Brutal winds, temperatures and snow fall met climbers this weekend at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.  With wind chill temperatures around -30 degrees not surprisingly the climbs have made a remarkable recovery from our warm holiday.  Seeps are still looking really good and this weekend saw the first appearance of the pillars.  Caution should be used when you evaluate whether your party should climb them or not as they have only been formed a day or two and are very thin….particularly at the top. This weekend our party climbed Big Pine Pillar and Swamp Falls.  Both climbs are located along the Lakeshore Trail.  The recent snowfall means climbers will need snowshoes if you are looking to climb in this area.  It does not look like anyone has ventured towards Sweet Mother Moses yet, and with the high winds Sunday the trail is completely drifted over.

 

 

 

 

The other good news is that we are starting to see shelf ice and Munising Bay is starting to freeze!  If temps continue as they are now, we’ll be climbing Grand Island in no time!

Things are really starting to shape up and we should be looking really good for this years Ice Fest.  Keep checking back for a weekly conditions report particularly if you are traveling a great distance to come up and play!