Friday Ice Climbing

Does anyone have friday off for some easy ice in waterton, it may be cold out but thats kinda nice for a change.
Gimme a call @ 563 0480
or
328 0391
cheers
chris m

Ice on Spread Eagle

Rob King and I headed up into the north basin on Spread Eagle on friday, there we climbed two short ice routes. The left hand route was a 45m WI2 and the middle route is a 35m WI3/4 depending which side of the climb you are on. Dont know if anyone has been up there before and we havent heard any names for the climbs so we made some up. The left hand WI2 is L.H.K. and the middle WI3/4 is Where Eagles Dare. If anyone knows the proper names for the climbs please pass it on. The aproach was about 2hrs long and I dont know if the buffalo paddock that you cross is private property, you can go around. Follow the drainage until you get to your first right and follow that up to the climbs. Where Eagles Dare 35m WI3/4

The gullies leading up to the climbs had varying amounts of snow in them from ankle to thigh deep. These climbs sit below large east fasing gullies and I would pick your day wisely, following the avi conditions and such.
The right hand set of climbs we didnt get to due to the latness of the day and they were a little thin looking.
L.H.K. WI2 45m

Remarkable Objectives

As I am morhping into more and more of an armchair mountaineer, I no longer feel guilty about luring people into doing the routes I at one time had hoped to snag. In the rockies there are quite a number of classic hard routes. The grand central colouir, Aemner Col, North Face of Robson, etc. While no expert on the Rockies tick lists, some of the outstanding local problems have got me wondering what the truly significant accomplishments in our area may be.

Here are my thoughts

Ice
Sullivan's, Expert's middle

Multi-pitch Rock
Really nothing significant. Cusak's is classic, but certainly not a big tick. I have a feeling the West ridge of Wilbur would become a classic. I also figure some significant rock route will get put up through the Expert's choice roof.

Alpine
Again, most of big objectives seem undone. The north face of Siyeh seems an exception. Spread Eagle col could be something, as could some of the winter smears on the south face of Sinopah.

Mountaineering
While not having done it, I think Kinnerly is probably fits is, as does Mt. Merrit.

What are the big local routes strong climbers would aspire to?

Elk Watchers

The last two days the elk have been out by Pass creek, making morning commutes more interesting than usual. The ice in the Park seems to be in good shape. At least several unusual routes are up, 4x4 being a notable one. Today we had an inch of snow, so skiing should be nice as well.