorset (Brent)

More ice than expected. The main wall is dripping and the daggers will grow quickly. Damsel in Distress on the right walls is coming in nicely.

Jan 6 - Diamond Lake (Ray)

Jan 6 - Papineau Roadside (Ray)

Worry not!

Shoulder/transition season is welcomed by different people differently. No surprise there I guess. For some it’s an opportunity to address accumulated to-do’s that have been put off during send-tember. For others, it’s time to focus more on prehab, or a growing pain in an elbow or shoulder. For others, all is well, but they’re grumpy at having to wait for first swings and sticks of the season.

Sharing with you good food for thought from one of the most honest and objective climbers, sharing his struggles and doubts about re-gaining form. Yes, past form was hard won. And the greater the form, the more work it was to achieve. And that in and of itself is a reason to celebrate. But accepting where you are now, is paramount, to accepting the challenge that lies ahead. But you will!

We’re all capable of the hard work that’s required. And let that be the motivation!

Wishing you all a happy, restful and wholesome holidays - don’t be afraid to live in the present, to indulge, to love and be merry.

There’s nothing we can do about the weather today. Tomorrow, we get after it!

Dec 10, 2023 - Papineau Roadside (Danylo)

There was almost no climbable ice - just blobs and smears here and there.

Consolation Prize was almost completely bereft of ice. The mixed climbs to its right, Clip and Go, Office Hands and Trojan Horse didn't have any ice either.

The only semi-significant ice buildup was the low blob on Maynooth Goes Boom and ice on the right wall of the Wafer Thin corner (didn't look very well bonded though).

Lots of wetness everywhere though - just need some consistent, cold temperatures.

We top-roped Zip-a-Dee-Do-Dah as a modern dry-tool route, a line 7 m to its right (which had some ice at the bottom), and Spectre (which is a dry-tool route anyway).

Warning: One of the anchor bolts on Spectre is loose/wiggling/moving and the nut on the other bolt needs tightening. Alec only noticed when he was cleaning the route to leave, so didn't fix the problem (I put the rope up and didn't notice at all - good reminder to always check anchor bolts).