Ice Climbing at Lee Vining Canyon

I have been rock climbing for a few years now, indoors at the gym and outdoors in the mountains. But, 2019 was really my year of climbing. I spent most of the summer climbing all over the Sierra and having a grand time. Ice climbing though, I had never tried it. Though it seems similar to rock climbing, different tools are required such as crampons and ice tools. The risk of ice fracturing and falling is far greater than the risk of granite flakes breaking off. Additionally, there is the cold biting weather and extra layers needed to keep warm.

I joined this trip with a meetup group who organizes this trip annually. There is a short period of time early in the year when one can ice climb. It can be as short as a couple of weeks when the weather cooperates. In northern California two of the more popular areas are June Lake and Lee Vining Canyon, both located in the eastern Sierra. On the drive there, we stopped at Travertine Hot Springs to take some photos of the snow covered mountains.

View of the Eastern Sierra from Travertine Hot Springs

Hot water source for the tubs

A couple of the hot tubs

On Saturday, we headed to June Lake and climbed at Roadside Ice. One basically drives most of the way, and then walks on flat terrain to the base of the cliff. It was one of the easiest approaches I’ve had to do. After watching a couple of experienced climbers on the routes, it was my turn to give it a try. I got a short quick lesson on swinging the ice tools, and off I went. It was a whole lot of fun.

Climbers on Roadside Ice at June Lake

On Sunday, we climbed at Lee Vining Canyon. Getting to the cliffs involved a longer approach, walking about 1 mile in and gaining about 1000′ of elevation. It does not sound like much, but it was difficult. Initially, we were walking on frozen snow following an already defined trail from the previous day. After a quarter mile, the trail disappeared and snow blanketed the canyon. Navigating was not difficult, but I was breaking trail and kept sinking up to my waist every few feet. That quickly takes a toll on your energy levels.

At one point, I fell into the snow up to my chest. The climber behind me was several feet behind me and making slow progress, so I attempted to get myself out of the hole. My arms were useless. As I tried to push myself out of the hole, the snow would collapse around me. I had to remove my pack, roll unto the snow to increase my surface area, and find a more densely packed patch of snow to stand on. Snow was covering my clothes, hands, and face. But my body heat was quickly melting the snow and causing steam to rise off my body. It was quite a sight.

After some more post-holing on snow and crossing patches of frozen ice, we reached the base of the cliffs where we would be climbing. There are several walls for climbing here, and we ended up on Chouinard Falls. The group leader and some other more experienced climbers set up a couple of routes, while the rest of us dug out some ledges on the side of the cliff to sit and store our gear.

It was a fun day with amazing weather, great views, and a great group of people.