There has been an awful lot of bellyaching in the media recently
regarding the extended cold snap of weather, also known as “winter,” which has
settled over parts of the country. While
I understand why the folks down south might be upset by the recent onslaught of
ice, snow and cold temperatures, I am continually astounded by the distaste for
the season from the local northeast Ohio population. After all, snow and cold means sledding,
skiing, cross-country skiing, showshoeing, crunchy trail running, ice skating,
ice fishing and for JMac and I, ice climbing.
It has been a couple of years since we have a winter cold and consistent enough to freeze our local waterfalls solid enough to climb. Since January, temperatures have remained cold enough for waterfalls from thirty to eighty feet to freeze. We have taken every opportunity to get out on them, including a few evening runs after work in addition to climbs on the weekends.
Temperatures are supposed to warm up this week so JMac and I headed out for our potentially last climb of the season on Saturday. The sky was unbelievably clear, so much so that JMac referred to it as “Colorado blue sky.” And it was. There was little wind which made for outstanding conditions. Both falls had filled in considerably since the prior week. They were both super fat with multiple lines to climb. Since it was just the two of us, we had packed in only one rope and decided to climb the more vertical flow on the left. Here are some pictures so you can see the scale.
When we arrived at the falls we were greeted by a local photographer who was taking some pictures. The hike in to our location on Saturday is about a half hour hike up a creek bed. In more typical winters, the creek bed does not freeze solid and/or there is a lot of debris which has to be navigated around. Between that and the sometimes treacherous canal crossing, we generally do not have a lot of company at “hidden falls.” This year, however, with the deep freeze that has settled over northeast Ohio, we have come across several local hikers and photographers who have either heard about the picturesque falls and have come to check them out or just followed the footsteps up the completely frozen creek to see where they lead. Imagine their surprise when they come across us, climbing the falls with crampons and ice axes. The photographer on Saturday took some pictures of us climbing. I’m hoping he forwards a couple of them as it is difficult to take good pictures with just the two of us.
Part of the appeal of ice climbing is the ever changing conditions of the ice as well as the limited window of time to enjoy them. So while I am very sad that the falls will most likely melt out later this week, I am very grateful for the climbs I was able to complete. It has been a great season.