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Climbing, Adventure, Gear & Choss
Avocado Gully – Route of the Month
One of the unique and appealing things about ice climbing is how it can change from day to day. One day the ice is fat and plastic, the next it could be thin and brittle. The same climb can offer an incredible variety of climbing experiences as the season progresses. And nowhere is this more apparent in the Crystal River Valley than Avocado Gully, which can vary from a crux pillar a foot or two wide at most to the fat years when there are several different lines up it.
Sometimes you have to be ever so delicate as to not blast the whole thing into oblivion, and other years you can swing with reckless abandon at the fat ice all around you. Usually there is ice on it by early December, but whether it continues to grow or not is anyone’s guess. It seems that Avocado actually gets bigger in the warmer, snowy winters we have had the last couple of years.
To get here, follow Highway 133 south out of Carbondale for about 14 miles until you come to a big parking area on the left just before the narrowest part of the canyon. Park here, cross the road and follow a trail for ten minutes up to the base of the climb. If you get to the parking for the Penny Hot Springs you’ve gone too far.
The first pitch is fun to catch in good shape, as it usually gets buried later in the year under snow. Before that happens, there are some fun mellow ice steps that feel very alpine. Most folks solo this pitch, as even when it’s pure ice it’s pretty low key. The next pitch is the business for the climb, and usually starts with a low angle flow of thick ice leading to a short but steeper pillar. This is the crux, and can vary from a nicely protected romp to a thought provoking runout up thin ice. Sometimes this thing gets so hammered you’ll have a hard time finding a place for a screw amidst all the old holes.
The hardest climbing is short lived, however, and perseverance will reward you with lower angled ice leading to a bolted belay below the start of the third pitch. A short romp up a snowy gully leads to the last bit of ice, which offers a steeper line on the left and an easier finish on the right. Two raps with a single 70m cord, or two 60m cords will get you back to the base of the second pitch. From here you can do another rappel from a tree, or walk around down the hillside to your packs.
5 Responses to Avocado Gully – Route of the Month
Bulldog Creek Dog Walk (IV WI 4+)
Hayden Carpenter and Tom Bohanon recently repeated an obscure ice climb on the south side of Mt Sopris. Given a brief mention in Jack Robert’s ice guide, Bulldog Creek Walk is described as being 100 meters of WI 4. What they found was seven pitches of ice in a remote setting that makes for one […]
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To get there…? shut up east coast big mouth!!! Tell every frontstranger where to go why don’t you. Interweb suburban douchebags everywhere!!
Go home!! The mountains are replete with morons anymore!
Are you joking? It’s only been in a guidebook for the last fifteen years. Pull your head out of your ass and get a clue, the mountains are here for everyone to enjoy. I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you are a retarded 13-year-old based on your English level. Thanks for stopping by.
I find it funny/ironic/sad how some climbers move to a place, get shown the climbs, then get bent out of shape when someone else does the same. I’ll guarantee that Kidd is a transplant, and wouldn’t have all of these great routes to do without the volunteer efforts of folks like BJ. I’ll also wager that Kidd has visited this site’s Beta pages more than once. Let’s just enjoy what we have and direct our energy toward developing the 100+ routes in this area that have yet to be even tried.
Interweb, outerweb, vacuumweb, emptyweb, emptyhead?
Hey BJ, I took Jake Martin up Avocado yesterday for work in the f—— pouring rain – which was a first for me, even though conditions were less than perfect, we had a great time. The ice was not bonded and running with water, which would be an understatement. Also, right before the approach pitch there was avy debris from the steeper slope on the left, i have never seen that before. A very limited ice season for me is coming to end, but good to get the requisite lap in.