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Friday, December 12, 2014

Hyalite Ice: Potentially unclimbed climbs on SE face of Palace Butte have now been climbed

I was just chomping at the bit to get back up to those climbs to climb em' and look for any evidence of previous ascents. Again, I was partnerless but luckily Im comfortable soloing ice at the grades I expected to encounter. So I skinned out of the busiest Grotto Falls parking lot I have ever seen (Bozeman Ice Fest) and a little over 2 hours later I got to the first climb. I swapped my splitboarding boots for my ice boots, threw my stingers on and up I went. The first flow was pretty short but I expected to find climbs above it. I slogged up an avy gully for a few hundred feet but didnt find anymore climbs. I then traversed to the west into the next gully and walked down it expecting to have to rappel over the next climbs I wanted to climb. And wouldnt you know it! I found an old piece of cordelette around a tree that I needed to rap off. Bah humbug! But I should have known better. So I rapped down a pitch and then another back to the base. That would be the ONLY piece of cord I found all day. I climbed the two pitches I just rapped over and just continued climbing ice trending uphill and West. I climbed a fun little flow without any evidence of an anchor but I walked off, whos to say the previous party didnt do the same? The main amphitheater of ice took a huge hit from the warm weather we had experienced all week so I just skinned on by to the money climb. At this point I was pretty tired but there was no way I was going down without climbing the biggest chunk of ice up there. So I put my ice boots back on and up I went. Really really glad I did. Definitely the best climb up there; it would be a classic if it was easy to get to. Now I dont have to go back! Again, I got some great turns until I got into the thick trees even though it was around 50*! I definitely caught some flack from some people on the trail for having the splitbord out with such little snow and such warm temps. To them I say "You just move along down the trail with 10 other people to the established climb that you can see from the trail that you read about in a guide book and know exactly what to expect.' I dint say that cause it sounds arrogant and mean but I thought it!
The first flow I climbed expecting to find bigger chunks above.
My cord is red, the old cord is black and tan.
The old tat was at the top of this pitch which has another pitch right below me where I took this photo from. You can see my rope to the left already set up to rap the next pitch. (next photo) 
This flow was awesome and a lot bigger than it looks. The upper section is dead vertical and got my heart pumping!
The amphitheater 5 days later; much thinner. The ice in the previous photo is the ice you can see just to the left of the tree (but not all the way left) in the middle of the photo. 
I climbed the flow on the right and walked off way left. 

Heres a glimpse of the first pitch of the two pitch route.

The money climb. When I rappeled, my 70m rope got me to the snowy ledge where I could walk off left. 
After a hard day like that I deserve and cherish fresh socks!

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