The ice is in at Arethusa Falls. A sunny and cold Sunday morning Kevin and I headed
up to Crawford Notch to get our first climb of the season. We’d heard ice was forming on the Standard Route at Frankenstein Cliff and it had seen a few early season climbs. With that and the cold temperatures as evidence, we would take the hike and try our luck on Arethusa.
At the parking area crisp air froze the inside of my nostrils as soon as I stepped out of the car. This is going to be a great day. I glanced over at Kevin to see him in all smiles. Kevin had introduced me to rock climbing the previous fall and taught me everything about anchors and rope-management. Today would be the first of many days we’d share a rope this winter.
The smile disappeared from Kevin’s face as we dropped down into the base of the
falls. Arethusa the waterer was rushing full strength. Mushrooms of spray-ice
surrounded the violent central column of flowing liquid and slush. To the right looked thin and unbounded. The left side was shadier and had snow on the lower angled parts. As I took the sharp end I wondered if it would go. Was there enough ice on top to climb out? What would I find when I got up there? If I could get up there.
After navigating our way over the stream below, we scrambled up the snow-pile to
establish a belay where the ice becomes steep. I stepped up to the middle of the frozen face and began climbing. The snow covered ice accepted my picks and made for a solid comfortable climb. Firing in a screw I felt more confident knowing that it hadn’t hit any rock. Climbing higher, clearing the snow with the side of my tool as I progressed, I started feeling the rhythm.
It wasn’t until midpitch that things started getting dicey. My third screw went in easy, too easy. As I turned it in up to the hanger water shot out at me. It soaked my glove and crushed my good feeling. Its not likely to get better higher up. Clip the rope, shake out the hand and keep moving. Falling off this moderate climb is unlikely, but the ice is beginning to sound hollow and unbounded. The next swing could dislodge a chunk the size of a plasma screen tv from the wall and take me with it. Keep moving up.
Climbing becomes much faster when no protection is put in. Soon reaching the lip of the
falls I found good sticks and was able to pull myself up and over to the safety of a tree to build our belay. Climbing a frozen (semi-frozen) waterfall is fun, but the real fun begins as that wet frozen hand comes back to warm-blooded life. Kevin is on belay and meets me at the top a few minutes later. There’s that smile again.
The season has begun. It’s cold and the ice is building. After our hike back we popped over to the trestle to take a look at the Amphitheater ice. A week later I will return and cross that bridge.
climb with crowley 