Early-Season Ice Climbing With MudRat

Kevin “MudRat” MacKenzie posted this video on YouTube after climbing the Skinny Slide on Upper Wolfjaw Mountain in search of early-season ice. He was accompanied by Don Mellor, author of Blue Lines: An Adirondack Ice Climber’s Guide, as well as Anthony Seidita and Rodrigo Solar. MudRat writes us in an email:

“The transition from the warm to cold weather climbing season often finds me taking a break from lofty ambitions in the High Peaks. It is a time to prepare for winter. Firewood needs to be stacked and various projects need a finishing touch.

“As the first snows of the season lay claim to the higher elevations, I feel drawn to search for backcountry ice. Upper Wolfjaw Mountain’s Skinny slide seemed like an appealing objective for a mid-November outing due to its northern aspect, generally wet initial ledges and unique mid-slide crevice.

“We climbed it on Saturday the 15th with mixed conditions–little bit of flow ice on the lower slide, verglas, and powder-covered rock. Round-trip was about 10.3 miles over seven hours.”