Trip Report: Mt. Willard Ice Climbing
This week’s winter school adventure was my first time ice climbing! As I’ve told my mother, I’m convinced that ice climbing is an inherently unsafe activity and it really can’t be safe. I should have clarified: more extreme ice climbing is an inherently unsafe activity due to the variability and instability of really vertical or waterfall ice. Maybe I’m just justifying my activities now…
Anyway, in true MITOC tradition, Woody and Polly led us in a slow and heavy trip. It took most of the day to make it up the mountain with two technical pitches on the way up and three raps on the way down. Nevertheless, it was a great intro to ice climbing. We hiked about a mile south from the Crawford Notch AMC center, following the train tracks. Then we turned right and headed up Mount Willard. The next 45 minutes was very steep hiking, requiring crampons but no ice tools (except for one tricky ice bulge).
The first pitch of ice really turned out to be a mix of snow, ice, and a bit of mixed climbing at the end, something near WI2. It turned out to be a good intro, and the bit of mixed climbing at the end was challenging, and fun too. It was funky figuring out how crampons felt on rock. The second pitch was straight ice, WI3, and a ton of fun. I don’t know what else to say. Other than a slight case of the screaming barfies as my hands thawed out, the climb was just awesome. Plus, being roped in on the side of a mountain always feels good.
We took three raps and some hiking we made it back to the railroad tracks. By that time the temperature had dropped, and the wind kicked up making the hike back to the cars a bit chilly (my eyelashes kept freezing together when I blinked). We made it back safe and sound, though. Now I’m just looking forward to my next ice climbing adventure. (Sorry Mom!)
For pictures, check out the flickr set or the galleries page.