Tomato Chimney, WI3

aka Passion for Postholing. This is a great line that would get regular traffic if it were closer to the road. Don’t let the big hike turn you away, its worth effort, and theres a few other lines to do in the vicinity.

Park at the Redstone Campround, at the closure gate. Follow the road north and then east as it turns toward the large hill in front of you. When it reaches the hill and turns right, take a left up a subtle gully. Follow this to gain a mellow ridge and take a combination of gullys and ridge lines up towards the climb. Expect 1.5 hours on a packed trail, significantly longer if you are breaking trail and the snow is deep. Snowshoes are crucial for this approach. The approach crosses several avalanche paths, check the danger before comtting to this approach.

The climb sits in a large chimney, and is obvious on the way up to it. The first pitch is almost a full 60m to a dead-ish tree with rap slings. From here, another pitch (45m) follows easier ice up to an alcove. Bring rock gear for anchors, tricams and cams to 2″ are useful. Traverse south to rap from a pine tree with orange cord on the edge of the gully. A single 60m might make it, but bring two ropes to be sure.