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adam3
Nov 24, 2007, 6:36 PM
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Anyone ever sprayed water onto a route to make some good ice climbing/mixed? Buddy and I want to get a powerful pump and blast the side of a cliff next to a river with water this winter.. Anyone tried this?? and advice?? anything??
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skiclimb
Nov 24, 2007, 6:53 PM
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Lots of us have. Works great but do it on a chosspile not where there are established routes. It can do severe damage to a good cliff. Instead of blasting the cliff just pump water up a hose to the top and let it flow down. Probably require a great pump.. Generally easier to find a source above and redirect
(This post was edited by skiclimb on Nov 24, 2007, 6:55 PM)
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the_climber
Nov 24, 2007, 8:58 PM
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It's a hell of a lot of work, but if you set it up right it can be easy. You should be able to figure it out on your own... it's not that hard, water freezes to for ice. Right.
One thing to consider is that generally the thickest ice climbs form from low flow volume seeps. Keep this in mind. If you can find somthing up stream to redirect (as priviously said) this makes everything all the easier. Something to consider is that after each session of flow/freezing it may be worth it to clear the lines. Ice is a dynamic medium and understanding how it forms is something that will help you get better ice. I leave that part up to you to research as doing so on your own will increase you understanding of the medium.
Have fun, good luck.
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JohnCook
Nov 24, 2007, 11:09 PM
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Tremblant ski resort in Canada (Montreal area) have a cliff with a low flow system to create a good ice climbing area, as do several european mountain/ski resorts. Also some places create ice towers by having a vertical pipe and pumping water slowly up the pipe and letting it flow down the outside. In Europe some ice climbing comps are held on these artificial towers.
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jumar
Nov 26, 2007, 3:13 PM
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I've tried it a few years in the past by channelling a stream over some cliffs from above. It works well, but the weather either warms up or someone has mucked with my hoses. So so far, I haven't climbed on my own farmed ice.
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Knox_Harrington
Nov 26, 2007, 10:50 PM
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adam3 wrote: Anyone ever sprayed water onto a route to make some good ice climbing/mixed? Buddy and I want to get a powerful pump and blast the side of a cliff next to a river with water this winter.. Anyone tried this?? and advice?? anything??
Let the water drip over the rope so it has something to freeze to right away and start building sooner.
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paintrain
Nov 27, 2007, 2:20 AM
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if you go the route of redirecting, keep in mind a couple of things.
Land managers - redirecting flows is no bueno on public lands without permission. Keep it in mind. Do no harm when it comes to access.
Water is a powerful eroder. It takes its courses for a reason. You can cause some major league problems if you send it the wrong way (note rockfall incident causing death in Yosemite that is now under litigation due to a leaky john or something like that).
Pt
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