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Monday, November 13, 2006

Yummm.... Spindrift!

Greg Sievers ducks for cover on Sunday as he starts the crux fourth pitch of Pipe Organ (far-right variation), Glacier Gorge, Rocky Mountain National Park. Pipe Organ is the route to the right of the popular All Mixed Up (on the left of the picture, with climbers on it). We climbed two pitches to a ledge system, did a fairly sketchy full-rope traverse to the right, and then climbed a dihedral with very thin ice to reach thicker ice and exit through a short rock band.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Where is the Pipe Organ? I don't recall anything named that in the park. Shots like this are what got me into ice/mountain climbing. Looks like some good punishment!

Anonymous said...

Reminds me of the classic Chouinard poster of the Scottish gulley. Brrrrr.

Greg said...

ditto Ryan. thats what I said to Dougald. i love that old Chouinard poster shot - wasnt that Chuck Comstock or Chris Jones or one of those era hero's?
this line is about 100' right of Pipe Organ. check out Eli's photo on Mtn. Project site, under AMU. cheers. Greg

Dougald MacDonald said...

More like 40 feet right of Pipe Organ then 100 feet, but it's a really good variation that's probably "in" much more often than the main flow. You can't see the ice on the variation, in a left-facing corner, until you're right at the base of All Mixed Up or partway up it. Heroic lead by Mr. Sievers.