Well it was that time of year for the early season ice climbing in Nabesna, so my girlfriend Alexia and our friends Mark and Shannon headed to Sportsmans Paradise Lodge from November 10-13.
Friday morning we all headed out to the mountain behind Jack Creek with Spring Fling on the mind. We had a relaxing day and ended up climbing the first two pitches before heading back to the cabin for food and beer.
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| Lexi pulling the bulge on pitch 1 |
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| Spring Fling |
Saturday we took a hike up the Jack Creek drainage with Wing and a Prayer on the mind. It felt a bit stiff for our "early season" arms and the ice was a bit of a challenge to protect so we stopped after the first pillar. Cool looking pillar though!
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| First pillar on Wing and a Prayer |
With the girls feeling a bit tired and having limited time before the long drive back to Anchorage Mark and I decided to head up to do Spring Fling. We traveled light and topped out at about 1:30 after battling some horrible spindrift with a few small avalanches thrown in for variety. After some adventurous scree scrambling we found our way off the mountain and were soon back at the cabin and heading back to town.
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| Mark leading out at first light |
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| Spindrift=1 John=0 |
