Tahquitz conditions are pretty excellent by my warped socal standards, if a bit thin and rotten in places (especially near the top). I'm sure the Scots among us would be proud!
Pitons (lost arrows) and passive pro, especially large nuts and hexes, are handy. 1 or 2 cams should suffice; almost all of the cracks are wet or frozen. Stubby screws will go in at the right place, but we did resort to a bollard at one belay to back up a bottomed 13 cm screw. Adzes actually proved useful for excavating for good ice and cracks (and for the bollard).
The NE face has a lot of nice, moderate climbing around AI3 with some M4 to M6 protecting the summit exit (guesstimate--we didn't do the last pitch). The right-facing dihedral is pretty cool (5.6 in summer), and is around 65 or 70 degrees with short near-vertical steps.
That is so cool - what a difference between summer and winter on that mountain. One of my faves, it sure has a different personality this time of year. Very cool pix.
WOW! WOW! WOW! That seriously looks epic! These are the coolest pics I have seen all winter! They defiantly score extra points for being local. Thanks for posting
I have climbed Who Dunit before but I have never seen, heard, or imagined that it ever gets like this! Is this exceptional or do the conditions get like this every season?
Where is a good place to learn the mixed climbing enough to attempt something like this?
Did you stay someplace in Idyllwild or just drove in? There's a really good place to eat there -- Cafe Aroma -- their meat balls are amazing! Old recipe passed to the owner/chef by his mom/grandmother.
I've also been to Cafe Aroma! I second the recommendation if you're looking for a celebratory feast in town after some epic climbing.
We drove in, although for stuff like this where you want a really alpine start, the wake-up times start to get a little silly (3 am for us).
Mixed climbing... I tried to learn by TRing choss at Malibu Creek, but even when I avoided all bolted lines and bouldering problems and climbed choss that no one would want to rock climb, I got a lot of heat so I didn't do it again. Also, the climbing there isn't very representative of the rock normally found on alpine climbs (in particular, there are no cracks), so doing it somewhere else would be nice. I never really practiced on crags... just did progressively harder mixed climbs in the Alps, Sierra, and at Tahquitz. Socal isn't well suited to practicing this, but The Trough, N descent gully, NE face, and sometimes the N face on Tahquitz are consistent enough that one could practice there. Following on these climbs is the best way to learn locally, I think.
I'm not sure about the consistency of the conditions. Maybe someone else could chime in? My impression from various California ice mini-guides was that it's fairly rare (once per several years). But then, ice climbs exist on a spectrum of fatness, and what one person might not think is worth climbing due to thinness, someone else might love for the mixed. I've heard from a few old-timer locals that The Trough, however, is consistently in around Feb and March, but not as 100% ice and not fat enough for only screws.
A couple new (to me) partners and I finished the route last Friday. It ascends the prominent, long right-facing dihedral of NE Face E and climbs through minor overhangs in the headwall, which are hopefully filled in with ice. Superb and highly recommended conditions--mostly neve but a large water ice patch at the top. I'm skeptical they kept up through the unusually warm weather, but if anyone is in the area, I would be very interested in an update. You get there from Humber Park by starting near the bathroom, walking towards Tahquitz uphill for about 40 minutes (you have to cross the creek), and looking for the prominent, lonely pine tree below the NE face. The last known climb was Saturday, but it's conceivable that some people do not advertise their climbing on the Internet . I posted some new pictures on the Picasa in case it will motivate anyone to get out there.
. I posted some new pictures on the Picasa in case it will motivate anyone to get out there.