The past week Bobbi Clemmer and I have been climbing ice in Cody, Wyoming. Our first three days, we climbed four classics in the Boulder Basin/Lower & Upper Bench area – Bozo’s Revenge (WI3+), Sendero Illuminoso (WI4), Animal Rights Activist (WI4+) and Hunter Creek Pillar (WI5).
Bobbi and I got engaged last week! Then the Teton skiing went to trash – so we migrated to the ice climbing mecca of Cody, Wyoming. Our plan was to hide away and pursue ice until the snow returns. My janky right shoulder is oscillating between happy and pissed off, but luckily the South Fork Valley has more than enough moderate classics to go around. Even better, this is Bobbi’s first trip to Cody. The commanding scenery here is beautiful enough to make ice of any grade an incredible experience, and the lengthy approaches to nearly every route keep ski fitness topped off.
We arrived in the South Fork on Friday morning after an unsuccessful attempt on Golden Tears (WI4+, III, 500′), a Wyoming mega classic in the Wind River Range. The first pitch curtain wasn’t quite touching, and saddling a translucent sublimated dagger hours from the car seemed like a horrendous idea. Instead of wasting energy on the nearby Lake Louise Gully (WI3, II) we shifted sights to reaching Cody as soon as possible. We began with a half day warmup on Bozo’s Revenge (WI3+). One of my favorite parts of climbing with Bobbi is her appreciation for more than difficult climbing. On my first South Fork trip three years ago, my partner and I destroyed ourselves every single day on the hardest routes possible. Limit climbing is fabulous, and climbing Ovisight (WI6, IV, 3000′) was one of my all time mountain days, but sometimes it’s nice to flow over easier terrain without overdosing on cortisol and sleep deprivation.
Bozo’s Revenge (WI3+)
Bozo’s is a classic three pitch romp reminiscent of Prospector Falls in Grand Teton National Park. The second pitch is considered a valley classic at the grade, 50 meters of sustained WI3 on a gigantic emerald green flow, with a “South Fork gentle” approach. The first pitch is a mere WI2 formality to reach the keynote speaker, and the third pitch a short sundae cherry we skipped due to numb extremities and daylight. Pitch two was one of the finest WI3’s I’ve climbed, with an engaging steep step and several interesting bulges. We returned to the car in five hours with no rushes.
Sendero Illuminoso (WI4) and Animal Rights Activist (WI4+)
On day two we upped the ante. The first pitch of Sendero Luminoso (WI4) is touted as “55 meters of pure ecstasy” on Mountain Project and guidebook proclaimed as one of Cody’s finest ice pitches, a sinewy hose snaking from a mud rock slot. From the approach it doesn’t look like much, but from the base it’s irresistible to anyone attracted by quirky, ephemeral and aesthetic ice climbing. Our conditions were about as thin as I could conceive sane. Until a bulbous pourover at 45 meters the ice was no thicker than 13 centimeters and the cruxes were ladder narrow. I managed two 10cm screws sunk to the head, and tied off a few longer screws along the way, but did not consider falling an option. The two 7 centimeter screws in our motel room would’ve been handy. Tool placements were rarely deeper than one centimeter and were achieved by scratching and wrist tapping rather than swinging. Leading Sendero produced a psychedelic “out of body” I typically only experience on heady ground up slab climbing in Joshua Tree. Bobbi had a hoot following, and somehow we didn’t destroy our picks. I’ve never climbed such a long, sustained and well bonded thin ice pitch in my life.
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After Sendero we bushwhacked over to Animal Rights Activist, a 90 foot slanting WI4+ above the Boulder Basin Trail. Linking routes in Cody isn’t as simple as the mindless cliffside strolls of Hyalite Canyon. The routes here are almost always generously spaced, separated by steep healthy forests of frozen dirt, deadfall, chossy mud cliffs, thorn bushes, bear scat and everything in between. We reached Animal Rights at the tail end of afternoon. To our surprise, the usually popular route hadn’t been climbed recently, or much this season. Due to extremely cold temps following a warm spell, the ice was very brittle. And to make matters worse, the initial WI4+ curtain was more like three separate columns. I got pumped silly and barely survived the onsight without resting. On follow, Bobbi’s hands got cold enough amidst falling temperatures that we decided to bail and watch Honnold free-solo Taipei 101 in our warm motel room, and return the following day to retrieve our anchors en’ route to the Hunter Creek Pillar (WI5).
Hunter Creek Pillar (WI5)
Twelve hours later we scrabbled back up to Animal Rights, which I found significantly easier to re-lead following yesterday’s pick holes and foot placements. It’s amazing how much easier ice climbing becomes once one single human being has cleared away the garbage ice. We quickly pivoted to our hardest thus-far pitch – the Hunter Creek Pillar – a massive 150 foot yellow monolith looming 1,500 feet above the valley floor. Once again, it appeared this route hadn’t been led, nor climbed, in some time. A well traveled apron shared with the easier Spotted Owl Sandwich (WI3) led to a totally virgin, insanely candled, and unapologetically vertical pillar. In my five years of ice climbing, I’ve never led a more technical WI5 pitch. There were no screw holes or signs signs of human travel. Every tool placement required locking off long enough to clear a thick veil of wet icicles from a subtle groove. Protection was dubious at best. Foot placements were most often gentle smears on microphone sized cauliflowers. Like Sendero, I unintentionally found myself free soloing with a rope. But unlike Sendero, I never felt too gripped. Hunter Creek was among my best ice experiences. The full lead took a solid hour. Bobbi elected to run three laps on the 50 foot apron rather than dance with the chandelier death devil. I can’t say I blame her.
In classic Cody fashion, each of these days began and ended with several hours of slogging over rugged mountain terrain with hulking packs. The South Fork Valley and Hyalite Canyon may be the two finest ice venues in the lower 48, but they couldn’t be more different. Long approaches, lack of crowds, volatile temperatures and generally larger formations make the South Fork an unequivocally more difficult place to climb, if not the hardest in the country. While plodding through thorn bushes and paddling up dissolving mud slabs the past week I came up with this slogan: “The South Fork: where outerwear, crampons and egos go to die.” We quite like it here.
Route Notes
notes for prospective climbers…
- Bozo’s Revenge (WI3+)
- A good half day objective. Car-to-car in five hours climbing the first two pitches. Approach from the Lower Bench parking area (as for Moratorium/Joy After Pain) with a good trail most of the way. Descend via two v-thread rappels with two ropes.
- Sendero Illuminoso (WI4)
- I thought this route was soft for the grade in terms of steepness. No other routes nearby. Bolt anchor for the uber-classic pitch one at 50-55 meters. A good half day objective on it’s own. For a full day, continue into the upper pitches or link with Animal Rights Activist. Approach from the Lower Bench parking area (as for Moratorium/Joy After Pain).
- Animal Rights Activist (WI4+)
- A short pitch all by itself. Best combined with Hunter Creek Pillar or Sendero (first pitch only) for a full day. Anchor is a frozen dead snagged log on climber’s left, or v-thread. Approach via Lower Bench parking area (as for Moratorium/Joy After Pain) or Boulder Basin Trailhead.
- Hunter Creek Pillar (WI5)
- Don’t underestimate the approach. Approach via Boulder Basin Trailhead. Approximately 2,000 feet of elevation gain to the base. Ice bouldering in creek bed for direct approach. For descent, we traversed skier’s right to an adjacent snow gully leading back to the summer trail (avalanche prone in high snow). Bolt anchor on climber’s left at the top. Approximately a 45 meter pitch. Could be top-roped with a single rope from the base of the pillar, above the apron. Could be logically combined with Spotted Owl Sandwich (WI3).
We found this super handy Caltopo overlay for all the popular ice climbs in Cody. It is invaluable for navigation and planning. All the routes in this article are included. Check it out here.
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DISCLAIMER
Ski mountaineering, rock climbing, ice climbing and all other forms of mountain recreation are inherently dangerous. Should you decide to attempt anything you read about in this article, you are doing so at your own risk! This article is written to the best possible level of accuracy and detail, but I am only human – information could be presented wrong. Furthermore, conditions in the mountains are subject to change at any time. Ten Thousand Too Far and Brandon Wanthal are not liable for any actions or repercussions acted upon or suffered from the result of this article’s reading.
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