February 20th

I was fortunate enough to climb ice today with Michael Egues on Sam’s Knob in North Carolina.  Sam’s Knob is a long ice gully that is 1600 feet long when conditions allow.  Today was different however, more of the pitches were snow climbing as the Blue Ridge has been pelted with snow fall this year.  Michael has done a lot of rock climbing, is good technically and is a great belayer, but has never climbed ice before.  Well it didn’t take long for Michael to start swing the axes and kicking the crampons with confidence.

The hike was labored by the fresh snow, but the track was easy to follow as I had been up there on Tuesday.  Clearly there was some fresh snow, but not enough to cover the trail.  We made good time as Michael is in great shape.  At the base, we rack up and start up the first section of ice.  This lower section which is typically WI1-2 was snow covered except for the vertical steps.  This made for a real alpine feel.  It was like climbing an alpine route, snow knee deep, moving over ice bulges and kicking steps.

We wonder up the initial 400 feet of snow and ice the first large vertical step.  I led this section up to the transition.  A snowy laid top out always poses a tricky technical challenge.  The solid ice gives way to rotten ice under snow.  Care must be taken under these conditions as not to have your picks rip out as you are topping out.   I place an extra screw to safeguard the top out.  I moved up the snow a ways looking for solid ice.  It was tricky as the snow was layers of powder and frozen snow.  You would step through a frozen layer into more powder.  No protection here so I moved up higher for the belay.

Michael followed this pitch with a little challenge at the transition, but otherwise did a great job.  From here you get the first real view; a spectacular view of the valley and ridge line.  The snow capped the ridge line and made for great views.   This is the reason for climbing ice and alpine, great views and good company.

We continued enjoying each pitch until we reach the last pitch.  Here the workload increased dramatically.  I set up the belay in waist deep snow at the base of a short ice wall.  The last pitch was a fat WI3+ wall that was beautiful to climb and made more challenging by the deep snow.  We were treated to a wonderful view of the Tennessee Mountains covered in snow under blue skies.  It was truly a great day.

Patrick Weaver

Climbing Guide

Appalachian Mountain Institute