The upper portion of this route has tried to form a couple of times over the last 15 years I have been here, but I had never seen it come close to being climbable. Fortunately the heavy moisture fell onto the South Fork Valley this fall bringing tons of precipitation into the drainages that caused massive mud slides and rock falls. There are literally some drainages that have been transformed from precipitation that we got. It seems that there is water all over the place and the temps have been absolutely perfect for freeze thaw.

Finding partners in the middle of the week can be tough but I was able to motivate Chris Guyer to make the trek from Billings,Mt to join me.

Aaron Mulkey on the First Pitch

As far I know, nobody has ever seen this come in or even done it so we were pretty psyched to nab another First Ascent for the season. Single digit temps kept the thin ice brittle and interesting.

Chris Guyer heading up the second pitch.

Chris getting close to the top of the smear and better ice.

Mulkey following up the smear trying to stay warm.

First pitch is about 50m and the second pitch is about 50m as well. Super fun enjoyable climbing. Both pitches are thin only offering protection is various spots. The top pitch has some big run outs between gear.

Awesome fun line !

It had been a week since Chris and I did the line and I wondered if there more pitches above so I returned with my wife Kelly and Kevin Craig. The first pitch is much thinner now but the second is still okay and had some water on it so I think it will get better.

Little warmer the day we returned. Kevin Craig and Kelly coming up the second pitch. There is about a 40 foot runout right now but the climbing is easy and the ice was good.

Minus the rope crossing this was my favorite pic of the day

Happy Wife equals a happy life !

Above the main two pitches we found 3 shorter pitches of easy ice making for a nice day out. If you have the time its worth the short hike to add some mileage to your day.

Stay tuned in for Day 3 “Mean Streak”