brucefrombryce
04-17-2010, 03:38 AM
TR: Ice Cube, 4/14/2010
PHOTOS SHOULD YOU NOT CARE TO READ THIS TR: http://picasaweb.google.com/weabruce/ICECUBEApril142010#
Trip has been planned for over 1 month and I’m not the only one concerned about such a large group going into a canyon with an expected completion time of nearly 12 hours and with little room for error lest we end of doing the final rappel in the dark. But we were prepared with plenty of ropes: 2-200s; 2 -100s; 1 – 56; 2 – 80s, a lot of webbing and extra rapids. The group was generally young and eager with Parker organizing and the only one to have done the canyon before.
We entered RRNRA right at 6:00am and carpooled to the Ice Box parking area where we dropped the extra cars. Drove to the parking area for the sneak route into Ice Box/Cube and hoped for a 9:00am canyon drop-in. Started our first down climb at 8:30am and were ready to tackle whatever it had to offer. Snow covered the first rappel and water was evident in the narrows that followed so we suited up in a variety of setups. 7mm, 5mm, doubled 3/2mm (me). Looked like everyone would do fine but more later on that. We had one individual who had come from work and who had to be back at work at 9:00pm so he was motivated to assist in getting through quickly. 2nd rappel is a two stager but some didn’t know that so time was lost there. Bottlenecks started to occur as some at the front wanted to wait for Parker or myself to set up anchors. The upper narrows is the meat of this canyon, was very scenic, had good anchors and was full of cold, almost icy water. Just as advertised the potholes were slippery and some needed a partner assist to pull out the next canyoneer. This was turning into a real group effort with all contributing. I had moved to the back and was removing biner blocks and rappelling double with my totem. Great on 8mm but anything larger and it was tough to get the rope moving. Better to not stick a rope because we left a biner block on than my ability to smoothly rappel. A time consuming climb back up a rope could put us way behind the timeline. I came upon a scene that I thought was in the Sierras or Alps. People were standing on snow and ice and a rope had been set to a tree and brought back to a meat anchor so people could cross over an area where there normally was a rappel, but was now covered with snow. The going was slow until Parker set up a second meat anchor and soon we were all down with Parker being the designated down climber. He is about 6’3” tall and quickly dispatched all of those where it was impossible to leave a rope. In fact others were also inclined to dc where a choice was possible. It seemed like we were moving ok but one never knows.
We came to what I will now call ‘The Corkscrew’. A slide down to a narrow chute to an anchor above a pothole, which then needs to be climbed out of to continue another 2 stage rappel. Getting on rappel was tough with the webbing being too long which resulted in a few quick drops for individuals. A quick swing of the leg over the lip and you were soon at the bottom of this 80’ section. However, it was evident that two people were beginning to suffer from hypothermia (FF 2010). One said that he couldn’t go back into the water so I got him to start ingesting power food plus I loaned him my fleece that I was carrying (in case I needed it). Sun could be seen just around the corner but would prove to be almost 1 hour away. So it was move forward, rappel and move through the icy pools while keeping the fleece dry. We knew that the only place where you could escape the canyon up through Bridge Mt. was coming up so that also motivated this individual. Fingers were starting to not work for the 2nd person so I assisted in reattaching backpack straps after ensuring they had also gotten food and water into their body. My hands were also quite cold but my double 3/2mm was just perfect and kept me warm all day. I soon was near the rear and we entered the area where the canyon widened and the sun finally hit us. Bushwhacking through gamble oak and willow bushes plus the boulders made the going a bit rough. Water continued to flow so we were not going to have a problem in refilling water bottles with the cold water. I used iodine tablets plus Crystal Light to make some more drinkable water, however I soon realized that I had broken not one but both of my nalgene bottles. So much for that but Kelly P had an extra so I was good from that point on. The sun was nice but it started to drain the strength from our bodies so most of us stripped off the upper portion of our suits, except for the 7mm guys who became a bit toasty. Right after we passed the spot where I had an unexpected bivy last June we came to the first of the rappels over 100’. The entire group had waited here and partook of lunch before continuing on. It was nearly 2pm and we had done this in just under 6 ½ hours where it was published for about 7 hours (at the bottom of the rappel). So the group was moving very well.
We had a scare at the top of this rappel as an individual slipped while going over the edge and momentarily took his hand off the brake line. Fortunately, when he slipped both of his feet became very solid on the rock and a very bad accident was averted. It would not have been a pretty sight. We pounded forward through more rappels and down climbs and pushed the ropes to the front. Our man who had to be at work actively setup anchor after anchor and speed became all our middle names. Not in an unsafe manner but very efficiently. Bottom belays became the norm as everyone was experiencing a little bit of tiredness, so better safe than sorry. A rappel with a big under hang was followed by a 50 yard long section where you could swim or stem. Most chose the stemming to stay out of the water, though was necessary to do a short swim at the end. At this point Parker charged forward to help prepare the final anchor and get in position to provide a bottom belay.
3rd rappel from the end was under a huge stone the size of a huge living room into a pool of water with a 50’ swim. To be wet and cold while waiting for the final two rappels was not what anyone wanted but it was unavoidable.
2nd rappel from the end was difficult to get on rappel with at least one individual doing a nasty swing into the wall below the anchor. I had to attach a second 100 footer for the pull and was concerned about the knot getting wedged, so I stopped in mid-rappel and was able to get the knot over the edge, averting another possible rope climb. When I reached the staging area for the final rappel there were three people ahead of me but the rappels were moving quite efficiently. This start is difficult as it goes through a very tight spot where you need to have your brake hand stuck way behind your back otherwise you will get the hand stuck between the body and the wall. Mark asked if I wanted to go ahead or be last and I unwisely chose to be the cleanup hitter, again!
Off he went and I started setting up the ropes. Tied the ropes together with a double EDK and looked over the edge where it seemed like there was little chance of the rope getting stuck. Yee Ha. I thought about doing a single line rappel against the EDKs but my confidence was not the greatest at this point due to my being tired and a little bit cold, so chose to go double. Big mistake as I could not get any momentum going plus my backpack got stuck not once but three times in those narrow confines (I had a 100’ 10mm rope packed into my pack, adding that additional weight). As I tugged on my pack it slowly released but instead of dropping to my left in came down on top of my head, dropped to the right and effectively put a stop to any downward movement as the pull cord was firmly planted on top of the ropes at the top of my Totem. I had to remove the biner attached to my harness with the cord to my pack and then dropped the pack onto the ledge below which was very flat and the pack firmly found a place to sit. After the loud crash of the pack I yelled to those below that I was ok. I finally got to the ledge and reattached my pack only to go through an almost exact replication of my previous experience, without the auto brake by the pull cord. It was at this time that I yelled for a very firm bottom belay and was lowered down to a second ledge whereupon I was able to take a break to catch my wind and calm myself. As I was coming over the edge Parker yelled up to me that it was very slippery the last 100’ so I chose to rappel on my butt. My forearms were screaming with soreness as I told myself I was almost at the bottom. But of course I always seem to get into predicaments where I have to expend an enormous amount of energy for a simple task. Well 30’ from the bottom, the waterfall (did I mention that this was all going on with water falling over the top of me?) diverted to the left and the rappel continued to the right. Well my pack went left I went right and now came a herculean struggle to lift that pack 5’ up and over the fluted wall. With much expense of what little strength I had left I finally got it over and finished the rappel (slide) where I collapsed exhausted ( I bet this took between 30 and 40 minutes). Thank you Mark for the magnificent belay!! Now all was left was to get the ropes pulled, Parker did the first 200’ by himself and it took the three of us to get the second unstuck.
With the ropes packed we accomplished a somewhat difficult down climb to the stream course and our expected 1 hour of boulder hopping back to the car. I think it was the first big set of house-sized boulders that Mark asked for a top lower to get to the bottom of the rocks. Once on bottom he found that there was NO EXIT. So Parker scrambled down with a rope and Mark executed a climb with Parker lifting to exit this keeper bunch of rocks. Pine Creek in Zion is a minor problem compared to the end of Ice Cube but we soon found that by staying right at almost every fork on the trail we avoided the deep drops into the unknown. Did I say that it was now pitch black with only the glow from the lights on the Las Vegas Strip providing any indication of humans in the area. The road within the RR NRA was now closed so no cars were providing any assurance that we were not alone. After reaching the trail that goes into Ice Box Canyon, Parker ran ahead so he could go and pickup his truck which was up on the Rocky Gap road. Finally we reached my car at 9:35, almost exactly 11 hours from our beginning. My car was quite toasty as those who had been the coldest had taken refuge and had the heat going for over 2 hours. Had I not had my almost epic (ok it was an epic final rappel) I think our group of 9 people would have completed the canyon by 8:30 and around 10 hours. Which considering the number of rappels (20-22), the bout with the hypothermia and administering to that individual, the somewhat lazy getting suited up at the top and the frequent bottlenecks in the upper section, we did remarkably quite well. And Jace made it to work on time!
Parker’s knowledge of the canyon and his instant recognition of what to do to overcome some anchor problems, contributed greatly to the group efficiency. Everyone was positive and upbeat the entire day, contributing where they could. This is a 4BIV rated canyon and it lived up to its reputation. But good prior planning allowed us to meet the challenge and make it through safely. As of this moment, Ice Cube is my favorite canyon, which I want to return to at the first possible moment to rectify my problems made at that last rappel.
Photos can be found at: http://picasaweb.google.com/weabruce/ICECUBEApril142010#
PHOTOS SHOULD YOU NOT CARE TO READ THIS TR: http://picasaweb.google.com/weabruce/ICECUBEApril142010#
Trip has been planned for over 1 month and I’m not the only one concerned about such a large group going into a canyon with an expected completion time of nearly 12 hours and with little room for error lest we end of doing the final rappel in the dark. But we were prepared with plenty of ropes: 2-200s; 2 -100s; 1 – 56; 2 – 80s, a lot of webbing and extra rapids. The group was generally young and eager with Parker organizing and the only one to have done the canyon before.
We entered RRNRA right at 6:00am and carpooled to the Ice Box parking area where we dropped the extra cars. Drove to the parking area for the sneak route into Ice Box/Cube and hoped for a 9:00am canyon drop-in. Started our first down climb at 8:30am and were ready to tackle whatever it had to offer. Snow covered the first rappel and water was evident in the narrows that followed so we suited up in a variety of setups. 7mm, 5mm, doubled 3/2mm (me). Looked like everyone would do fine but more later on that. We had one individual who had come from work and who had to be back at work at 9:00pm so he was motivated to assist in getting through quickly. 2nd rappel is a two stager but some didn’t know that so time was lost there. Bottlenecks started to occur as some at the front wanted to wait for Parker or myself to set up anchors. The upper narrows is the meat of this canyon, was very scenic, had good anchors and was full of cold, almost icy water. Just as advertised the potholes were slippery and some needed a partner assist to pull out the next canyoneer. This was turning into a real group effort with all contributing. I had moved to the back and was removing biner blocks and rappelling double with my totem. Great on 8mm but anything larger and it was tough to get the rope moving. Better to not stick a rope because we left a biner block on than my ability to smoothly rappel. A time consuming climb back up a rope could put us way behind the timeline. I came upon a scene that I thought was in the Sierras or Alps. People were standing on snow and ice and a rope had been set to a tree and brought back to a meat anchor so people could cross over an area where there normally was a rappel, but was now covered with snow. The going was slow until Parker set up a second meat anchor and soon we were all down with Parker being the designated down climber. He is about 6’3” tall and quickly dispatched all of those where it was impossible to leave a rope. In fact others were also inclined to dc where a choice was possible. It seemed like we were moving ok but one never knows.
We came to what I will now call ‘The Corkscrew’. A slide down to a narrow chute to an anchor above a pothole, which then needs to be climbed out of to continue another 2 stage rappel. Getting on rappel was tough with the webbing being too long which resulted in a few quick drops for individuals. A quick swing of the leg over the lip and you were soon at the bottom of this 80’ section. However, it was evident that two people were beginning to suffer from hypothermia (FF 2010). One said that he couldn’t go back into the water so I got him to start ingesting power food plus I loaned him my fleece that I was carrying (in case I needed it). Sun could be seen just around the corner but would prove to be almost 1 hour away. So it was move forward, rappel and move through the icy pools while keeping the fleece dry. We knew that the only place where you could escape the canyon up through Bridge Mt. was coming up so that also motivated this individual. Fingers were starting to not work for the 2nd person so I assisted in reattaching backpack straps after ensuring they had also gotten food and water into their body. My hands were also quite cold but my double 3/2mm was just perfect and kept me warm all day. I soon was near the rear and we entered the area where the canyon widened and the sun finally hit us. Bushwhacking through gamble oak and willow bushes plus the boulders made the going a bit rough. Water continued to flow so we were not going to have a problem in refilling water bottles with the cold water. I used iodine tablets plus Crystal Light to make some more drinkable water, however I soon realized that I had broken not one but both of my nalgene bottles. So much for that but Kelly P had an extra so I was good from that point on. The sun was nice but it started to drain the strength from our bodies so most of us stripped off the upper portion of our suits, except for the 7mm guys who became a bit toasty. Right after we passed the spot where I had an unexpected bivy last June we came to the first of the rappels over 100’. The entire group had waited here and partook of lunch before continuing on. It was nearly 2pm and we had done this in just under 6 ½ hours where it was published for about 7 hours (at the bottom of the rappel). So the group was moving very well.
We had a scare at the top of this rappel as an individual slipped while going over the edge and momentarily took his hand off the brake line. Fortunately, when he slipped both of his feet became very solid on the rock and a very bad accident was averted. It would not have been a pretty sight. We pounded forward through more rappels and down climbs and pushed the ropes to the front. Our man who had to be at work actively setup anchor after anchor and speed became all our middle names. Not in an unsafe manner but very efficiently. Bottom belays became the norm as everyone was experiencing a little bit of tiredness, so better safe than sorry. A rappel with a big under hang was followed by a 50 yard long section where you could swim or stem. Most chose the stemming to stay out of the water, though was necessary to do a short swim at the end. At this point Parker charged forward to help prepare the final anchor and get in position to provide a bottom belay.
3rd rappel from the end was under a huge stone the size of a huge living room into a pool of water with a 50’ swim. To be wet and cold while waiting for the final two rappels was not what anyone wanted but it was unavoidable.
2nd rappel from the end was difficult to get on rappel with at least one individual doing a nasty swing into the wall below the anchor. I had to attach a second 100 footer for the pull and was concerned about the knot getting wedged, so I stopped in mid-rappel and was able to get the knot over the edge, averting another possible rope climb. When I reached the staging area for the final rappel there were three people ahead of me but the rappels were moving quite efficiently. This start is difficult as it goes through a very tight spot where you need to have your brake hand stuck way behind your back otherwise you will get the hand stuck between the body and the wall. Mark asked if I wanted to go ahead or be last and I unwisely chose to be the cleanup hitter, again!
Off he went and I started setting up the ropes. Tied the ropes together with a double EDK and looked over the edge where it seemed like there was little chance of the rope getting stuck. Yee Ha. I thought about doing a single line rappel against the EDKs but my confidence was not the greatest at this point due to my being tired and a little bit cold, so chose to go double. Big mistake as I could not get any momentum going plus my backpack got stuck not once but three times in those narrow confines (I had a 100’ 10mm rope packed into my pack, adding that additional weight). As I tugged on my pack it slowly released but instead of dropping to my left in came down on top of my head, dropped to the right and effectively put a stop to any downward movement as the pull cord was firmly planted on top of the ropes at the top of my Totem. I had to remove the biner attached to my harness with the cord to my pack and then dropped the pack onto the ledge below which was very flat and the pack firmly found a place to sit. After the loud crash of the pack I yelled to those below that I was ok. I finally got to the ledge and reattached my pack only to go through an almost exact replication of my previous experience, without the auto brake by the pull cord. It was at this time that I yelled for a very firm bottom belay and was lowered down to a second ledge whereupon I was able to take a break to catch my wind and calm myself. As I was coming over the edge Parker yelled up to me that it was very slippery the last 100’ so I chose to rappel on my butt. My forearms were screaming with soreness as I told myself I was almost at the bottom. But of course I always seem to get into predicaments where I have to expend an enormous amount of energy for a simple task. Well 30’ from the bottom, the waterfall (did I mention that this was all going on with water falling over the top of me?) diverted to the left and the rappel continued to the right. Well my pack went left I went right and now came a herculean struggle to lift that pack 5’ up and over the fluted wall. With much expense of what little strength I had left I finally got it over and finished the rappel (slide) where I collapsed exhausted ( I bet this took between 30 and 40 minutes). Thank you Mark for the magnificent belay!! Now all was left was to get the ropes pulled, Parker did the first 200’ by himself and it took the three of us to get the second unstuck.
With the ropes packed we accomplished a somewhat difficult down climb to the stream course and our expected 1 hour of boulder hopping back to the car. I think it was the first big set of house-sized boulders that Mark asked for a top lower to get to the bottom of the rocks. Once on bottom he found that there was NO EXIT. So Parker scrambled down with a rope and Mark executed a climb with Parker lifting to exit this keeper bunch of rocks. Pine Creek in Zion is a minor problem compared to the end of Ice Cube but we soon found that by staying right at almost every fork on the trail we avoided the deep drops into the unknown. Did I say that it was now pitch black with only the glow from the lights on the Las Vegas Strip providing any indication of humans in the area. The road within the RR NRA was now closed so no cars were providing any assurance that we were not alone. After reaching the trail that goes into Ice Box Canyon, Parker ran ahead so he could go and pickup his truck which was up on the Rocky Gap road. Finally we reached my car at 9:35, almost exactly 11 hours from our beginning. My car was quite toasty as those who had been the coldest had taken refuge and had the heat going for over 2 hours. Had I not had my almost epic (ok it was an epic final rappel) I think our group of 9 people would have completed the canyon by 8:30 and around 10 hours. Which considering the number of rappels (20-22), the bout with the hypothermia and administering to that individual, the somewhat lazy getting suited up at the top and the frequent bottlenecks in the upper section, we did remarkably quite well. And Jace made it to work on time!
Parker’s knowledge of the canyon and his instant recognition of what to do to overcome some anchor problems, contributed greatly to the group efficiency. Everyone was positive and upbeat the entire day, contributing where they could. This is a 4BIV rated canyon and it lived up to its reputation. But good prior planning allowed us to meet the challenge and make it through safely. As of this moment, Ice Cube is my favorite canyon, which I want to return to at the first possible moment to rectify my problems made at that last rappel.
Photos can be found at: http://picasaweb.google.com/weabruce/ICECUBEApril142010#