We got out this weekend (sunday) after seeing Kia's video and the ice was pretty killer. Thin in spots and nothing super thick, but it was a blast. We saw another team from the CalTech Alpine Club climbing the left side of the North Face and we climbed the right side. Everyone rapped off below the headwall, where the ice got real then and sketchy. We started pretty late in the day and finished the rap in the dark, but things couldn't have gone better! Oh, and it was my first time to ever ice climb, which made this all the more killer.
Tahquitz from the road
Slogging up the last bit of the approach. We approached via Lunch Rock since neither of us had done the north face approach before. It wasn't too bad since we followed other peoples' post holes
The Trough area. Looked cool and the guy at Nomad's said someone did it this last week
Ice!
Tim leading off on the first pitch. We simuled about 200' then Tim belayed me up the next 200' where the ice was more suspect.
Tim above the first belay station
Simuling under Tim while he pushes on up higher.
Tim and I at a belay
Rapping off
Round 2! 2010_02_12 Bill Sherman, Hamik Mukelyan, Jordan Ramey
Great pics! Here are some more that I thought were pretty awesome too. Yesterday was a truly epic day of climbing in an amazing location!
This video of Hamik belaying Bill on the last pitch is hilarious. It was a constant snowstorm that Bill was unleashing as he ended the pitch wading through the deep loose snow covered in a thin layer of ice. I was 100% sheltered a few feet further left under a bulge, so I got to document the misery ;)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=364xygXzIHk
We soloed the right facing dihedral. This pic shows the steepness pretty well. It was incredibly solid, even the little bulge about halfway up.
Hamik leading the 3rd pitch to put us at the base of the waterfall ice!
Waterfall ICE!
What are the screaming barfies? Well, I can begin to describe them now. Apparently my "womens" gloves I had bought the night before coupled with my gumby bashing knuckle skills gave me a quick education in pain!
Bill leading the crux pitch. This was definitely a blast to follow!
We topped out near this tree then followed the ridge up to the summit to sign the register. Last signature was from November 2009!