Ice Climbing Crane Mountain's Waterfall Wall

26th December 2007

In the list-making months leading up to Christmas Day, I wrote one most-desired request: instead of getting "things", I wanted to do things with my family, active things. So when my college kids came home, and my oldest daughter's beau flew in for the holiday; they accompanied me to the Waterfall Wall the day after Christmas for a short ice climbing lesson at our friendly neighborhood ice route, the Crane Mountain Waterfall Wall.

The weather, in its typical Adirondack fashion, has been a mix or warm/wet awfulness followed by cold snaps. Consequently, the Waterfall Wall, which earlier was in excellent condition, had suffered some damage. The usual line, left of center, was an open cascade. Flotsam from above now littered the normally-pristine flow with leaves, twigs, and dirt. The center ice remained solid, but the exit was too close to open water to negotiate safely. The steep pillar of the Tempest looked excellent, however; so I decided to set that up as our beginner's route. Quite a bit harder than the normal route, but its a line I've wanted to climb for a long time.

Since the normal line was untenable, I soloed up to the right of the Tempest block, on low-angle ice. The floods of the past week had nearly eliminated much of the ice, but there was enough on this easy line to get up without worries. I did have to check every step, because the flow was undercut by water and in several places was an unconnectd, thin shell. Once around the block, I traversed left to a handy oak tree and set up a top-rope anchor. It was quite high, my 70-meter rope barely made it to the bottom. The actual climbing ended ten meters below the anchor, but there was nothing to tie off to below my anchor. That left 25 meters of ice to enjoy. I rappelled down to my group.

My son was first in line to climb. I adjusted the crampons to his boots, and dressed him up with harness and gloves for climbing. Orion headed out, quickly adapting to ice technique. He scrambled up the low-angle start to the base of the ice pillar in no time. There, he hesitated some, struggling to find solid, stable crampon and axe placements. His hiking boots weren't stiff enough for extensive vertical ice, so this short section forced him to use a lot of arm strength to progress. After a brief struggle, he made it up the 3 meter curtain. After giving him a brief rest, I lowered him back down to the bottom.

Brian, Autumn's tall beau, was next in line for the climb. His boots were bound to be troublesome. They are the classic winter rubber-bottom, leather upper boots; far too flexible for good crampon technique. Worse, they were two sizes too big for him - I didn't know that at the time, but it became apparent in a few moments. Brian made it up the low-angle slab with a little difficulty, but his troubles really began on the pillar. Here, he started to slip out of his right boot! He is tall enough to make short work of the vertical section, but because his boot began to come off he had to back down to get his foot back in. It was hilarious to watch, though I suppose if you're not used to hanging by a rope, it might not be enjoyable to experience firsthand. All the antics with getting his boot back on caused the crampon strap to loosen enough to fall out of place, so on his final attempt up the pillar his right crampon dangled uselessly from his foot while he muscled his way up the pillar. Victorious at last despite the added challenges, Brian waved and then hobbled down the wall, his right foot flailing with no purchase while he attempted to hop downward on his left foot only. Despite the humor of his struggle, I was impressed with the strength it took to manage getting up and down with only one foot - and not a good one at that.

Finally, it was Autumn's turn. My crampons adjusted from Brian's big boots down to her delicate size 6's with one more notch to spare, though the extension bar stuck out behind her heel noticeably. Her boots were medium-stiff hiking leathers, so she had little difficulty scrambling up the lower part. The vertical pillar presented a bit more challenge, but without much ado she made it to the top.

Of course, I had to take a swing at the pillar, only to pull down the anchors of course; no personal enjoyment was involved! When my turn came, the ice was soft, almost slushy - perfect for top-roping. I had a ball going up the pillar. In no time, I pulled the anchors and rapped down to rejoin the gang. It was time to head back homeward. The morning had been wonderful: perfect weather, perfect companions, and the perfect Christmas present for Dad!