Hyalite Ice: Solstice 1 and 2

Im a big fan of going to new places. I would like to say I thrive on the unknown. Its fun and liberating knowing you are prepared to handle whatever you encounter. Solstice is a two pitch route relatively high on the mountain that requires rock and ice pro, endurance and objective hazard awareness; kind of the next level for me. I have been scouting the climb all season or actually, its been catching my eye all season. Sam and I got up early and with less than 2 hours of walking/trail blazing we found it. Its an obscure climb for Hyalite. I had never met anyone that climbed it until we were loitering on the Twin Falls trail deciding where to turn off when Bud M. showed up and pointed us in the right direction. The first pitch has ice throughout but its too thin to place screws so I brought some cams along. 3 run-out cams later I got to ice thick enough to accept a screw and up to the top I went. The climb isnt graded that hard, WI4, but it was one of the best pitches I have ever lead, rock or ice. We wallowed through heinously deep snow for maybe 100 yards to reach the second little pitch. It was worth all the effort. A nice easy yellow WI3 flow was a great cap to the day. I made Sam jump-in-with-both-feet and learn-quick-or-die on this one!

P1

The cave behind the curtain of the upper pitch.

Wallowing...

Did I mention we were way up on Elephant mountain?

P2

Luckily for Sam, gaper gaps are common with ice helmets!