Mission Project

While the rumors could be wrong, I mean sponsored climbers have soloed Birdbrain Boulevard car to car (CTC) in two and a half hours, so it seems possible that some professional climbers could pull it off.

So are minds were made up. Our team, made up of two New Hampshire ex-pats, would simply link those three routes together in less than twenty-four hours. Once and for all putting an end to the speculation. In fact we decided to throw in The Talisman, "...perhaps the most difficult route established to date." just to keep ourselves honest. And so goes our Mission Project, The Quad-fecta. Link the four most classic, hard ice routes of the San Juans- Birdbrain Boulevard (WI 5 M6, 350m), The Talisman (WI 6+ M6, 200m), Bridalveil Falls (WI 5+, 150m) and The Ames Ice Hose (WI 5, 200m) in less than 24 hours.

We figured it'd take us close to the allotted twenty-four hours so we started climbing Birdbrain at 12:15 a.m. expecting to take close to five hours CTC based on our previous time of four and a half hours CTC in the daylight. We topped out around 2:30 a.m. and returned to the car at 3:30 a.m. While ahead of schedule this had me a bit concerned, as it would get us to The Talisman before sun up, I wasn't exactly psyched to lead the second pitch in the dark. We got to the base of The Talisman around 5 a.m. and I embarked on the second pitch guided by my headlamp... We topped out and were back at the car at 9:30 a.m., far ahead of schedule. Now a quick stop for some bagel sandwiches and a sixty-mile drive to Telluride for the second half of The Quad-fecta. We arrive in Telluride and park right in front of a large "Positively No Climbing Bridalveil Falls" sign, hastily repack and start skiing, hoping to arrive at the base unnoticed. We quickly dispatch with Bridalveil and are back to the car ready for another fifteen-mile drive and quick gear shuffle.

We are on the trail to the Ice Hose by 3 p.m. As we start the long uphill to the base of the route we are greeted by the sound of barking dogs, three to be exact. The biggest obstacle of the day was just about to occur. A party was just starting to lead the last pitch- this is not good for a duo climbing their fourth route of the day, trying to go FAST! We head up the first pitch with our helmets tightened and fingers crossed as ice from above funnels straight into the chimney we were ascending. We both arrive at the bottom of the last pitch adrenalized by the falling ice we just dodged and happily unharmed. One last pitch to go, a rope stretcher of WI4 and neither of us want anything to do with it. Probably the easiest pitch of the day and we both are ready to be done. I claim to be pumped from following and convince my partner that in the name of speed he'll probably be faster due to the rest he got while I cleaned the previous pitch. We are surprised to still have daylight

at this point and rush up the final pitch of the Ice Hose. I barely turned on my headlamp for the final 20 feet or so and we rappel, exhausted, in total darkness. All in all we started climbing at 12:15 a.m. on February 22 and stopped the clock at 6:30 p.m. February 23, for a total of eighteen hours-fifteen minutes. On the walk back to the car and well deserved elk steaks and Sierra Nevada, we realized that, by the numbers we could have added another route. Four routes divided by eighteen hours is four and a half hours per route, and with five hours-forty five minutes of our twenty-four unused we easily could have done one more. Okay maybe not so easily... Mission Project, Quad-fecta complete.

Click here to view more photos on Bryan Gilmore's Flickr profile