Issue link: https://bluemagazine.uberflip.com/i/25065
THE ICEMAN CALLS ARE A FEW LOCATIONS IN THE US WHERE YOU CAN INSTRUCTION OR SATISFY YOUR ADDICTION TO FROZEN WATERFALL ICE AND MIXED CLIMBS. PENN NEWHARD W;U4l@l\j�00'ii' \WIMIHWINJ®ii@1NJ '\4t%Il,Il,� INJ�W 1Hlt%1MI1P'�1Hl�1R1� is England's Mecca for ice climbing. Just two hours north of this area is home to Tuckerman's and Huntington Frankenstein Cliff at Crawford Notch and Cathedral in North Conway. A couple of hours further you'll find Lake "lIb)uglhby. Vermont and Cannon where all levels of ice climbing from classic multi-pitch alpine to steep mixed test pieces. information on ice conditions and instruction. check out the schools at International Mountain Equipment (603-356- ,,�r.,Ot31. Eastern Mountain Sports (603-356-5433) or American .... ')'�Mount:aln Guides Association (AMGA)(303-271 -0984). OOIl,@�ID)@ sports the nation's first Ice Park. Located southwestern comer of the state. Ouray is near the world ski resort of Telluride. which also has more than its fair of steep ice. Ouray's community welcomes ice climbers. L!(i Colntact the Victorian Inn (SOO-84-0URAY) for lodging and tVlnfcllrniati�ln or San Juan Mountain Guides (970-325-4925) for 1II'",lIUI""IlIn. Ouray is also renowned for its hot springs so bring a ,',i,J:ba'lhlrlo suit, and avalanche debris lay at the base of slopes. At one point, Bruno and Laurence were actually caught in a small avalanche, resulting in a lost ski and some wet underpants. But miraculously, another slide swept down the mountain, purging the ice wall and uncovering the missing ski at the base of the bergschrund (the edge of the glacial ice) . Fourteen days into the expedition-summit day-the exhausted couple slept through their 5:30AM alarm. But they awoke to clear skies and hurried to get a start on the day. Before leaving, they heated their frozen boots with the gas stove and gave their icy feet a massage. From the start the climb was "steep and fantastic," describes Bruno. It began with a lengthy blue ice pitch, which later turned to hoarfrost, the unstable, granular snow that gives Cerro Torre's summit a mushroom-like form. Bruno began up the couloir, knocking off loose ice chunks, with Laurence graciously powering herself up the 75-85 degree pitch as she "cleaned" the gear left by Bruno during his lead. When Bruno began a long traverse across the delicate hoarfrost, his ice screws suddenly ripped out and sent him dangling 50 feet in the void. Seconds later, shaken but not hurt, he was laughing with Laurence about the incident .. Prior to arrving at the summit, Bruno cautiously placed six ice screws to protect the route before scaling a final, frightening l80-foot, gO-degree ice pitch. "The climb to hell!" he later described, thinking about his frozen girlfriend waiting below. Laurence, clutching her ice axes, efficiently front-pointed her way up the technical pitch, joining Bruno near the summit. At 7PM Laurence and Bruno summited Cerro Torre and Laurence became the first French woman ever to summit the peak. Ten rappels and three-and-one half hours later they arrived back at base camp, shivering and exhausted. Contrary to popular opinion, the time spent at the summit is rarely some enlightening experience, Rather, it is a brief moment of reflection prior to the descent. The descent, especially in remote wilderness areas such as Patagonia's Fitz Roy, requires the same intense concentration as the ascent since any lapse can result in plunging hundreds of feet into the myriad crevasses hiding below. It is often only after climbers return to base camp that they can joke and drop an ice axe or screw on the level ground since it will not jeopardize their lives. At this point the accomplishment of the climb begins to sink in. In the time-sensitive game of vertical ice ballet, reaching the summit is not the only focus for Laurence and Bruno. The challenge of the route, the quality of the ice and the remoteness of the journey takes them around the world in search of the physical and mental rewards of mountaineering. During their 53- day voyage, this courageous couple endured the hardships and frustrations of ruthless storms, avalanches and violent winds, binding them as the closest possible team in this uninhabited land. Laurence and Bruno left Patagonia feeling fortur,ate tp have explored such a prlStl[1e are� and �skin� themselves, are we commg oaCK?' • 57 Wnen