BARREL ICE FESTIVAL CANCELLED

Submitted by barrel on Sun, 12/04/2005 - 22:24
[b][size=18][/size]*CANCELLED* BARREL ICE FESTIVAL *CANCELLED*[/b][size=12][/size] THE BARREL MOUNTAINEERING's ICE FESTIVAL HAS BEEN CANCELLED DUE TO HAZARDOUS (AND CURRENTLY IMPASSABLE) ROAD CONDITIONS UP HYALITE CANYON. LAST NIGHT HYALITE GOT 6-8 INCHES OF SNOW ACCOMPANIED BY 20-30 mph WINDS. I am sure that the ice climbing season is not completely lost...check back to see if the road gets punched through again. But at this time we feel it would not be prudent to assume that we could convoy 40 vehicles up and back two days in row without a high rate of incidents. Thank you for your understanding...it's not all bad considering Bridger Bowl has received over 100 inches of snow since Thanksgiving. Chris Naumann

Chris was right in his post about the Ice Festival. The season is far from lost. Although the Hyalite road may or may not open soon, it was looking to be such a good year that there should be nice climbing clear into late March and beyond. There is plenty of hope yet for Hyalite road access this season. But more importantly, don't forget about the best ice climbing south of the Canadian border is only 4 hours away in Cody Wyoming. Even if they get snow it's rarely, if ever, enough to cause access problems. I recently talked with Todd Cozzens and to quote him, "It's going to be an epic season." Routes like the "Moratorium" have been in for a few weeks already and some rare plumbs like "Joy After Pain" and "High Noon" look to be forming. The recent cold spell should make for incredible conditions. Although the South Fork has good routes clear into April, the north side routes (the one's in the sun with the easier approaches) will be better early (if they form) but may melt out mid-season - so don't hesitate. Go to www.coldfear.com for condition updates. Time to put some miles on those Subarus.

jclark's post just reminded me... Waterton National Park, just over the Canadian border, has some of the best climbs in the anywhere in the world.Aand with the cold air from the north should be in killer shape. It's only 5 or 6 hours or so from Bozeman. The approaches are short, lots of sun, relatively little avalanche hazard, cheap motels or camping. You could leave Bozeman Friday night stay in Choteau or Augusta or even leave at a God-awful hour on Saturday morning and climb at "Quick and Dirty" that day. Go do "Expert's Choice" the next day and be back at work Monday morning. With sleep deprevation, it would be like a long weekend without a long weekend. Waterton was always one of my favorite locals in Canada. Have fun. The attached photos are Sullivan Falls, The Deviant (near Quick and Dirty) and Expert's Choice.

expect to be shut down at the reservoir due to drifting on the far corner. somebody with a big shovel, strong back and gas to burn should go check it out. if we don't try to keep it open, we're out for a while... -good luck
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