FAT Ice in Southern Colorado!

The annual pilgrimage to good ice took me back to the San Juans over the 2014/2015 new year week. As it turned out this was the perfect choice. Not only are Telluride, Silverton and Ouray some of the best cities in which to spend your time, after a bit of a warm spell early December, the melt freeze effect has grown many hard classics into great fun for mere mortals. Get on a plane, fly to Colorado and send your dream line TODAY!

Going into this trip, our eyes were on 5 main classic lines: Stairway to Heaven, The Ribbon, Whorehouse hoses, Ames Ice hose and Bridalveil falls. Long story short: Among a plethora of other fun routes we were able to get 2 out of 5. That may not sound like much but Whorehouse hoses and Ames Ice hose are each worth the trip in their own right. Getting on both of them and finding them in record fat condition was certainly a highlight in my ice climbing history. Making the difficult call to not climb Stairway to Heaven or the Ribbon due to the high avalanche exposure was a call that will hopefully earn us many more years of safe back country enjoyment.

ON WITH THE PHOTOS!
We started (like everyone else) in the ice park. It had just opened the week we showed up:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-k...3-IMG_9858.JPG

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-q...7-IMG_0033.JPG

Then we went to skylight area:

The popular and classic Chopo's Chimney
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-I...8-IMG_9869.JPG
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-E...9-IMG_1093.JPG

The area's namesake Skylight
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-G...1-IMG_0007.JPG

Slip Slidin Away
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-W...2-IMG_9923.JPG

Local hardman route we didn't climb, Talisman
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-i...5-IMG_9949.JPG

Now over to Eureka/Silverton area where many amazing long climbs reside. High avy danger here. Some of these photos are from two years ago. I couldn't resist the opportunity to show the world how awesome this place is:

STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN!!
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-A...7-IMG_8777.JPG

Fat City Area
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/--...4-IMG_9009.JPG

One of the many other gullies in the area
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-V...1-IMG_8937.JPG

And one of the gems of anyone's trip to the san juans.

Whore House Hoses in FAT!!
This can be done in one full 70m pitch. If you have 60's, you'll have to set an intermediate belay below the top.
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-j...1-IMG_0048.JPG

3rd pitch(es):
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-i...6-IMG_0084.JPG

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-M...8-IMG_0099.JPG

And now on to Telluride for our capstone project: Ames Ice Hose.

I have to admit I was more than a bit intimidated by the idea of this climb and the scary stories that surround it. I was elated to find it in delightfully fat condition and after 8 days of climbing (ok...1 day I "took off" to ski silverton) we were in shape to send with complete confidence (right where I like to be for ice climbing):

The Hose!
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-A...5-IMG_0212.JPG

Closer
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-f...7-IMG_0218.JPG

Pitch 1, 120' (The scary mixed looking not too scary and not too mixed!)
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-Q...0-IMG_0232.JPG

Pitch 2, 200' (The hose pitch dripping wet!)
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-V...2-IMG_1168.JPG

Pitch 3, 200' (The big sheet looking like a big sheet!!)
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-p...3-IMG_0269.JPG

Take me back!!!