20080123 Angry Icehouse Canyon, and Big Butch Wash

Post by **Taco** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 4:28 pm

Just got home, left a bit early to avoid things getting "interesting" on the road down.

Stopped at Icehouse Canyon, figuring I'd give the West Face of Telegraph another shot. Decided to go up Fir Draw and attempt Ontario Peak.

Fir Draw

Gave up after a few hundred meters of stupid bushwhacking with vines and deep powder snow. Complete PITA, so instead of continuing to raise my blood pressure ot new heights, I turned back and decided to give Big Butch Wash a second shot.

Big Butch Wash

BBW is a nice little alpine-kinda climbing spot right off the road, near San Antonio Falls Road. When driving north, look right, and bam, that be the one.

Whammo: http://www.summitpost.org/route/267030/ ... -Wash.html

Conditions were nice. There were moats around rocks that looked to be very very deep. most of the snow was strong enough to support weight.

Moving up

There is a good rest stop where the wash turns left up a mixed section with small waterfall. This takes you to Miners Bowl, and you hit the road that goes to the Notch and the overpriced restaurant.

Rest area

Myself, prior to going up the couloir

I took some pictures with my new Motorola V3 RAZR or whatever the hell it's called. Nice phone. I typically despise telephones, but this one is very nice.

Plus, it didn't cost extra when we switched plans.

Moved up, aiming for one of the big couloirs that tops out on the big ridge. I don't know exactly which one, because visibility was limited.

Thataway

Looking down

Pics of stuff

Put my gigantic camera away, and headed up. Switched to both of my short tools, which was a mistake, as they're 40cm and I'm too tall, and they lack spikes, etc etc. I need new tools. Figured I'd use these to see how they did here. Put them away, and went back to my axe. The weather started getting tough, so I decided to turn back to avoid somehow finding a descent route, and any driving problems.

That's about it.

Got some corn snow falling bigtime on the way up the couloir, and down. Camera took a dump and didn't work till about 15 minutes ago, as the batteries were very very cold. My camera is quite large and heavy, being slightly older (1997 or so), so I need to get that situation fixed when I strike it rich.

Augie · Post by **Augie** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 5:57 pm

Nice picture report Ryan. You were staring today's weather up there right in the face.

Post by **Taco** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 7:02 pm

Should be coming down up there bigtime about now.

406 · Post by **406** » Thu Jan 24, 2008 11:23 am

I have been eying that route for a couple years now, thinking it would be an interesting hike up and ski down. From your photos it looked like a lot of rock fall litters the snow in the upper part, which would be bad for skiing. Maybe best to hit not long after a storm...had been thinking it would be a good spring conditions route.
Have skied down to Minors Gulch and over the water fall you photographed many times from the Baldy resort back in '05 winter.
thanks for the post.

Post by **Taco** » Thu Jan 24, 2008 6:25 pm

There were some snowboard tracks up there yesterday, so it's been done recently. I take it right after this storm would be a good time, otherwise the freeze thaw cycle sends too many rocks down from the couloirs up top to the ridge.

AW~ · Post by **AW~** » Fri Jan 25, 2008 12:18 pm

Nice report...always interesting to see a new place...I can understand your frustration with Fir Draw....I was not liking that place particularly, although it serves its canyoneering purpose..eventually.

Post by **Taco** » Fri Jan 25, 2008 12:28 pm

Looks like it would in late spring. The stuff on Sugarloaf's North Face looks a bit more technical as far as canyoneering goes. Looks more interesting, or at least as much as I saw.