Dr. Bob and I headed out on Saturday, not quite sure where to climb. We debated in the car heading down the turnpike. Tim was not going to join us, but he gave us some ideas about the shape the ice was in. Bob stubbornly rejected my plea to check on the easy gullies (if I’m ever leading ice again it will certainly be a gully) … SCII was not a good choice for a Saturday … Meadows might be too crowded … although much of the ECP would be at Kinzu. I suggested we should try Irishtown given that I hadn’t been there yet this season. Bob agreed, since he hadn’t been there in quite some time either.
Naturally, we stopped at the Valley Dairy, where, just like last ice season, the staff now recognizes us as regulars and we are able to order without looking at the menus. No answer from Rayman, whom we called to see if he was interested in breakfast. A heap of pancakes, French toast and oink oink later, we wracked our brains trying to remember just how to get to Irishtown (in view of life over 50 and the troubling memory losses we have both been experiencing of late). Triumph over aging…our combined memories served; and we recognized the pull off when we got there. We were surprised by a big, brand new house on
There had clearly been a lot of ice at Irishtown earlier in the month, given the refrigerator-sized chunks lying around near the cave. The ice which was left/re-formed had a very pretty, blue color, but it was not attached and there wasn’t enough of it to climb. After debating whether to relocate to the Meadows, we headed to the upper section to at least take a look.
There was plenty of ice all along the upper section. But on any given possible line, there was either ice at the bottom but not at the top, or there was ice at the top and not at the bottom. We saw one line which had clearly been picked on this season. The ice was about shoulder wide at the top. The bottom half, however, only had a very narrow column of ice on the right, and what looked like some fairly easy rock to the left. We decided this was our best bet: do a mixed start, and then transfer into the true ice-climb for the top section. Only problem with the bottom … the rock was behind the ice of course, and with both tools in the ice and the crampons on the rock, you got into an overhanging situation. It was quite hard to pull yourself up and into the ice, but we were on toprope, so we kept at it.
We each did two runs on the line, then took a break to drink some tea and practiced placing ice screws. It was not worth moving the rope, and we’d just run up the same line for a third time. “You know,” Bob said, “I’m losing my memory so fast that after this cup of tea the line will seem like a whole new climb!” See. Just goes to show that aging can have a positive effect on your climbing enjoyment.
My second run was the best of the day. I really styled it, with a heel hook on the rock, a drop knee transfer onto the ice ledge. Cool! I got hit by some ice that cut my face, which I did not notice until that tell-tale iron taste in my mouth. Bob took my picture. Wounded on one tough mixed line … but styling it, yeah! My third run was not quite a strong; also, the ice in the top section had worn off considerably from our previous runs. After his third burn on the line, Bob topped out to break down the rigging. Inspection of our tools and crampons showed noticeable wear from the dry-tooling. We, too, were pretty beat. Overhanging ice has its moments…
On the way home, we stopped by Exkursion because Bob wanted to buy the new Sabretooth crampons. Lucky for me, Fred was there, giving me an opportunity to brag about my accomplishments and show off my bloody face to him.
Another good day on the ice! I’m still feeling sore two days later… This must have been a V-ish line.
Photo credit: Bob Coblentz
