by Phil Kelley
Jeff Street and I headed out on Saturday to see what the Hidden Lake ice climbs were doing . This has proven a reliable area for the past 3-4 years, with several north facing climbs at about 3500' - 4000' above the S shore of Lake Wenatchee. The trip over Stevens pass was a bit slippery but uneventful, and of course the last 1.5 miles of road were unplowed, so at around 08:20 we headed out for the 2000' approach. There is a good, fairly flat trail to Hidden Lake, after which you are on your own. Traverse around the N end of the lake and slog uphill, keeping left in steep timber. Eventually you will break out into a very pretty basin below the climbs.
There is a beautiful boulder strewn hardwood grove, giant cedars, a brushy swamp, and a whole bunch'a tarzan pull-ups on the final approach to the climbs. The approach takes about three hours if you work it right.
I chose the first pitch, mainly because I thought it would be the easier of the two. A curtain of WI 3+ and some nice rambly ice led to a solid tree belay, then Jeff led pitch two which was probably honest WI4. Both pitches are about 45m long.
At the top of pitch two, traverse left on snow to the head of a second steep gully. If time and conditions allow, there are a few more moderate pitches above. With the slow driving, long approach, and short days, we decided to rap down the second gully, which puts you back within 100 feet of your packs. I thought I might even get home at a reasonable hour, until Jeff started hooting and ranting about the beautiful ice we saw on rappel. Which he just had to climb. Belay slave time for Phil.
It was a beautiful delicate face with a steep column “stinger” on top. Fortunately the pro was good, and I enjoyed watching Jeff make careful work of it. By the time he got done, it really was getting dark, as it tends to do a 16:45 these days. I declined to follow by headlamp, and coaxed him to come back down.
It is still a long trip home, we were totally wet from being snowed on all day, and we both had plans for the next day, so I was glad to be finally headed down. Of course, the ropes turned into a big spaghetti salad which I had to unsnarl on rappel.
I highly recommend this spot; it’s very scenic, there is reliable ice, and you will be sure to get your exercise.
Here are some photos...
Phil leading up the start of the 1st pitch of "This Too Shall Pass"
Jeff gazes at the first sight of the ice
Jeff passing thru a beautiful mountain oak grove makes his way towards the ice
Jeff leading the 2nd pitch of "This Too Shall Pass"
Jeff leading the 2nd pitch in waning light, of a heretofore unclimbed line which we dubbed "Time Line"
It's dark and Phil wants to go down and home
At the base of the routes, Jeff says "I want a corn dog"
