(by Lisa M. Dale)
I have been ice climbing now three times before, but I still consider myself somewhat of a rookie. I begin, taking it slowly, thinking through where will my next crampon point go, where will my next ice axe swing be aimed? I enjoy the focus that your brain and body meld into during these times. Get to the top, swing that ice axe, set that crampon. The climb I have undertaken has two major ice portions, one at the beginning, and another at the end. The second ice portion boasts large pillars (big fat icicles). The route was set so that you are supposed to climb up between or near two large pillars. Nice blue ice in this portion of the climb. I get to this part and look up – wow, how am I supposed to do this? So I begin again, taking it a little bit at a time. Swing that ice axe, set that crampon. Cold, lack of blood flow to the hands above my head, and fatigue begin to set in. I look down the face of the ice pillar – seemingly straight down, and a little panic bell sounds in my head – what if… ok, it’s time to look up now! Keep going, I tell myself. My crampons are set, and now for the next ice axe swing… but without much warning my one planted axe in the ice above me comes loose, and I find myself only standing on the points of my crampons buried maybe half an inch in the ice… remember that little panic bell? Well, now it’s probably more like a siren… I feel like I’m going to fall. But wait, there’s a little balance here. If I hold my body close to the ice, over my crampons, I find I can gingerly take another axe swing – but do it RIGHT NOW!
And another axe swing I do take – and by God’s grace and to my relief, it holds! My axe buries deep enough into the ice to make me feel much safer. Three attached points is a wonderful thing! Oh, yes, and I am on top rope, so if I fall, the rope is there to catch me. I breathe easier. A few more feet and then I arrive at the top. I clip into the anchor at the top, enjoy the view, and the chance to warm my hands. The stillness of my surroundings envelopes me, and smell of the evergreen tree I am anchored to is sweet! I am slowly lowered to the bottom of the climb, and my friends ask me, ‘what happened to your nose?’ I remember being hit in the face as I climbed with a chunk of ice – so I attribute the bloody scrape on my nose to the falling ice. I am kind of excited to have a ‘war wound’.
The day is not done. I hike down the trail to meet another person joining our party late, and help him find our climbing spot. My mission fails as he slips past me. He finds his way due to the help of some other friendly outdoor enthusiasts. The time I wait for him to arrive is another time to enjoy the silence of the snowy area, and a neat time to pray. It starts to snow later in the day. After meeting the same people who gave our friend directions, and them telling me they met him, I head back up the trail to join the group again.
As I near the group, I meet a few of our group who were heading down to go home. Two of them I have not previously to this trip, Richard & Leigh, but yet we exchange friendly good-byes. Ice climbing action is still ongoing back at the waterfalls. David and his friend Morgan hike up to a spot higher than our original climbs to set a new route. I follow slowly, cautiously proceeding to avoid any falling ice from David climbing above me, and the large dagger-looking icicles hanging from rock outcroppings also above me. There is a nice cozy rock-outcropping below the new route David picks to climb. The out-cropping is a wonderful spot for belaying and getting out of the weather. A large ‘chandelier’ hangs further down the rock outcropping, and more icicles hang down above us. After a good amount of time, David has set the route, and lowers down to us. He says the route is about the toughest he has climbed, which means that I would be having a very good day to get up it.
So, round two of my Snoqualmie ice climb day is up next. I tie up, and move out in front of the ice face to begin. It is a tough route – but on top of that conditions, spin-drifts, are not making it any easier. Spin-drifts are fun wind gusts that blow snow (or in this case, small little crystallized chunks of snow/ice), and they are coming directly down on the climb area, so that if you are looking up (yep, you guessed it), they will fly right into your face. Needless to say, it is tough to see, and my sunglasses fog up when I try those, too. So, despite a few tries, I decide to not continue. And certainly the cold, some fatigue from my previous climb, and the day getting later, too, also don’t help!
Morgan suits up and begins the climb – he too does not enjoy the spin-drifts, but perseveres on and finished the climb. Miles had joined us by that time. He had planned on ‘cleaning’ the route, being the last climber up the route (removing the anchor & setting the rope in such a way to be able to repel down), but since the spin-drifts were not getting any friendlier, he defers to Morgan cleaning up the route. As Morgan climbs and Miles belays, I take advantage of the time to take a few more pictures. With that, the troops are rallied, and we set on home. With our crampons off and the snow being somewhat crusty on top, we can ‘ski’ with our boots in small amounts down the trail.
Darkness begins to set in, but due to the white snow, no one uses their headlamps in our climb down. What a full day. What a fun day! As we trek down, I feel a sense of camaraderie with my friends, new & old. We had been able to go, conquer some ice & enjoy a small bit of God’s creation, and we had been able to do it together. Praise Jesus for His many gifts to us! We descend, happy shadows, into the darkening night.
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