Trip Reports from SCMA Members

Tahquitz Ice: Great Today, Gone Tomorrow!
by SCMA Member Alois Smrz

Some years ago, Miguel Carmona showed me a magazine article on ice climbing at Tahquitz. It featured Tahquitz local, Rick Accomazo, climbing the North Face in the vicinity of the Larks. The caption read that the North Face of Les Courtes (famous ice face in the Alps) was a great training ground for ice climbing at Tahquitz. Miguel and I laughingly agree.

The experience of ice climbing at Tahquitz can be somewhat ridiculous but also extremely satisfying. Several storms in late December combined with low temperatures in the first two weeks of January, transformed Tahquitz into Southern California's version of Ben Nevis (Scotland, that is). The North Face was plastered with snow and ice. Hanging ice columns could be seen all the way from Humber Park parking lot.

Saturday, January 14, Miguel and I climbed four long pitches of "The Trough" using a two foot wide ice runnel in the middle of the gully. Sunday, we climbed 7 and 1/2 pitches of steep ice on the North Face. The route followed the large dihedral of the "NE Face" route for five pitches. The 6th pitch forced us on direct route through the summit overhangs, climbing over spectacular cascading water ice. The climbing was up to 85+ degree ice, with little rock or ice protection.

Two weeks later we came back in much warmer conditions and climbed direct route up the "West Lark". The climb proved not only difficult to protect, but also constantly threatened by falling ice. Nonetheless, all three climbs proved fairly safe with occasional protection from old fixed pitons and our own hardware. Several times we used tied off ice screws, but their protection was minimal. All of the pitches with the exception of about 20 feet at the top of the Trough, were climbed on ice.

We both feel these climbs included some of "The Best" and certainly "The Wildest" ice climbing we have ever done, ANYWHERE. Weather permitting, we would recommend Tahquitz as having "THE" most unexpected, serious ice climbing possibilities in California.

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