Niobrara Ice Climbing, Daily Summary

Picture courtesy of Stuart Schneider.
Janet lowering on line 3 and me climbing line 4.

DAY 1

We arrive in Valentine Friday noon and head over to Yucca Dune to sign in for the ice fest. The sheet is completely blank; our names are first on the sheet. Joe and Janet mosey in next...and....that's it (a South Dakota group arrives later in the day and climbs at Simmons Cliff Saturday). We chat with a handful of folks there: Tim (the organizer and owner? of Yucca Dune), Stuart (chief ranger for the Niobrara National Wild and Scenic Riverway ), and Sandy and Darin (journalist & photographer for the Norfolk Daily News). Turns out Darin can only be in town Friday and needs shots for their article. We agree to have him accompany us for the day. Our original plan was to kick back, check in, check out the site and only maybe climb. Now we're committed!

With Sandy and Darin in tow, we finally get to the the climbing area (its own short story), take a very short walk through the trees and WOW! We're at the edge of the cliff and it's a long way down to the river valley. It's real, it's wild and best of all, it's untouched!


(Ice was in much more fully than in this picture)

We set lots of anchors to secure ourselves and the photographer on the steep snowy slope. None of us can actually see any of the wall below until we lower. Hmmm...lowering into the unknown...let's send Joe first! He's the climbing stud on our trip and will do this on every line. We decide that the easiest and least steep line is appropriate, #1. It's a WI3, slopey on bottom, topping out in a 25-35 ft near vertical section. It's late afternoon before I'm on it, the last to go. As I'm being lowered, I eye the beautiful pillars lines with perfect icicles to the left. They're simply beautiful. The climb is tame, short but nice to get back in the swing of it. We wrap up with Darin and Sandy (Norfolk Daily News article: Scaling the Niobrara) , have a beer or two at the cabin and head to town for huge cuts of prime rib at Jordans. It's a good day!

DAY 2

Jim and Mike arrive; we have a hearty breakfast (care of Joe and Janet on both mornings. They rule!), and we don't get out to the climbing area until noon-ish. Mike's a novice so we redo line 1. He's 12, never climbed but a couple times in a gym years ago. The kid has no problem with us lowering him over the edge into the literal unknown! Joe lowers too and gives him a primer. In no time, we hear those distinct thwacking sounds and his head pops up and over. Scaled it and we don't think he broke a sweat!

Line 2 is a short but sustained 30-40 ft WI4 pillar. It's steep and pumpy but there are lots of wonderful hooks which reduces hacking to half. Joe and Fred cruise it. Janet takes a small fall near the top but otherwise masters it, better than I ever did my second second trip out ice climbing. Mike's up for it but it proves too difficult for his limited experience. What's a hook?! He's spent half way up and just can't make anymore headway. So Joe lowers to talk him through. The kid listens stoically, musters the last of his strength and determination, and steadily makes his way up the last of it. What a trooper! Mike F., the photographer, got great shots of Joe, Janet and Mike climbing before they headed out. As soon as we get those, we'll send them out too. They had to leave before they saw Mike through the climb so here are my pix of Mike finishing line 2. (click on pic to access album). These are the only pix I took all weekend.



I'm last to climb for the day, so again another wonderful twilight as I get up and over. By the time we wrap up, it's sunset. It's back to the cabin to clean up and down some refreshments. For dinner, we head back to Jordans, indulge in beef and fried chicken for me. Hearty meals, lots of laughs and lots to share about our day out.

DAY 3

On the last day, we hook up with Stuart and Mike F. Joe had chatted them up the previous day while they were shooting us and they stop by the cabin to see if we'll be out climbing. Apparently we're the only ones again and they would like more shots. Stuart knows the cliff very well and shows us the climbs he has in mind, the area on the far left in the picture - never been climbed. Of course Joe goes first! He makes pretty fast work of it. What a stud!

Line 3 is about a 40 ft WI4...not counting the last 15ft top out on sandy semi frozen dirt! We started calling the "dirt" part of the climb gardening. So we'd give it a grade of G3! :) This face consists of a thin mid section about 2-3 ft across framed by 2 thicker sections for which to pick and kick - it's stemmy, sustained & pumpy. For the G section, you have to hack over the dirt lip to get some purchase and stand on the top of the ice pillar. Kicking into the dirt held well. I had a hard time with the axes though. It's a strange mix of too hard and too soft. Either I couldn't get my picks in or if I did, the moment I put any pressure on them, the sand would give out. Meanwhile, sandy dirt is flying everywhere as I hack away...into my boots the long way...vis-a-vis the top of my bib. I was still spitting out sand the next day! After the lip, the sandy dirt was more cooperative and allowed for full pick sinkers, phew! For the final lip to the belay station, there's a wonderful tree to hook and top out. I'm completely exhausted and pumped when I get to the top. A great climb with truly unique Niobrara characteristics...climbing sand!

Mike tried this one too. Again, what a trooper! He got to the pillar and started having trouble. With Joe to the rescue with some pointers, Mike has no problem climbing it all himself! I think we have winner here. Watch out pros!

Line 4, is definitely a WI5. It's nearly a 60 ft of ice shaped so that you can stem it too, though not as widely as #3. Very sustained vertical ice. There's two small rest ledges at about 25ft and then 40ft. Thank god for the rests!! Again lots of awesome hooking. I even got a good knee bar in near the top of the second section. Even though I was 4th on the line, I couldn't see any other pick marks. By the time I got to the second rest area, I could barely hold my axes! Very strenuous climb. But Stuart and Mike F. had gone across the river to get shots of us. With them as my cheering section, I muster the last of my strength to climb the final 10+ ft of ice then scale the rooty 5+ feet of dirt. Roots rule! They held well and in the end I simply grabbed them with my hands to top out...literally crawling. What amazing climbs!! It's the best I've ever climbed - personally and ice quality wise.

It was the perfect climb to end our wonderful primer to Nebraska Ice. The reporters and locals all asked us if we think we liked it enough to come back. Without hesitation...yes!