 |
| A image from the first edition of Joseph Addison's play Cato. oll.libertyfund.org |
"It's not in mortals to command success, but we'll do more, Sempronius, we'll deserve it."1
George Washington was influenced by the play Cato. So much, that he even had it performed for his soldiers. He quoted the above line often and even personified it.
"If [the British generals] and others of like mind thought the war was over and that the British had won, Washington did not. Washington refused to see it that way.... Out of adversity he seemed to draw greater energy and determination. 'His Excellency George Washington,' wrote [General] Greene later, 'never appeared to so much advantage as in the hour of distress.'"2
In climbing a key to the successes I have had, has been this. You have to put in the work and be in the right place to deserve the success since we cannot command success ourselves.
Big Cottonwood Canyon
On Hidden Falls in Big Cottonwood Canyon, I was wandering up above the route after climbing it looking for more and stumbled upon some ice. If you walk up the gully and take a left when it forks, you can hike up hill and find this. It is absolutely hidden by a rock bulge and its aspect until you are right at the base of it. Pretty mellow, but cool to make the route just a little longer. This is Hidden Falls, and as author of Beehive Ice, Nathan Smith says "people have been tromping around there forever". So a FA? I don't know, but it's worth doing!
Upper Pitch of Hidden Falls
WI3 M2
Sawyer Wylie and Ezra Wylie
 |
| Sunbaked and manky, but who cares? I just didn't catch it on the right day. |
 |
| It was actually a pretty steep little section. |
 |
| Followed by more of the same fun! |
American Fork
This was a line I had kept an eye on for a while, often falling down and reforming with the fluctuating conditions. When it formed enough for me to try, I made it a priority. I called Jackson, actually a climber I had never roped up with, and we decided to try for it enough that we deserved success on it. And we did! Who knows if this is a FA as well, but either way, I hope someone else goes and does it.
Faction Friction
WI3 M4
Sawyer Wylie and Jackson Marvell
A three bolt mixed line bolted on lead up the left side and then a transfer to the ice. The curtain could form enough to be a pure ice line I believe, but not when we were there, it was just a dagger. There could be a short 3 to 4 bolt M7 or so behind it leading to the dagger then up the ice that looks cool.
 |
| Nice, fat, and growing, I didn't mind grabbing it! |
 |
| Here is a photo of it all covered in snow helping it form the day before we climbed it. |
 |
| You can really see the position of the line relative to other main lines in the canyon like Habeas Corpus and White Lie. |
 |
| We started the route a little lower than that curtain in the upper photos. The curtain is actually on step two in this photo. Starting this low though, turned it into a full 70 meter pitch! Photo by Jackson Marvell |
1 From the Play Cato.
2 Information and a quote from one of my favorite books 1776 by David McCullough.
