Our destination for ice climbing is the right side wall in Lee Vining Canyon. This ice wall about a mile hike in from the trail head, which is located on an unmarked road, off the Eastern Sierra end of Highway 120, just before the gates. The road led to an Edison substation, and the trail head is behind the substation. We were the first team to arrive at the trail head, so the early start paid off!
On the trail...
It had snowed the night before, so the trail was covered with new snow. H and I brought snow shoes, while others in our team did not. Therefore, we led the hike in. Walking on fresh snow was very tiring, even with snow shoes. For every step we took, our feet sank into knee deep snow. We had to raise our feet knee high for the next step. Also, the firmness of the snow was quite uneven, and I fell several times on seemingly flat snow. Standing up after falling in the virgin snow was very tiring as well. I used my hands to right myself after a fall, but the hands were pushing into soft snow which did not provide any support.
Ice Wall from far
About 1/4 mile into the trial, we saw another group in our team had found a recently used trail. We switched to that trail and the hike was easier. Then we crossed a shallow stream and I saw the ice wall we were going to climb. It was located about 1000ft higher from where we were standing! It was a rather discouraging sight.
We pressed on. Snow shoes was less useful for going up slopes, so we left ours behind a rock off trail. I followed H's footsteps, and was walking on somewhat pack snow, so it was not as tiring for me. But going uphill in snow was still quite a workout. From previous trips, I had learned to use the front of the foot when planting each step. This really helped with uphill footing in the snow.
Ice Wall closer
Warming up/Free climbing
After another 30mins of hiking, we reached a shallow ridge where we setup down our gears. Three members of our team went to the top of the ice to setup anchor, while the rest of us put on our crampons and waited. Some people in our team had ice climbing experience and warmed up by free climbing on a ice face. I was too scared to tried that.
The hike to the top of the ice was quite difficult. It was a good hour before our rope was lowered. By this time, a few other teams had arrived. The other teams had members that lead, meaning they do not have to go to the top of the ice to setup rope (aka top rope). Therefore, we started climbing at almost the same time as some of the teams that arrived later.
H was the first to get climb. She was pretty fast and was about 3/4 of the way up the ice face when her hands felt very cold. In fact, she could not hold on to the ice tool any further and had to come decent without reaching the top.
Then, other members of our team started climbing as H and I sat and observed the action. They have been doing rock climbing and even though both sports are not the same, it seemed to really help them. Most of them were able to reach the top. As I was sitting there, randomly chatting, I was interrupted by Q, asking if I want to climb. I put on my bravest face and said yes. I was a little excited but also a little anxious.
First, I got tied in. We were using 2 locking carabiners in reverse orientation to tie the rope to my harness. Since our ropes were not long enough, we had tied 2 ropes together. To avoid switching belay, we had move the joint to the climber and I was to carried the bulk of the rope as I climb.
I started making my move. Following Eric's advice, I tried to make the most of each swing of the ice tool and each kick of crampons to ensure I have a good hand or foot hold to conserve energy. Even though the ice tool penetrated less than an inch into the ice, it gave a very good grip. However, my foot hold from the crampon did not feel as secure. As a result, I was holding on to the ice tool very tightly and did not dare putting all my weight on my feet. I later learned that the ice was very good this year. In previous years, the ice may be brittle or soft and climbers did not have good anchoring on the ice with ice tools.
I got up about 1/4 of the way when my crampon gave way. H had to lower me down and re-tie my crampon. Being a first time user, I had not latched the locking mechanism into the right place in the plastic boots:(
I started climbing again, this time with a little more confidence. As I got to half the height, I got scared and asked to be lowered. H refused. "You have barely climbed at all!" She yelled. I soldiered on.
I did another 10-20 climbs steps. While I had a few slipped, I had managed to held on. However, the weight of the rope I was carrying, the end which is normally left to dangle to the ground, began to feel very heavy and I constantly worried I was damaging the rope while trying to gain foot holds with my crampons. I decided I had enough fun for one day and call it quits.
This time, H did not disagree and lowered me down. According to her, I got up to a little more than 1/2 way up the ice surface, and while she thought I could do more, she decided not to push me too much. I got off belay and we both rested.
The remainder of our team made quick work on the ice. These are the experience ice climbers in our group and they got up quickly. In about another hour or so, everyone was done! We had started climbing at about 10am and with 8 climbers climbing, got done by about 3pm. There was a lot of sitting around, and the actual climb was about 30mins.
We packed up our gear and as others were releasing the ropes, H and I departed on our hike back to the trail head first. Going downhill was also tiring because the snow was soft and one had to be careful with footing to avoid falling and sliding down a fairly steep slope, but it was easier than working against gravity.
We picked up our snow shoes along the way and the hike back to the trail head was faster since a couple of teams had come and go before us, the trail was well established and the footing firm.
From the trail head, our team leader M decided to head for Travertine hot spring for a quick soak. Travertine hot spring is located in a state park near the town of Bridgeport. The road to the spring was fairly well maintained. Upon reaching the spring, we saw the outside pool was fully occupied. M was here the day before expertly told us to try the pools in the back. In a trail that went between 2 rocks, were several more pools. Water from one pool overflew into another, so the pool closest to the trail had the warmest water.
Is the mud good for your skin?
The day was starting to wind down, and the weather was actually quite cool. All of us opted for the warmest pool, shared snacks and adult drinks. The bottom of the pool was mud and we joked that it was great for skin care, then talked about bottling the mud back to the city and selling them.
The hot spring had great view of distance mountain on one side, and we enjoyed the views while we soaked. After two hours or so, night had started to fall and we decided we need to get out. It was somewhat cold at this time and getting out of the warm water was a struggle.
We made it back to Lee Vining hotel for a shower. Being Valentine's Day, we had a group dinner at Nicely's. Just some simple diner fare, but after a long day, everything taste great.
