2-1-2022 Sundance Kid wi5 x2 w/ Jenn, Carl

1-30 J-Currency, MP14 left 2p to Wi5 w/ Jenn, Christian

1-29 FMA J-Currency Mix Tape WI5, M5 x3 w/ Christian

1-27 MP14c, H202 x2  3p wi5 w/Zach

1-15,16 Dustys in and Out  wi3 30m, 10 laps w Kyle M, Dave, /Jenn, Tristan

1-11 MBLI w/jenn wi4 x3

1-10 TOAC wi5 x2 w/jenn, Shiona

1-5 Shannon far left WI3

1-2 Wet Dream M5 WI3+

1-1-2022 2 minutes for Hooking 3p WI4+ w/Jeremy

12-31-21 Tears Of A Clown 35m WI5 w/John Roskelley, Ben ,Vern

12-30 Eriks m5 under mixed conditions w/Jenn

Well, what a crazy local ice season we’re having here in the Pacific Northwest! What started out as a very frustrating beginning , is ending up cruising into a long slow burn of cold temperatures, good ice, and a stunning new first/ reimagined ascent! By far one of the coolest first ascents and mixed leads that I’ve done since bring Da ruckus, is a reimagined second pitch of the notorious cable route at Banks Lake! Long ago my friend Jess and I envisioned bolts at the top and wherever else they were needed down the thin ice that dribbles down the basalt columns. I finally got around to fixing it up with Christian, it climbed so well, only needing two bolts to make it a safe lead. Besides many available top rope variations, It now has amazing access from the very top, and a new fixed rope across the middle ledge as well! All this work and play was done in tribute to fallen comrades: Jess Roskelley, and Bob Prosser.

Gear: 7 screws, 2 cams, and 2 bolts. 60m rope

The other thing I’ve come to know better is there are secret stashes of ice on the eastern side of the Cascades. The reason they need to be kept sort of secret, is they would be over run by Seattle people if it were blown up on social media. I understand and appreciate this concept so I am trying to do my part as well.

Cold, wind,and crazy weather shut me down in Lillooet, but it is in all-time shape if somebody can get up there. Squamish was the usual awesome though!!

Hydrology is again baffling at Banks Lake many routes are super dry, and others are quite fat.

I hope to extend the season for a while, but it looks like there is a warm-up coming. I’m headed up north for a few days to keep the party going. Then, it may be time to look at higher altitude things in WA after. Cheers!

Jenn and the Rap Wall, Alpental Valley

For weeks, my new friend Kurt was hounding me to go to the Rap Wall. I had been up there ice climbing with Jenn 2 years ago, but that was before the big mixed climbing push that we started a year ago. Because of my dedication to this advanced discipline, and, again now being a developer, when I saw this wall with Kurt, I about shat myself. Here was an ice dabbled cliff with outstanding rock, steep af, and climbed so incredibly well.

Oh, and it had actual ICE!

I immediately seized on the best looking line(Ruckus). It took several trips up there to bolt, and learn the route. On my 3rd trip, I got the tredpoint (top-rope, no falls) after a few tries, then took big falls my first few times trying to lead it. Weeks passed with a terrible warm spell, ropes chopped while attempting, and huge snow storms. Would I be able get it done??

Then on the last possible day before more big storms hit, I got it done with a group of barn friends that completed another first ascent just left of me! I flashed my project, while Tom took his time for safety reasons. After 2 hours, He got up the insane Shaolin 36th Chamber Chimney ground-up! 

Dougs great instagram post 10 pictures and video!

Both routes are serious and in pg shape currently. I plan to add up to 3 more bolts, but there are cam placements(.5, .2) available until then. Ruckus is a completely amazing pitch with distinct cruxes, insane moves, and great alpine setting.

Beware the avalanche danger in this area. The ascent teams I went up there with were aware that, at times, NWAC was not recommending travel. Please consider this issue as well if this area appeals to you.

Huge thanks to the good people that helped me make this possible! Kurt, Jenn, Christian, Priti, Jeff, Kyle, Dave, Jeremy, Truc, Tom, and EZD!

Bring the Ruckus was sent on Sterling Ropes. (and didn’t get cut)

As you can tell, I had to go with an upgraded plan. WordPress was limiting my storage and editing, so I hope to get some support to cover the $8/month to keep my site going, thanks for your viewership , and don’t feel like you have to give anything other than your community support , thanks Wayne

Banks Lake and old man winter eventually delivered with a vengeance. I don’t want it to ever end! We got our ice season this winter(2018/19), but it didn’t start until February!! Incredibly too, it lasted until mid-March. Leaving us adequate daylight, we reveled in pitch after pitch, ascending rarely formed climbs that one could only dream of.

For me, this incredible season was not with out struggle too. I ended up in an ambulance with severe back issues for xmas. I did manage a little time off from work though right as the lion of winter got going in February. All told, I ended up with over 70 pitches of difficult ice and mixed climbing, visiting many different areas along the way. I feel so lucky.

What a pleasure it was to end this seasonal voyage with a couple of trips to Banks Lake. Its no secret that it is one of the harder areas to be successful at. The climbs are steeper and bigger than they look. The quality if ice can be a major issue as well.

With the confidence that can only come with new ropes, (Thanks Sterling!) we set out on back to back weekends. After seeing nobody on a FAT Razorblades, we scurried off to our “warm up” route on Saturday,  and anything else our arms would allow on Sunday (Pillar 1). What an astounding adventure Razorblades presents! That start pitch is always wet, crappy ice and yet so fun and difficult. Be careful with this one!

Last weekend we set our sights on Zenith, again in much fatter shape than my previous seasons efforts. We got scooped twice on it however! The second party took pity on us though and gave us the access to this amazing waterfall that I hadn’t gotten “clean”, nor got to the top of, on my prior tries. Lane Jenn and I had a day we will never forget as it was in great condition. Sunday again, was the :whatever-was-left-of-our-arms: climbing day. Banks has such a great atmosphere, we really enjoyed the “power of place” it offers.

click image to enlarge

A local ice season can randomly pound its way into your life. Bringing snow, cold temps, and social media reports, winter becomes impossible to ignore or resist.
Trouble is, a trip to the grocery store can be full of stress, more so trying to climb seldom formed routes in the Northwest. For those that don’t know: our local ice is a scrappy and well-earned affair that requires great patience and grit to handle less than perfect adventures. We don’t make many magazine covers in our shrubs and moss. When cold conditions happen here though, it can be a treat to explore in the back yard! Heck, I happen to prefer “difficult” ice just to keep it from being boring. More beta after photos. (Some photos by Jenn, Doug)

2-23 update: Jenn and I did a most amazing 4 pitch route at Squamish. The West Coast Ice group on facebook gave up the goods on a route called 2 Minutes For Hooking, and it proved to be a fantastic “Deep Forest” ice climb! I can’t say enough about how fun, scary, and exhilarating this route is. Too bad it didn’t photograph well.

Also THANKS to Dave with Sterling Ropes for loaning me the great Photon ropes to demo!!

1-13-2019 Blast Rock Wall wi3 m3 1 mile past icicle creek road closure
1-26-19 Icy BC area tr 3p to m7. Tope rope heaven
2-3-19 Rap Wall 2p to wi4r . fun, spicy first trip here, WARNING: Central Cascades Buried in snow currently
2-17 Shannon Left, center area 1 p w3 , scary climbing next to live waterfall!
2-18 Oleson Creek ice route 4p, W3+ (attempt at AST, went too far up canyon)
2-20 Loose Lady 3p W5 Fun, steep with great access.
2-21 3 Ring Circus 3p w5. We didn’t have chains so we road walked an extra 3k up to a spicy approach. Route was chandeliered and wet on p1. from top, we walked off climbers left to road. Tough day.

2-23  2 Minutes for Hooking 4p, w4+ w Jenn. One of my all time favorite ice climbs, just my kind of route. Thin, exciting, and tricky to the finish. The beta on face book is spot on:

‎Graham Rowbotham‎ to West Coast Ice

westcoastice.com   archive

3-3 Pillar 1 w5 2 laps. Left of Zenith,  rated a “4” in the book!

3-2 Eating Razorblades 3p W5+ w/lane, zac in easier shape than last year, still burly

3-3 Pillar 1 w5 2 laps burly route left of Zenith, rated a “4” in the book!

3-9 lower Emerald+ Zenith w5+ 3p w/jenn lane. got scooped, yet finished off this route proper with my besties!

3-10 Agent O and More Banks Ice 3p to w5+ Holy crap what an amazing ice season!

Doug and I packed up the full array of ice gear and headed out in his plush truck camper for a overnight jaunt to the lesser known realms just west of Banks Lake. Neither of us had climbed out there, and man what a great outing we had! We drove past Champagne to find it was the most sheltered and sunny, therefore best option in the frigid temps. To stick with the pattern though, we found Joe and Jason already enjoying the steepness of its 2 great pitches. We did the 2 pitch route in the afternoon shade after them.

The next day we went into stunning Moses Coulee ( reminds me of Cody), and proceeded to get very humbled gazing at the very formidable Butch Cassidy. It reminded me of a longer version of Zenith, another legendary sandbag.. We drove past it and other scare fests to do the Sundance Kid. Doug took the lead under virgin conditions, excavating his way up through the overhangs. Banks is such an amazing yet stiff area to climb. It matters dramatically whether or not the ice conditions are good, bad ,and/or untrammeled. Be careful out there in this banner season, stoke is high yet there have been a good number of accidents. Pay attention to the grades and realize Banks is a bit sandbagged at times when conditions are less than optimal.

..with a name like that…

The internet is a mixed blessing when ice season rolls around. It is tough to be tortured daily by photos of amazing routes, yet nice to know they are in and have been getting climbed. I had a 1 day window that James and I used driving to Banks Lake and had a wallop of a time climbing!

Razorblades is a 2-3 pitch route that rarely see its first pitch form, and P1 has seen very few ascents. P1(aka, Eating Razorblades) was in chandeliered and drippy shape. It had a back off sling that attested to that. It took a while to get up the steep, thin and rotten ice, but this was my shot, and I made the most of it all the way to the top. I found it to be difficult and awkward going.

I was lucky enough to be climbing the first pitch when a talented photographer was nearby. He took the following 4 pictures. His outstanding site is here: http://jonjonckersphotography.format.com/

p1 Photo by Jon Jonckers

p1 Photo by Jon Jonckers

p1 Photo by Jon Jonckers

p1 Photo by Jon Jonckers

upper tiers report

Jens on upper tiers,   snap of recent

The last 2 pitches were no gimme either. A strong leader with lots of screws could combine them, but I was I no hurry even though wet  from drips on all sections. What a great climb!! I hope to head back this next weekend too.

Since I am not climbing much, I have been posting photos and stories of old first ascents of mine that have lost the photos on the original posts. This is an fa on Snow Creek Wall that may not have happened if the White Slabs route hadn’t already had a party on  it. Peter left a hint about the N. Dihedral, so I threw in a bit of rock gear and the rest is history, hope you enjoy , and stay flexible in your plans, Wayne

Saturday(Feb 7-2007) Gary Yngve and I,Wayne Wallace, climbed the thin line left of White Slabs route on Snow Creek Wall. It went in 5 long pitches and was extremely difficult.The route got gradually harder as we went, which helped because we were both off-the-couch. The initial 2 pitches went up fantastic thin ribbons up ramps and micro gulleys. Though thin,hard,and awkward they entertained us for the first 120 meters immensely. At times the ice was 4 inches wide, half inch thick!They ended up in a wide curtain that felt very thick though an inch and a half deep.I ran this out 100 feet to reach the stance below the overhanging ice crux pillar.
The ice pillar was short but extremely strenuous due to the overhanging angle. After that we entered a Scottish style ice gulley, more fun, though Gary had to relieve himself midway while following.
Pitch 4 went up thin ice in the dihedral until the ice ran out then became very difficult dry tooling in a long sketchy lead. At times I felt I could fall and die on the runout. Pitch 5 was easier though the deep snow and short hard sequences drained any energy we may have had available. Topping out after 8 hard hours we reveled in the glow of our first climb together.
Hats off to Peter for dropping the hint of this climb,and Rat and Caps for exploring to make this an enticing prospect and wonderful testpiece.

Thanks< Wayne and Gary

From Gary: Wow, I am f’n thrashed. I was getting over a cold, and I think the cold just came back for an encore. But the climb was worth it. I had a great time climbing with Wayne. Even though I’ve chatted with him at Pub Clubs, read about his exploits, etc., I never really had an idea how tough he is until he ropegunned me up these five pitches.

NDD on left, White Slabs on right

White Slabs on the right, Northern Dihedrals Direct on the left. The inset offers a little better view inside the dihedrals.

We couldn’t see the wall until we were roughly right across it and we had gotten above the clouds. A party was at the base of White Slabs, which may have made it easier for Wayne to get stoked about the left route.

The first pitches consisted of thin runnels with the occasional mixed move.

For the most part, the belays were pretty sheltered
Wayne forgot to mention that on the 2nd pitch, he had to downclimb 40 feet to retrieve the first piece he placed (a gold camalot) so he could protect the moves to come.

The crux of the 2nd pitch was an off-balance dog-leg runnel of thin ice.

The ice got thicker, and Wayne belayed below the base of the pillar.
Wayne was happy to sink an 18cm screw to the hilt!

The ice steepened considerably, and was thin in spots.
Above the ice was short snow slog and then a sweet narrow icy gully.

Wayne enjoyed the good ice while it lasted.

Then the mixed climbing became delicate, then desperate.

I flailed up the mixed moves, slipping a few times and happily hooking a fixed pin, all while wondering how the hell Wayne managed to lead it with the potential consequences of a nasty fall. The mixed moves were full-body workouts.

The last pitch certainly wasn’t a gimme. Some fun mixed moves, thigh-deep snow groveling, and a little bushwhacking. Capped off with a classic finish through a tunnel.

NDD on left, White Slabs on right

We walked off the backside, scrambling down two short rock steps.