A Short Day at the Bluffs

After a minor morning setback doing crampon repairs, Ryan and I returned to Saltwater Drive, and descended down the bluffs. We walked past all the same climbs and decided to try and top rope Red Line, a beautiful unrelentingly steep amalgamation of thinly bonded icicles. A whole lot of post holing, and one rappel later we were back on the beach, no closer to our goal.

Ryan on the Beach

 

Neither of us were feeling up to leading Dog Day, although in retrospect......I'm always much braver.

So we climbed back up to the rim on Close to Home, a deceptively awkward, ledgy, single pitch climb, and went back to our sweet little place above the Mermaid Bookstore.

 

Homer is definitely a worthy weekend destination when the ice is in. I'd like to come back with bigger biceps and more mo-jo and get on the pretty lines.

 

Ice Climbing on the Homer Bluffs

Homer sounded like a glorious destination amidst the negative digit temperatures that have been lurking in the Anchorage area. I've never been there in the winter and word on the great internet was that the ice was in.

We parked at the end of Saltwater drive and ran into a crusty local named Bill and his cleaner more modern counterpart with AMS logos. He told us about a fixed rappel line over the bluffs, it was a pretty straight forward approach.

Looking Down the Bluffs, Two People Walking

 

Ryan at the Bottom of the Rappel

 

The approach to the climbs along the beach was as good as it gets. There were 3 stellar climbs off the beach, and a handful of smaller less aesthetic lines all within a 1/2 mile or so.

I've been unmotivated to climb the standard local circuits this winter and am horribly out of shape. I am not an off the couch grade 4 or 5 ice climber...but oh how those lines are the most appealing looking. So we skipped Red Line and Dog Day and instead went up a very fat and perfect Bored Walk. It was a super fun climb, and in direct sunlight...bonus!

Ryan Rappelling Over Bored Walk

 

With more daylight to play with we did the first pitch of Dog Day, then walked down the beach past the rappel line in and climbed a single pitch grade 3 to get back to the rim. A nice day out with sun, and the sounds of the ocean.

 

Homer Trip and Sightseeing Along the Way

I've been wanting to get out of town something fierce this spring. My feet need to wander, I'd love to leave the state, or country, but unfortunately its just not going to happen any time soon. Its rare that I go anywhere without a ski/climb/float/hike/run/get the point/ objective, but that's what this Homer trip was about. Loose thoughts of things to do, but absolutely no objectives.

Rapheal and I loaded my car with a cooler, firewood, bikes, packrafts, a croquet course, kites, and car camping gear. Our trip actually really reminded me of road tripping with my Dad as a kid, we stopped every few miles and we didn't even make it close to Homer the first day.

Rapheal and I Floating the Kenai River

The weather was kind of cold and definitely a bit iffy on the rain factor. But it held off for our float, the Kenai river is a very alluring green color. Super mellow floating, we did not do the canyon section.

Anchor Point

We camped on the spit, surrounded by ocean smells, sand, and occasional waves when the tide was high. We ate good food at Fat Olives, drank our share of cocktails, and were generally pretty lazy. It felt like a real vacation.

Camp on the Beach

Rapheal out Tide Pooling

Slide Show!