TR: Afternoon Delight (quick ice session in the Catskills)
Went to Belleayre for a pleasant day of skiing, but after a nice couple of hours the weather turned.
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With the wind blowing 70mph, we decided to pack it in and hit some local ice even though the couple inches and constant refreshment was really nice on the trails.
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Because the days are getting noticeably longer, this is all possible but we didn't feel like going for any of the big brand name ice spots with competition and opted (after a nice diner lunch) to hit some easy top roping.
Side note: lunch was acquired at this pizza place just east of the Phonecia Diner. $2 slices, and really cool Milton Glaser posters from the 80s.
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In the guidebook, I noticed an seldom mentioned place on the route 28 corridor where none of the climbs have names, but they're all .5 to a 1mile in from parking and had a lot of what i was looking for: easily top-ropable in terms of anchors and not a crazy steep top-out like in any of the notches.
The approach was pretty direct, follow the train tracks:
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While the storm continued to rage in the taller peaks, the valley was quiet. Shielded from the wind, we were able to enjoy the falling snow and the gurgle from the nearby Esopus. Here's Mt Sherrill (2200') looming.
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We chose this one:
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As I've pointed out in my previous NYS backcountry experiences, you're gonna find shit in the woods.
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The ice was perfect for what I was looking for, and a guide was actually on his way out with a beginner client when we got there.
K did two routes, before I got one in.
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We disassembled the anchor and I skied out the tracks back to the lot. The 115mm Justices had enough float for the way out but it may have been one of the few times something narrower may have been more appropriate.
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We skied out just before night was fully set in. Maximum daylight fun achieved!
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As the days get longer and I get less jongy on the ice, I hope to graduate to some more exciting routes (after skiing, of course).
