White Rose Wall

Sunday, April 01, 2018

Explore the White Rose Wall

In 2008 Larry Dolecki was ski touring in the Lyell Creek Drainage basin in search of a potential location for a new hut. On that journey 9 years ago he spotted (from a mile away) a towering ice feature on the back side of Mt. Alexandra. Even from that distance, Larry could tell that this ice feature would rival any ice wall in the world. Since first seeing it, Larry hoped to actually visit that wall some day with the intention of putting up the first ascents. Earlier this week (10 years after his original discovery) Larry and I became the first humans to ever visit this ice mecca. We have named this new area White Rose Wall as it views the peak of White Rose Mountain to the North. With multiple potential routes varying in length from single pitch WI III to 6+ pitches of WI VI+ there is something for every serious climber. We have identified more than 20 different potential routes on this wall with myself and Larry putting up 3 routes in addition to 4 additional variances on those routes. Arguably this is the most spectacular piece of ice I have ever climbed and can’t wait to get back there next season!

Partial list of completed climbs -

*First ascent