Swimming Up Castle Ridge
Posted by Max Hunter on 20th November, 2016
Swim, Wade, Post-hole, Climb, Swim, Wade, Bum slide….
Well, today was about pushing through the deep, soft, unconsolidated snow to get some fun climbing. We did climb Castle Ridge, but it was a hard (even though it was short) walk in, a harder than usual climb (with all the clearing and unhelpful snow acting like a blanket, but not helping the axes), and a hard walk out – a fun day out.
The weather was amazing, and I could definitely get used to weather like this. There is plenty of snow, but it does need a good thaw and refreeze to help the climbing and ease the walking. Such are the joys of very early season climbing. There were other people on paths today, but I didn’t see anybody else climbing today.
It was good to get the first climb of the season done.
Lena wading up to Castle Ridge
Plenty of ice around
Belay 1
The Castle Ridge Tree
Lena – A happy climber
Catching the action – mid swing
Lena happy to be leading
Awkward
The steep crux
Mixed fun
Lena leading – near the top
At the top of Castle Ridge
Truly amazing views
We took some time to enjoy the views