Tomorrow is the prelims for the Ice Climbing World Cup in Bozeman. So before the competition starts I thought I’d talk a bit about the climbing that I’ve done up in Hyalite Canyon.
Not knowing how my ankle was going to be on my ankle I eased into things. My one big goal was the try to red point Straits of Gibraltar. We spend three days up in the Bingo Cave, and to be honest the figure-4s to figure-9s out the roof felt tiring and I didn’t really fell like it was going to go this trip.
On our third day up in the cave I warmed up on Panama Canal, a tricky hard to read route. I misread it a couple of times and blew off when the line of holds I was following ran out.
I went up Gibraltar a couple of times, not really feeling it, but I wanted to get it down to one hang. This was my goal on my second redpoint attempt that day. Figure-4…..figure-9…..crap my tool is stuck! “Kick it!” shouts Nathan. Tool comes loose and thankfully doesn’t fall off the wall. Figure-4, figure-9….figure-4…..my hand is opening up! I had a big move to the last hold and there was no way I was going to make it. Quick toss to an intermediate and then establish on the clipping hold. Send!!!
I couldn’t even do all the moves on this route last year, so I’m super excited to send it. Definitely the hardest drytooling route I’ve sent yet.
The only photo that any one took of me that day…..sorry.
Mixed Progression 