Trip Date : December 27th, 2009
With ice conditions looking unbelievably good over Christmas, Grace and I decided to snatch one more day of climbing from the holiday. We headed up to Strobach Mountain on Sunday, hoping to avoid crowds and get in some good climbing. We weren't disappointed. Strobach is INCREDIBLE! It just made me wish I was a better ice climber.
Not all, or even most, of the routes are in right now. I suspect this is due to the very low snowpack in the area starving the climbs. Despite that, within 500 m of cliff face there were four climbs in good condition, each of 2-3 pitches, spanning the grades from WI 3-5.
Now, this area has a reputation for a difficult, confusing approach. I can see how it could be both, but with decent snow conditions and a little navigational forethought it becomes quite easy. We were very luckily able to drive 2 miles of FSR 1202. From there I took a compass bearing off the map (109 degrees, magnetic) and we marched off into the woods. An hour and 15 minutes later we were standing at the base of the climbs. However, The compass was critical. The land is very disorienting, particularly early in the approach. The slope up to Strobach is not steep, you can't see the mountain most of the time, and there is a maze of tumbled hillocks and ravines to navigate. I would figure on 2-2.5 hours for the approach in typical winter conditions, walking up the road.
In the end we only climbed the first (60 m) pitch of Sad Ce'Bu to the belay cave. We had time to do more, but decided to take it easy and get back to the car before dark. Still this was an awesome pitch with varied climbing, easy protection, and great ice conditions.
The guidebook claims these climbs are quite reliable, and with a fully north-facing wall at a base elevation of 4500 feet, I believe it! I'd love to go back, perhaps as a weekend trip to get more climbing done on these short winter days.
With ice conditions looking unbelievably good over Christmas, Grace and I decided to snatch one more day of climbing from the holiday. We headed up to Strobach Mountain on Sunday, hoping to avoid crowds and get in some good climbing. We weren't disappointed. Strobach is INCREDIBLE! It just made me wish I was a better ice climber.
Not all, or even most, of the routes are in right now. I suspect this is due to the very low snowpack in the area starving the climbs. Despite that, within 500 m of cliff face there were four climbs in good condition, each of 2-3 pitches, spanning the grades from WI 3-5.
Now, this area has a reputation for a difficult, confusing approach. I can see how it could be both, but with decent snow conditions and a little navigational forethought it becomes quite easy. We were very luckily able to drive 2 miles of FSR 1202. From there I took a compass bearing off the map (109 degrees, magnetic) and we marched off into the woods. An hour and 15 minutes later we were standing at the base of the climbs. However, The compass was critical. The land is very disorienting, particularly early in the approach. The slope up to Strobach is not steep, you can't see the mountain most of the time, and there is a maze of tumbled hillocks and ravines to navigate. I would figure on 2-2.5 hours for the approach in typical winter conditions, walking up the road.
In the end we only climbed the first (60 m) pitch of Sad Ce'Bu to the belay cave. We had time to do more, but decided to take it easy and get back to the car before dark. Still this was an awesome pitch with varied climbing, easy protection, and great ice conditions.
The guidebook claims these climbs are quite reliable, and with a fully north-facing wall at a base elevation of 4500 feet, I believe it! I'd love to go back, perhaps as a weekend trip to get more climbing done on these short winter days.
Posts
