New Route East Hyalite

Submitted by dandelion on Sun, 01/06/2008 - 15:37

On Wednesday, Jan 2nd Sam Magro and I climbed a nice ice flow we had eyed a couple weeks prior while skinning around upper East Hyalite. The first pitch entailed a thin, hollow, blobby smear up to an interesting dagger encounter. Although this dagger was short, it had some wild moves getting around to the front. This pitch was about 35 meters long and WI 5. The next pitch climbed thin and cool mixed ground into a snow and ice gully with rock steps. Very alpinish. 70 meters, M4. Both pitches had thought provoking gear, but decent at the crux dagger. We named it Blood On the Tracks due to a wound Sam received to the face following the first pitch. Great fun. Sorry no pictures, as neither of us had a working camera. On a whole other note, today I saw the write up on Pura Vida (the route on the far right side of the Black Magic Wall put up last year) in Outside Bozeman and found some of the information to be incorrect. First it says that this route is rated 5.11 WI 6. Tyler Nygard and I climb this brilliant route two days after the first ascent by Alex and Thomas and found no rock climbing on it whatsoever, just thin ice. Also, it says that Nick Wakeman got the first free ascent, when in fact we both got it clean, myself on lead and Tyler following. Since this website is all about the information I thought these corrections would be appreciated, even if running the risk of sounding like a braggart. Oh yeah, just wanted to say thanks to Kalakay, Jojo, Jim Earl, and whoever else that has worked so hard to keep the road to Hyalite open. Greatly appreciated fellas and gals!

Nice job on the new route, and thanks for the update on Pura Vida. It's cool that you also got to climb it as a pure ice route. I can't comment on the conditions when Nick Wakeman and Joe Irons did it but I think we should all just feel lucky that we got to do it during it's short existence. If a stronger climber (you or Nick?) had gotten on it before I did, the first ascent would have been free... Anyway, too bad nobody knew about your ascent before the feature showed up in Outside Bozeman, but nice job nonetheless. Let's hope it forms again! Pura Vida Alex

I too am sorry we did not know about your ascent on Pura Vida. The information I gave to Outside Bozeman was to the best of my knowledge. When we climbed it, if I remember correctly, Nick could only place a few stubbys in the ice towards the second half of the route, that was it for ice pro. The rest was run out with some so so rock gear. He did hammer in a piton I could not get out about a quarter of the way up, I am sure it is still there. [img]http://montanaice.com/forums/user_images/puravida2.jpg[/img] pura vida [img]http://montanaice.com/forums/user_images/Joeironspuravida.jpg[/img] pura vida Nice work on the new route. On a similar note; last season in February, Ben Wilkenson and I climbed the first pitch of a maybe new route. It was almost to the lake up east Hylite on the left side of the drainage about where the tree line ends. It was a three pitch climb, similar looking to The Big Sleep. We climbed the 35 meter first pitch of WI 3. We unfortunaltly could not finish the climb which looked to consist of two more pitches: a sketchy right hand traverse for 20-30 meters (all rock at the time). Then an overhanging dagger which looked like it would have been at least WI 5+. I think that would have ended the route. It looked like a future classic, if it ever comes in again. If anyone knows about this climb, I would love to hear some comments. Maybe it was one of the many unusual climbs we saw last year. From the description, I don't think this is the new route just climbed, maybe you can tell from these pics. Joe Irons [img]http://montanaice.com/forums/user_images/joeironsemerald.jpg[/img] emerald basin [img]http://montanaice.com/forums/user_images/joeironsemerald2.jpg[/img] emerald basin

Where was the 5.11 rock on Pura Vida? Was the bottom rock? it looks like an ice climb from the pics that were posted. Nice job both of you, that looks like a really fun line.

Hey Joe, The line (dagger) you have photos of is maybe 1/6 the size, making it all dry tooling with 8 feet of ice. The entry pitch you soloed is in just as fat and blue. I saw it last year as well, we had intentions of climbing this route when we went up E Hyalite this season. As the dagger wasn't in we (Kyler and I) climbed Blood on the Tracks. Guess we will all have to wait for another banner year for the dagger to come in. The first trip we soloed a small 30' dead vertical dagger farther up canyon. saludos, Sam Magro

Sam Magro, Where is "Blood on the tracks" in relation to the climb in the pics? Is it the same climb? akicebum, Last year, Nick and I climbed "Smears for Fears" the day after we climbed "Pura Vida" The begining of both routes, as well as the middle of Pura Vida had some rock climbing. Along with the WI7, Alex Lowe added a 5.11 rating to Smears. We thought in comparison that seemed about right for Pura Vida. Maybe it would be classified as M7 with todays ratings. Joe Irons

Greetings Montana climbers! I was just checking in to see what you boys have been up to this season when I came across this thread. Thought I'd give my two cents... Shorty after climbing Pura Vida with Joe, I got online and found this thread [url]http//montanaice.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=611[/url] ...In the last reply to that post, Alpinedave states that he saw someone on the route on the Sunday after Alex and Tomas did the FA. So there was the possibility that it had been 'free climbed' before I got to it, and therefore I never personally claimed the FFA. On another point My crampons and tools certainly came into contact with rock on both Pura Vida and Smear Today... but I would call them pure ice routes - albeit thin ones - as the rock climbing involved was comparatively insignificant. Both went at about WI6. Pura Vida's crux was the first 40ft of steep, thin, and marginally protectable ice (I got 2 spectres and two threaded icicles - much less ice down low than you see in Tomas' pictures). Smear Today... was just 150ft of beautiful, thinish, steep climbing, which I protected with everything from RP's and Aliens to stubbies and bolts. Both are great routes! Great pictures, Joe! Hope you all are well. Nick

To get there: Skin for two hours up E hyalite. Stay on the left side of Emerald Lake. Continue up Basin hugging the left slopes to the route. It will be the first climable route after the WI3 blue-bulbous flow. Enjoy, Sam Magro