Black Magic Wall

Come and Get It

WI
7
Rock rating
5.11b
Length
Length:145miles
Aspect
NE
Persons
Alex Lowe
Date

Start up steep ice. Geet good gear before lauching out onto steep rock! then hit some more featured black columnar, then a right facing crack which takes you back to the ice. Barber-pole-squirm-exit move possible near top.

Expanding Horizons

WI
6+
Rock rating
5.11d
Length
Length:130miles
Persons
Alex Lowe, Kristoffer Erickson, Jim Earl
Date

A super strenous scratch-fest in the crux, and some super-pump after the crux; but at least mostly safe by now!

Shores of Pluto

WI
5+
Rock rating
5.8
Length
Length:200miles
Aspect
N
Persons
Pete Tapley, Jack Childress
Date

The route is about 130 meters left of Black Magic and is marked by a small evergreen growing in the cliff about 30 feet to the right of the smear. The route had several ascents the season it was first climbed and none since. When first climbed, the rock section was a grade harder. Subsequent ascents and attempts have dislodged a large block, making a sizable foothold. 

Black Magic

WI
5
Rock rating
5.9+
Length
Length:185miles
Aspect
N
Persons
Alex Lowe, Pat Callis
Date

If you were counting the top Hyalite routes on one hand, Black Magic would certainly be included. For years Alex was the only one to ever climb it, dragging along whom ever he could when it was formed. In the mid 1990s, rising standards and enthusiasm started to see more and more ascents creating something of an upper-end mixed trade route. More recently, drought has taken a toll, and it rarely forms.

Smears for Fears

WI
6+
Rock rating
5.11b
Length
Length:250miles
Aspect
NE
Persons
Alex Lowe, Clark Alexis
Date

This is the right-hand of two parallel melt-freeze drips that appeared late one season on the far right side of the cliff. It is characterized by a prominent corner on the bottom half. Since few ice climbers are around so late in the season, it is unclear just how often these might come in. Given the right pattern of cold, sun and precipitation, they likely form very quickly and disappear nearly as fast. | Route: Climb a poorly protected corner (5.9/5.10) to a rotten break below an overhanging smear. Three bolts on right side of the smear lead through an overhanging section.

Smear Today, Gone Tomorrow

WI
6+
Rock rating
5.11b
Length
Length:165miles
Aspect
N
Persons
Alex Lowe, Kristoffer Erickson
Date

Just right of “Fears,” Smear Today, Gone Tomorrow streaks down a uniform wall. The climb was done over two days with the first establishing the fixed protection (on lead) then climbing it complete (with a leader fall) the next day. It starts at a belay on top of a detached block with a single bolt. The description comes directly from Alex as written in the Barrel Ice Book.