20080525 Icehouse Canyon

[He219]

Fist day of Summer in Icehouse Canyon (with TDR):

Timber Mtn. in the back



Sugarloaf Peak in the back, heading up Chapman Trail


Cedar Glen, here Ricehouse started to look more like Soviet North Korea

Attempted to head up Telegraph SW face, but the snow was uncompacted and slippery wet, we turn around to find something else worthy to do ..

Looking over towards Fir Draw/Falling Rock Canyon

Taco found an interesting incect in the snow ..

Don't know what it was, but then it jumped/flew away ..



We head up what we thought was Falling Rock Canyon to get to Sugarloaf peak ..

More interesting insects ..


Things getting more intersting, never been here before ..


Looking as Sugarloaf, turns out we undershot and took Fir Draw instead ..
We head down Falling Rock Canyon, visibility was poor.

Found a nice waterspout from inside a rock.

Picture taking a picture chaos ..

[Taco]

m0re peekchurz


Columbine


Telegraph SW Ridge, with a tiny bit of WF.


Bonsai


Crasula?


Fritz




Nice rock nearer the bottom of Falling Rock Canyon


I hate to say it, but that's cool grafitti.


Mixed climbing crag from winter

[Tim]

Cool pics, guys. I've been meaning to go up FRC but can't do any 3rd class due to a messed up wrist. Goddamn I hate injuries.

Is this in Fir Draw? Were you able to go all the way to the top? This looks like fun:

[Taco]

We hit a small sorta-saddle up on the ridge between Fir Draw and FRC (as we were on the Fir Draw side), and were debating to the location of Sugarloaf's summit. I led us to the wrong peak! So, we descended and headed to beer-and-food-land (Baldy Lodge). We did not continue to the summit of either Ontario or Sugarloaf.

Myself climbing on that section of buttress was a bad idea. I would've felt better in rock shoes, and placing pro, but it wasn't the safest scramble. Gonna hit that area up in the very near future though. There is good rock! Just gotta stay away from the fractured stuff.

[Rob]

Great close-up photos of the snow bug!

[FIGHT ON]

you climbing people are nutso. I just don't get it. yer gonna die dude. Like fall down and go boom? hello? pretty cool pics though.

[Taco]

I guess it ain't for everyone.

I'm still young. I don't see life till I can see the possibility of losing it. Something like that. I like feeling in control of my life, even if it's just for a short time, and over something that has little bearing on my everyday life (unless I miss). Climbing makes me feel more alive than nearly any other activity, and makes me cherish life much more than just going through day to day life with no danger involved.

[HikeUp]

ClimbUp dude.

[Tim]

Dean Potter puts it nicely:

It was at times like this, full of calm and terror, Potter said, that he felt most connected to himself and his surroundings.

“When there’s a death consequence, when you are doing things that if you mess up you die, I like the way it causes my senses to peak,” Potter said. “I can see more clearly. You can think much faster. You hear at a different level. Your foot contact on the line is accentuated. Your sense of balance is heightened. I don’t seem to feel that very often meditating.”

Have you ever been close to being in a car accident and had that brief moment of terror where all your senses go full alert? That's what it is like, except on a climb this goes on for minutes or hours at a time or however long it takes to top out. The whole thing is really stressful, yet strangely attractive.

[Taco]

Yup. Exactly.

I'm sure some folks think it's reckless. I hope they someday are able to stop caring so much about what others think of them, and just "go".

[Taco]

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