Alaskan Alpine Club
This somewhat isolated page is waiting for the new photos of the 05-06 ice towers, when more water freezes in the far frozen north.
12 March 2005 through 13 March before dark. And more on the Ice Wall 7 page.
12 March.
A little climbing action.
That crack at the center, near the bottom, is just a little one, not the big one that started opening in the afternoon.
Same day, earlier, before the clouds did their thing.
Yes, those are crutches with ski tips. That is the Crip, with the artist, other climbers and one of the photographers.
Maria the serious photographer, in the blue floor room.
12 March Ice Report.....
By chance the ice is 152 feet high, exactly, within 3/8 of an inch. Well, there was a bit of lateral distance between the measurable top of the pipe, and the highest point of ice. And on account as we have been encouraged to very accurately measure the final height of the ice, by certain parties who informed us of our sincere desire to never make their acquaintance, we therefore thought it prudent to take the Independent Final Height Engineer up the ice on 12 March. For the reason described below, we knew, from his willingness to climb the ice, that he was at least a half bubble off, so we are not sure about that 3/8 inch.
The height of the ice is holding its own against the warm days, for the moment. Dunno the long range forecast. Guido and Max report that they cannot find the weather forecaster, so far.
Well, you see, the Grip showed up again, the guy with a broken leg, on crutches with carbide ski pole tips, who again led the first section, with only one crampon, and another local climber who climbed with superlative style, on account as his wife, parents and children were watching him, and a couple other climbers. Well the Crip and married guy went up first. I was third, with a belay from the top.
You noticed from the previous rhetoric on this page, and the pictures, that the tower seems to be leaning to the left a bit.
The side to which it is leaning is all overhanging chandeliers of icicles, and therefore not within the climbing arena, besides becoming just a little too frightening to stand near, even if you are a half bubble off.
So we wisely climbed the side away from which the ice is leading. Now, I have done things that have been what I later realized were not what I would have done if I had an even bubble. When I was climbing that safer side route on the ice, after the other two guys, and looking into the series of horizontal cracks across the entire side of the ice, and around the corners, and deep into the ice, and wide, I was reminded of the times I had done such things before, and realized that the two guys on top, one of them belaying me, were nuts.
Dealing with people who are nuts, requires that you do nothing unexpected. I climbed all the way to the top. And I casually mentioned the aforementioned cracks, with the adjectives. I had seen from their crampon marks in the cracks, that they had used the cracks for obvious footholds. They said they did not notice any cracks. Thus confirming that they were nuts, I continued to act in the same fashion, so as not to startle or confuse them. The top of a 152 foot inverted icicle is not a place to startle or confuse two thirds of the people there, especially if they are nuts.
We measured the height, and ascertained that no new pipe could be added. We poured a bit of blue dye to accent the ice on the road side where most of the pictures are taken, and went back down.
So that hummer gonna fall.
Well, so as to wisely not sacrifice a couple caribiners and webbing for the rapel anchor, which cost money, the last guy to climb for the day, the Crip again, looped the rope around the top pillar, and rapped off. Then the rope would not pull down. It froze in the moist ice. So much for wisdom. I had to ascend the rope, going past what seemed to be wider cracks, to set up a rapel anchor off webbing, and skitter back down to a more comfortable feeling at the bottom.
13 March.....
First off. 152 feet high (46.33 metters) is the official concluding height for the 2004-05 Ghost Raven Ice Tower. Call in the bets, and if you made over a million bucks, send the poor web slave a few tens of thousands, or at least a fine bottle of wine.
That is the absolute final height, regardless of the weather, which on a normal year would have added a few dozen more feet in the next few weeks. But the tower is on its way in to the left, unless you look at it from the back side, as you can see......
13 March, 9:20 AM. Considering the expansion rate of the crack, since 4:30 PM the 12th, as a normal indicator for ice movement, now would be a good time for anyone near the ice, to run. When gravity demonstrates its ability, it is too late to run.
13 March, 3:15 PM. We unchained the web slave, so he could go over and watch the ice. It is still standing. The main crack is noticeably growing. Other new cracks are lacing the bottom area. We got some of the stuff out of the way, but the outhouse remains in peril. If you are among the cars stopped to take pictures, when the tower collapses, and you get the photo, please email us a copy, and tell us the story.
6:30 PM. The tower still stands, but with the cracks wider and longer. Every few minutes it goes, Whack, and leans a bit more.
Besides the cars, there were people sitting in folding chairs between the road and the snow bank, watching the ice lean, and watching the north slope trucks whizzing by. One guy in a chair had come from Florida, and had cancelled his trip to Hawaii just to watch the ice.
I was told to not accurately caption this 13 March photo. Okay, this caption is not what would be accurate.
And the tumble is on the Ice Wall 7 page.
Check out the ice tower at Lycksele Sweden, on the Other Ice Walls page.
04-05 Ice Wall 7
04-05 Ice Wall 1
04-05 Ice Wall 2
04-05 Ice Wall 3
04-05 Ice Wall 4
04-05 Ice Wall 5
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