17 Jan 25 - Conditions Report: Lee Vining Canyon Ice Climbing

Staff member Tess enjoyed a nice day out at Lee Vining canyon this past Friday, January 17th. While ice conditions are nothing to brag about, given the winter we've had so far, one can't really complain, either!

In the report and photos below, we use Eastern Sierra Ice by local legend and IFMGA guide Robert "SP" Parker as our reference. The report is useful on its own, but will prove most useful if able to consult that baseline.

Conditions Report:

Current As Of: 17 January 2025*

Activity During Report: Primary - ice climbing. Secondary - walking 0.25-0.5 mile across snow and talus covered with snow/ice.

Conditions: The road out to the power plant is plowed and easily passable, even with a sedan-style vehicle (though I'd recommend carrying chains, just in case you need them for some icy spots), and there is plenty of parking at the power station. Be mindful of your park job and make sure the folks at SCE have space to operate!

The approach is well packed and easily doable without any sort of flotation. Just be wary of icy boulders, holes, and unstable snow bridges when moving through the talus. 

Main Wall is looking a little bleak at the moment as you can see from the photos below. My partner and I therefore climbed exclusively on Chouinard Falls Wall. On the left  end of the wall, Comrad's Corner and Colonel Clink are still quite thin. Everything to the right of those routes, from Water Logged to Classic Curve, was in decent shape and taking good screws. Tree Route and the shorts routes (Larry, Curly, Moe) to the right of that are not formed. We were one of three parties climbing in the canyon that day, all of us at Chouinard Falls, and I reckon that was about the limit of what that wall can handle right now. 

Overall, still great to get out for a day of ice climbing, but conditions are generally thin and options are limited. 

Recommendation(s): With the limited amount of good ice available, be prepared to be patient and potentially share routes if there are 4 or more parties in the canyon right now. In terms of gear, the ice on Chouinard Falls generally took good 16cm screws and smaller without issue, though we did not try to place screws longer than that so no beta for you there.

The approach up Canyon looking treacherously simple with all the snow/ice covered boulders?

 

The Main Falls in Lee Vining Canyon looking thin!

Zoomed out shot of conditions on Chouinard Falls. Red circle is on the tree at the top of Tree Route for reference.

 

Climber at the shared anchor for Aqua Seal, Piolet, and Classic Curve on top of Chouinard Falls

*All conditions reports are subject to change, increasingly so with each passing day since the observation(s) were made. They are provided as a tool to assist your adventuring, not to replace your own risk management and decision-making. No information in any trip or conditions report published by Eastside Sports should be considered definitive in its information or directive in its recommendation.