Pilsner Pillar 215m III, WI6 (Ice Climbing)

We climbed on the left-hand side which offered the only ice touching down all the way. The climbing was steep and delicate at some places. But fortunately there were areas to rest between the pillars. The protection was sometimes run out. Great climbing, but I probably wouldn’t give it a WI6 at the time because of the possibility of resting between the pillars. It definitely is a one pitch wonder.

Pat and I parked at the same pull-out as when we climbed Carlsberg Column. We tried looking for a trail up to the climb but didn’t have any luck. We could see the climb through the trees and decided to cut in without finding a trail. The approach took us about 20-30min. We only found a set of tracks once we had almost reached the climb. It seemed like there weren’t many people who had climbed it lately. I was feeling surprisingly good considering our outing to Helmet Falls two days ago. I guess resting all day yesterday and not getting out of the house at all played big part in our recovery. We were definitely not functional yesterday. It took us a big effort and longer than usual just to get the dishes done.

I led the crux first pitch. The bottom part of the pillar was thin and the ice was aerated and hard to protect with screws. I started up by stemming off of the rock to reach the ice. Fortunately, while on the rock I found a bolt about 7-8 feet up which temporarily gave me protection as I climbed higher onto the ice. I then had to run it out a little to reach slightly better ice and got two marginal screws in. Just above the screws I was able to sling another small pillar to the right. I then climbed another small pillar which had formed above. I then climbed around another pillar to put the rope around it as protection. One last pillar offered the same means of protection by climbing around it and I had reached the top. I placed a screw on top as a directional and belayed 20m right on bolts.

Pat then led the rest of the climb while simul-climbing. The ice was mostly WI3 but there was a good WI4 step lower down that was steep enough to be a little worried while climbing up together at the same time.