The ice climbing season in Hyalite Canyon of Montana starts early. December 1st our ice season is in full swing and visitors can merit long distance travel to find most climbs in great shape. With direct flights to Bozeman from fifteen major US airports, and a 15-minute drive to town, it’s gaining in popularity; not only for the reliable ice climbing, but for the ease of travel logistics. Adding to Hyalite Canyons early season popularity is the annual Bozeman Ice Festival (BIF).

All combined this creates a bit of a frenzy for many of us at Montana Alpine Guides (MAG) as we juggle guiding, personal climbing, family, and the busy buzz of the annual BIF. This year was no exception and it was a bit of a sprint to establish new climbs prior to their disappearance and in between work stents. Though the classic climbs are typically in for the season (December 1st-April 1st) many of the new routes in Hyalite are a bit more rare and fleeting.

My ice climbing season started out with an ascent of the rare-forming Narcolepsy with a posse of 4 friends on a blustery winter day. It became apparent this was yet another great year in the canyon. Later that week an eager young climber Matias invited me along to help drill bolts on a line he spied. With just 4 bolts we established “Burning Spear” (M7, WI5, 60m) which will hopefully get repeated before it disappears. A week later up at “The Cleo’s Wall” I noticed a rare series of double drips and more ice above. I returned to establish the first two pitches with fellow MAG guide Kyle, cached gear, and returned to complete the first ascent of “La Iliana” (M7, WI5+) with my good friend Drew. This line has three 45m pitches with 3 distinct styles and it became (according to others) an “instant classic” and was repeated at least 5-6 times during the BIF week. The first pitch is mellower mixed on gear and thin ice, pitch 2 climbs steep cobbles through two overhangs past two body sized daggers into a run-out sn’ice groove with rock threads and a slung cobble. The last pitch is WI4-.

The same day we finished La Iliana we established “The Labyrinth” (WI5+, 3-pitches) with just one bolt for the top anchor. It entails somewhat spicy ice/mixed climbing off the ground to gain a thin curtain of ice. A long traverse is protected naturally with sneaky threads in the stone and a specter. The upper pitch is a spectacular 45m pitch of WI 5+ but the last 10m is snow.

That next day The Bozeman Ice Festival kicked off with events in town. We offer some private guiding with Montana Alpine Guides, but we mostly let the event play through on this busy weekend. As per usual I teach a clinic for Scarpa each year at BIF. This year my brother and I had a solid and psyched group of climbers in our/Scarpa’s Intermediate/Advanced Ice Course. The clinics are what I like most about BIF. The participants are eager to climb and have a contagious enthusiasm. Additionally it’s about connecting with old friends I otherwise don’t get to see other than at these events. As we taught our clinic, other local climbers were drilling a new mixed line next to visiting athletes projecting some of the harder local mixed lines. All in all the BIF buzz was alive and well at the Unnamed Wall.

That evening back at the Emerson Cultural Center, Evan from Scarpa and I decided to get out the next day. Thankfully he was keen on venturing into some new terrain. We added 2 bolts to create “Chutes & Ladders” (M6, WI5/5+, 3-4 pitches). Daddy duty required a late start but we still managed to finish up a nice new line that connects 3 different pieces of ice and still return to the trailhead before dark.

The last day of BIF fellow MAG guide Sam and I rallied back up to the same area to free the direct line I bolted the day prior. We then continued up to the top of Cleopatra’s Gargoyle. This made for a rather unique day with 2 pitches of mixed climbing to thin ice, to a final bolted rock climb with a small summit. It was a great way to end the busy BIF week.

The canyon quiets down a bit after BIF but the guiding with MAG is just picking up and it remains busy up through April. Needing a little break from Hyalite it felt good to venture into the depths of Yellowstone NP in search of other ice and mixed lines. With some great friends we ended up establishing 3 new routes and free climbing a few lingering projects over the course of 5 days. The new lines were “Deja Vu” 2-pitch M5, WI5+/6, “Sleep Deprivation” 2-pitch M7, WI5+, & “Counting Sheep” WI5+.

It was quite the whirlwind of a three weeks but time well spent, now alas the early season push has subsided and the monkey on my back has relaxed a bit. With warming temps and sunshine some of these lines will transform from ice back to water. The mad dash is worth the effort and is part of the lure of ice climbing. Strike while the ice is bonded. One week it’s perfect then the next its not climbable.