Great White Icicle

[J Slate]

This is typically an ice climbing route in the winter, but in the summer it makes an awesome 3 c II. The longest rap is 165 feet and the rest of them aren‘t much shorter than that. We used a 300 footer and a 50 foot pull cord and it worked fantastic. If you want to try out two 200 foot ropes it could also be good cuz the first and last raps are only 50 feet. We used beta from http://www.climb-utah.com/WM/icicle.htm but the only thing that was good for was waypoints and rap lengths :angryfire: (which is why this will be a TR mixed with more beta). We basically found our own way up there by plugging in the fancy numbers and seeing which general direction we should go until it looks like their is a trail going up. From the Y junction at the base of Little Cottonwood Canyon (In Lehi, Salt Lake County Utah) drive 1.9 miles and you’ll see an old building on your right (south) with a dam right by it, or something like that (N40

[Slot Machine]

Holy crap! That sounds like a lot of work, but a good adventure. Thanks for sharing your experience! :2thumbs:

Here is the easy way, for next time;

All rappels are down the east side of the falls (RDC):

R1: 50 feet (from a small tree down to the falls, possible downclimb, could fall and die, so just rappel)
R2: 140 feet (start of the falls)
R3: 200 feet (semi-hanging station, chains)
R4: 200 feet (currently red webbing)
R5: 100 feet (from the nose of a boulder, chains)

Bob

[J Slate]

Gracias! We might go back saturday morning, and if we do we can try it that way. Is it easy to spot these raps and where they start and end? I don't wanna have another experience of coming short or running out of rope.

Also there is an update... my friend in the blue shirt hurt his shoulder in a water skiing trip in the same exact place he tore in back in the winter time when we did an ice climb. He felt fine that day and there was no pain and he managed to get through this trip (and also chamber of the basilisk the next day, i made a separate TR for that). We never let him go first down any rappel and super belayed him, after these trips we found out his shoulder was dislocated and cartilage was missing and the bone was messed up. Lucky that nothing bad happened

[Slot Machine]

Gracias! We might go back saturday morning, and if we do we can try it that way. Is it easy to spot these raps and where they start and end? I don't wanna have another experience of coming short or running out of rope.

De nada! It's super easy. To be clear(er):

Rap #1 is a on the RDC side (east side) of the falls, up in the woods a tiny bit.

Rap #2 is on the edge of the falls proper. Rap down to the semi-hanging station, there is barely room for 3 people, so sequence wisely.

Rap #3 is a true 200 feet down to the huge platform. Be certain that your rope is long enough.

After rap #4, downclimb as far as you can, passing a set of chains. I've used those, they suck. Further down, on the nose of the largest boulder, there is another set of chains. That is rap #5.

[Sandstone Addiction]

From your pics, it looks like you stumbled on some Western Thimbleberry bushes, which look a lot better than they taste. IMHO of course. Wild Raspberries look almost identical to the garden varieties and are exceptional when ripe.

Your other pic looks like ordinary Boxelder Tree shoots or suckers.

The only Poison Ivy that I know of is in a relatively few riparian areas in the desert of Southern Utah. If if does exist in Northern Utah, I've never seen it.

Nice pics, BTW :2thumbs:

[J Slate]

Thats a big relief since a whole bush of that stuff ended up in my face and all into my rope bag. Last time I got poison ivy was back in Death Hollow where I had the worst experience with it covering my whole body. I was not excited to get that again.

[MiCamp]

Awesome TR, sounds like you had a whole lot of logistics to work out!! I was lucky enough to be guided down the falls by Bob, the Slot Machine and his Beta is golden:hail2thechief:. It's really seems the best way.

As far as poison ivy, Sandstone Addiction is right; what's in your pics ain't it. But still keep an eye out, I have to say that I've seen it plenty of times in Northern Utah- but it likes sunny, hot and wet (who doesn't:naughty:), so you're unlikely to find it on the shaded north slope of a canyon.

[Sandstone Addiction]

I have to say that I've seen it plenty of times in Northern Utah

Thanks @MiCamp (http://www.bogley.com/forum/member.php?u=24411) , you are correct--"found throughout the west"...I guess I need to get out more :haha:


@J Slate (http://www.bogley.com/forum/member.php?u=23163) --just remember from Scouts--"Leaflets three, leave it be."

[Bclark29]

Did you notice all the black hoses going into the creek on the hike up? Maybe someone is growing something up there. Haha. Yes, you can eat the berries.

[jman]

Did you notice all the black hoses going into the creek on the hike up? Maybe someone is growing something up there. Haha. Yes, you can eat the berries.

My group and I brought down well over 200ft of piping and tubing on a recent trip. But it sounds like it gets replaced fairly often.

[Brian in SLC]

My group and I brought down well over 200ft of piping and tubing on a recent trip. But it sounds like it gets replaced fairly often.

I'm not sure it does. Appreciate you hauling it down!

Talked to a friend who climbed UP the GWI a couple weeks ago. Sounded frightening. Really.

[Slot Machine]

My group and I brought down well over 200ft of piping and tubing on a recent trip. But it sounds like it gets replaced fairly often.

Do you happen to know who places all that stuff on the approach, and why? :hmm2:


Talked to a friend who climbed UP the GWI a couple weeks ago. Sounded frightening. Really.

Holy crap! The very top is covered with slick moss. How did he do it? Tell more of the tale, please...

[Bclark29]

Do you happen to know who places all that stuff on the approach, and why? :hmm2:





Holy crap! The very top is covered with slick moss. How did he do it? Tell more of the tale, please...


My guess is their mary jane crop needed watering. :lol8:

[Slot Machine]

My guess is their mary jane crop needed watering. :lol8:

Growing leafy greens in Little Cottonwood would be like hiding your Ding-Dong stash at a fat camp.

:hippy:

[Brian in SLC]

Do you happen to know who places all that stuff on the approach, and why?

Well...I guess its the kinda thing that should be on the down low, especially on public land. Its for "farming", and, the crop is ice. During the main ice season, the finish of the route funnels down to a pretty tight section of ice. Its also really near where the main flow of water goes, so, it can be a bit sketchy if the temp's are warm, the traffic is high, etc. So, I think the thought is, if some of the water flow can be diverted a bit to the side, then, the top is wider and more folks can climb side by each. I'm not a fan of it especially on public land as the FS is super sensitive about water flow. So, we try to work with the folks who do it to let them understand it ain't a good thing. I get why, but, the risk to the community to lose the GWI as a venue would be bad bad bad.

Anyhoo, thanks for taking it down. Guess we need to have a bit more of a chat with folks about that stuff.


Holy crap! The very top is covered with slick moss. How did he do it? Tell more of the tale, please...

Ice tools and pitons for pro. Note that this was done by a VERY talented feller who has a HUGE appetite for risk. If he said it was scary, then...kinda takes it off the table for the rest of us.

[Barnes]

Hey, I actually descended the day after you Aug 3. It was a nice change of scenery compared to the Zion canyons I'm used to. We took 5 guys and had a blast. We ended up using 3 ropes at one point with 2 guys rapping from different anchors at once in order to avoid too many people on that small stance. 2 rappel ropes and a pull cord. We were a bit confused on all the lengths and anchor points of each rap but we figured it out as we went. I used climb-utah's route description and it didn't seem to match up. I think people have changed and added anchors over the years. We ended up using the top anchor on the second to last rap, making it just shy of 200 ft. It looked to us like the more enjoyable route. Either way it was a fun one. Is there another anchor point for the last one? We went off of what looked like brand new chains on a huge boulder. It was 100 ft from anchor to the floor. Just curious on if there was one below that we didn't see. Either way I do highly recommend doing this trip. Just be prepared to choose a different anchor point towards the bottom: just make sure you have enough for a 200 footer if you choose top anchor on that second to last one and a 100 footer on the last one. Good times!