11/28/17
We went down to Portage this weekend. Saturday and Sunday had comfortable conditions and the ice is pretty fat. Ben and I did two trips down into the Portage Valley to try to get some classics in, many of them seem to be in good condition right now.
Day one was Bullwinkle. It was a fun WI4, and a consolation prize due to the fact that more ambitious climbers had shwacked out there earlier than we had that morning. On the way back we spotted more flows we wanted to get on and made our plans.
The next morning involved doing hip waders to get across the Portage river to our destination: Follies. It's a classic WI4 that I had looked at since I have been in AK but for some reason had not climbed yet. 60m of nice sticky ice and an easy rap off, a fine time had by all. We drove back up to climb Flame Out in the sun, and finished our weekend.
It's a warm and wet forecast, so conditions will be changing in the near future.
Looking across Portage Lake to Dreams of Brown Moose and Bullwinkle
Ben on Bullwinkle
Ben after Bullwinkle
Follies approach
Ben topping out Follies
Flame Out, Turnagain Arm