Beartooths Ice

Submitted by Highlandtravler on Wed, 11/01/2006 - 23:35
A little more than two weeks ago I hiked up to Ice Dragons in the East Rosebud to find a whole hell of a lot of ice not to mention probably one of the best looking ice lines in the state, Ice Dragons. On Friday Oct. 27 Jordan Mancey and I awoke at an ungodly hour and hiked to the base of the route. The approach is a talus fest as soon as you leave the real trail. Upon reaching Ice dragons we found that, as we figured, the route was thin and out of our current fitness range and would require a rock rack for protection and belays on the first few pitches. Instead we climbed two long pitches of fat grade 3 on a route to the left. A rappel sling was found on the way up negating any first ascent assumptions. Without topping out the route, we rappelled in annoying spindrift down a cirque that contains some of the finest looking routes anywhere. Hiking out in the dark and drinking beers at the five spot is a whole other story. Also Cali ice, and Spaghetti falls looked to be in climbable conditions! I had problems with the photos but will post them soon, or just email and I'll send some! Cheers Spencer Winchester

Did were the sweet routes the ones you did or other routes? How long was the approach to ice dragons. I would love to see the pics. We did 4 trips to the beartooths last year and love the area. Any info on routes in west rosebud?

For what it is worth, the info in "Winter Dance" for the route Ice Dragons is serviceable but I now have some much better beta after climbing the route last year and spending more time with the various approach options. The approach is a solid 4+ hours of Beartooth love even in the best (read: low snow) conditions. Getting the info together and posted is on my "To Do" list and I'm getting to it. Joe Josephson

Anyone been to east Rosebud this week? Would it be worth a trip to ice dragons or was this week too warm? Any suggestions on a rock rack.

We went to ice dragons on Sunday, the 12. Avy danger was extreme--we saw sluffs and larger avalanches coming down the face and over the climb. The ice looked fat, but objective danger deterred us from climbing.

Any tips on submitting photos to this site? Having trouble after the photos are uploaded to the site. mike

[i][quote="Highlandtravler"] Upon reaching Ice dragons we found that, as we figured, the route was thin and out of our current fitness range and would require a rock rack for protection and belays on the first few pitches. Instead we climbed two long pitches of fat grade 3 on a route to the left. A rappel sling was found on the way up negating any first ascent assumptions. [/quote][/i] A clarification would be helpfull here from someone who actually knows. Is the fat WI3 ice on the left "Ice Dragons"? Or is it the much more intimidating ice vein on the right? The book description sounds like the one on the right, while JoJo and Kris Erikson's description on this board from last fall sound more like the one on the left. To whomever was trying to post photos: I believe your .jpg files need to be less than 2 meg to post......I think?

My bad, after posting the previous message and exchanging emails and photos with Jojo I was informed that the route we climbed is in fact ice dragons. This would explain the fairly fresh rap slings on the route. Sorry for the confusion! Spencer

Thanks. According to the above discussion and my visit to east rosebud on Saturday, Ice Dragons is huge right now, and there is little to no snow for the 'shwack approach.

Anyone been in the Beartooths lately? I've made quite a few trips there over the last year as it seems to be as close as Cody to us in the Ice starved Black Hills. I've done Spagetti Falls and California ice last year. I also made an attemp on Ice Dragons this year but got repelled by the approach and avalanche conditions in the gulley after taking our gear for a loooong walk. I would like to do some of the lower routes along the road, with less of an ass busting approach, on a quick trip soon. I've done Hellroaring and the Falls Between. What else is good noting that Sand Dune is probably over my head. Anyone have any suggestions of what is good and pretty dependable of the rest of the lower climbs? Also is Upper Rosebud Falls any good and worth the hike? It looks like it is not the 55m they give it in the book. Well it's time to see if the biker Matkes it up Everest. Mike P.S. I'd rather be in the Beartooths!

I was in east Rosebud last weekend and everything was in good shape. Going off of past experiences most other routes should be in as well. My list of the better "easily approached" ice climbs in the beartooths that you haven't mentioned would consist of: Rock Creek Falls WI3 near the pass, Silver Falls WI4 in the Lake Fork, Horseshoe Falls WI4 in the West Fork (prior to Nov. 30th) Upper Rosebud in east rosebud is around 50 meters and worthy of a day, Spaghetti Falls doesn't look 200ft from the trail either but it is, Small Falls (I think) in east rose looked in and rather fun, The Anti-Duct WI5 in the west rosebud is a pretty easy approach mostly on trail and stays in till late spring. hiking along the west rosebud creek towards the dam will yield you a handfull of 60-80ft pitches, possibly mixed (brunkhorst's updated 2005 booklet details these) and of course the spillway near the dam is always an impressive hunk of ice. questions you can shoot me an email andejoe1(at)iit(dot)edu

As of Jan. 2, Sand Dune was in fat. But it was also WET. Small Falls looked like it has reformed well (just touching at the bottom). Always great to be in the Beartooths! -Jesse
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