Results 1 to 6 of 6
Thread: Vail Ice fall Collapse
-
02-02-2020, 10:13 AM #1Registered User
- Join Date
- Nov 2003
- Location
- Colorado
- Posts
- 2,071
Vail Ice fall Collapse
Yesterday afternoon, I drove home from the front range. As I came down the West side of Vail pass I was looking up at the “Rigid Designator” (a big WI-5 ice climb, that I once did in my youth) and to the right of it is the Artichoke/Fang ice formation. I thought to myself that I was surprised that the Artichoke and Fang had not connected up yet this season, when suddenly the Fang formation fell away from the cliff and stabbed into the top of the Artichoke. There was a really BIG shower of ice chunks. The section of the Fang that fell I’d estimate to be 20 – 25’ in length. I couldn’t tell (because I was driving 65 mph) if anyone was on the formation. I said a little pray and thought of the day when the 19th Hole ice fall fell away from the wall and killed a guy back in the 80’s. If anyone hears anything about yesterday's “avalanche” let me know. It happened at 1622 hrs and the temperature on the highway was 35 degrees f.
"True love is much easier to find with a helicopter"
-
02-02-2020, 10:22 AM #2Registered User
- Join Date
- Oct 2007
- Posts
- 12,611
Aren't there chains mounted that help those falls form and stabilized?
-
02-02-2020, 10:50 AM #3Registered User
- Join Date
- Nov 2003
- Location
- Colorado
- Posts
- 2,071
-
02-02-2020, 11:03 AM #4Registered User
- Join Date
- Oct 2007
- Posts
- 12,611
-
02-02-2020, 12:24 PM #5Registered User
- Join Date
- Nov 2003
- Location
- Colorado
- Posts
- 2,071
"True love is much easier to find with a helicopter"
-
02-02-2020, 02:25 PM #6
There are ropes that help the fang form up, but it still collapses regularly, especially after the last few years.
Today it is 50.
Bookmarks