Finley

Submitted by jblyric on Sun, 11/20/2005 - 22:51
On the 19th, The Thing in Between was very fragile. Don't even bother if you're looking for a mellow day of top roping. The Grain Eater, however, looked spicy and, maybe, up for a go. Very little in the Daggers area, but the Grinch looks to be coming in nicely. In my opinion, more time seems needed for all routes; but, with the inversion, I doubt if the ice will last through this weather system. I'll bet that the ice starts forming over again in a few days; so, I wouln't hold it against anyone if they just went after it. P.S. I realize that most of this information has already been given on this site; however, I felt it was worth repeating since it wasn't placed under the right area. Get it right people. This isn't that hard. Justin Boening

Hoping for some better directions and route info, than the Big sky Ice Guide has to offer for Finley and Ashley. I have climbed at Mission and think it is not to far from there. Any info would be great.

Climbed at Finley today, and I'm pleased to report that the ice is still there. Grain Eater looked fat and plastic in spots. Even the 1st pitch took screws the whole way. The 2nd pitch of the Fox's Corner was well bonded and, for the most part, plastic. As a whole, the place looks good; in fact, I've never seen as much ice as there was in the Weed Eater. The more delicate lines, however, seem to have taken a beating. For example, both of the mixed lines near Thing in Between lost any hanging ice that had formed. Get after it. The ice made it through. Justin Boening

Justin, thanks for the map offer. I don't get to Missoula very often. I would be driving over from N Idaho. Do you think the ice at Finley would still be in this weekend? I sent you a pm about directions. Thanks Jason

Went to finley again yesterday. The ice was wet and clearly had been growing in the evenings. Still, there was plenty of pastic ice to be found.

Went to Finley on Sunday the 8th, climbed the Thing Between (I think), and Weed Eater. The ice was wet but good, Weed Eater was interesting at the top. There were some guys climbing Graineater which looked nice, definately have to return to this area for that one.
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