Climbers Kevin Cooper and Topher Donahue have established a new ice route on the Diamond in Colorado, with the ascent of a thin ice spear reaching heights of almost 14,000ft.
The high altitude, vertical and technically challenging lead climbing route is situated in Rocky Mountain National Park on the east face of Longs Peak, and has been named Window Pain (WI 6+). In what was Donahue’s first ice climb for three years, the men took on six pitches of mixed climbing to reach the base of the route, before using a belay ramp at the foot of the ice spear.
Donahue said: “Before climate change it [Window Pain] probably was climbable once every 5-10 years. But with wild weather events those climbs might come in more often, or less. It’s hard to know it’s there as you can only see the upper half until you get right to the base. It was a lot of fun to go big in the alpine again. I’ve been rock climbing a lot, so the movement and balance were not too rusty. I used to think I missed the golden age of first ascents, but now I know that’s not true. With the extreme weather we’ve been having, I think ice climbers are going to be in for some epic new lines.’’
RELATED LINKS:
www.alpinecreative.com
Photo Credit: Topher Donahue