Sometimes you go chase waterfalls and you just get skunked. Sometimes the journey looking for that frozen waterfall is terrifying enough and the crux comes long before reaching the climb.
In February this year, the crew (Andy, Clayton, and I), attempted to walk into the heart of Glacier National Park to get on some waterfalls that we suspected might just freeze into ice climbs. No strangers to walking a long way in the winter for possibly little reward, we all set out for our expected 18 mile walk back to basecamp where we could evaluate conditions and decide on specific objectives. From the get go, things were rough. Although the area was having a banner snow year, there was a very distinct snow line due to a warm spell that had occured a few weeks prior to our arrival. Goinng from 4000ft to 6000ft the snow base went from ~1 inch to ~130+inches, and unfortunately, we were hovering at or below that 4000ft mark.
My pile of gear, all packed and ready for a nice long walk.
Finishing touches on packing before setting off.
Snow travel can be pretty easy given the right conditions, and one person can easily haul hundereds of pounds of gear. When the snow is a mere light dusting, the benefits of snow travel all but dissappear. Our expected plan was to walk ~6 miles in to a very long lake, walk ~7 miles accross a hopefully very frozen lake, then walk 2-5 miles into the heart of Glacier National Park to set up basecamp and ski/climb some amazing terrain. The reality was no where near this.
Looking towards the seemingly endless expanse of Bowman lake. This seems to be where 100% of other people turn around.
Awkward sled hauling selfie on the walk in.
On the walk in, we made it to the lake in a bit more than an afternoon and set out on the ice. About halfway through the lake walk (who knew walking so far on a perfectly flat, white surface in a snowstorm could be so boring??) we set up camp on the lake ice because land was steply sloped and hardly even dusted with snow.
"Ice camp", complete with a tent anchored by ice screws and good views to boot!
Eventually, after more lake walking, we made it to a campsite at the end of the lake with some amazing views but still far from our official objective. Due to slower travel, we decided to set up camp here and scope the path forward. One unique gem of this site was that the entire ground surface of the campsite was covered in ~2inches of perfectly clear ice! That made initial camping exploration interesting. I decided to run ahead with the remaining few hours of light to see what the trail into our prospective, or rather hopeful basecamp, would look like.
Immediately i was hindered by deadfall. It started slow, a few down trees accross the trail in the first mile (each tree would significantly slow process while hauling a sled). In mile 2 from the lake, deadfall significantly picked up and travel was slow. In mile 3, it seemed as if the entire forest fell over! in some cases i was ~30 feet off the ground walking on stacked trees trying to find a path. With fading light and radio communication to clayton and andy becoming difficutl, i decided to turn back. Our goal for this trip would be impossible given the current conditions. Had there been ~3ft of snow on the ground down low, maybe we would have made it. With such a meager snowpack on the trail, however, i concluded that the mountains did not want us to pass and we would have to re-evaluate our trip. I turned back with my tail between my legs, glad for the opportunity to explore and witness amazing terrain but humbled by the mountains.
In our new basecamp "neighborhood" right across the way, we had spied what looked to be a ~60-80ft WI3-4 with a possible second pitch and 1st pitch variation available. We decided to check that out instead of trying to push on given the news about the trail conditions i had delivered. Strapping in, we quickly crossed the lake and started up. I am no stranger to bushwhacking, however this was a very particular circle of bushwhacking hell. It wasnt the 'shwacking that was so bad necessarily, but the thousands and millions of down trees lightly covered in snow. It was near impossible to know what was ground, and almost every step up involved stepping over 1+++ dead trees. After 3 hours of slogging uphill (not that much vertical, might i add) and the invention of a new climbing grading system - the T or tree bouldering system - we made the tough call to turn around and go back. We were still seemingly hours from our objective and would not have the time required that day to easily complete the climb and get back to camp.
A nicer section of forest to walk through.
Back at camp, Andy decided to go verify my initial trail findings, looking for a way to get into the apline to at least summit a subpeak and get in some turns on the skiis. His efforts were not rewarded. Instead, feeling extremely disheartened and shut down, i broke out the whiskey and sat down to at least take in the amazing view. Not one for idle moments, i instead started to clear off the lake and check out the lake ice, to satify my curiosity. Pretty soon, clayton and i had ourselves a curling rink! Turns out, extreme backcountry curling is a decent way to pass an afternoon! With the return of Andy and an utter lack of good news, the group made the decision to try and pack out and get back to the cars, cutting our trip 4 days short to try and salvage our time off with some better prospects elsewhere.
Curling on the far end of Bowman Lake
On the walk out, Andy and i gave an ice FA one last go. On the way in we had seen several flows on either side of the lake. One particular flow was right in the middle of a frequent avalanche path, which had at least cleared out the downed forrest. We had a good feeling about the relatively stable snow conditions and made a quick run up to the ice. I managed to get an FA (possibly?) on the center flow, a ~60ft stepped WI3 that was quickly turning into a slushy. We endearingly named the area Last Resort, and the route, well we had a few names for it but i think we settled on "at least its something", or was it "#notworthit"?
The "ice"
Clayton opted to continue the trek out while we climbed, and we were greeted to a trail of leaking gear and parts that were slowly coming out of his sled. Sometime around 8pm in the dark and crisp montana winter night, we returned to the cars and passed out, ending the first of likely several trips into the area.
Sunset view from the Bowman lake camp
I greatly look forward to returning to glacier for some heavily socially isolated recreation. I hope that Lindsay and I can make it up at some point this summer/fall for some running and packrafting adventures and to explore other possible methods into the core of the range for some other waterfalls that we suspect could be good winter fun!
