Scouting ice in the Southeast is a lengthy process. Many days are spent bushwhacking and “taking the tools for a walk”. With patience and a keen eye on weather patterns, the mystery of whether or not it will be leadable or climbable ice unfolds into a sometimes solvable puzzle. On this particular climb, we collectively backed off of climbing the flow on two separate occasions, despite an hour plus tough hike to find it. On the second day of scoping it out, it was close to being climbable but before the cold spell there was a week-long drought, causing thin brittle ice. We surmised that heavy rains, followed by a cold snap may bring it to the ground in fine shape. Turns out, the scouting and guess work paid off!

Scouting mission 1 in 2015.

Scouting mission 2 on Jan. 1, 2018; not quite thick enough.

Scouting mission 3 in 2018- It’s in!

Heath taking the lead