ICE CONDITIONS 2010-2011

[Fred]

NB Winter 2010/2011 Ice Conditions and Reports

OUT - Cape Enrage - (updated March 22, 2011)
OUT - Cape Maringouin - (updated March 22, 2011)
OUT - Dorchester - (updated March 22, 2011)
OUT - Rockport - (updated March 22, 2011)
OUT - Falls Brook - (updated March 22, 2011)
OUT? - Grand Falls - (updated March 22, 2011)
OUT - Grand Manan - (updated March 22, 2011)
OUT - Hampton Marsh - (updated March 22, 2011)
OUT - Tracy Falls - (updated March 22, 2011)
OUT? - Hayes Falls - (updated March 22, 2011)
OUT? - Hillsborough - (updated March 22, 2011)
OUT? - Little Salmon - (updated March 22, 2011)
OUT - Minister's Face - (updated March 22, 2011)
OUT - Red Head - (updated March 22, 2011)
OUT - Mt Misery - (updated March 22, 2011)
IN - Parlee Brook - (updated March 22, 2011)
IN - Glebe Road - (updated March 22, 2011)
OUT - St Martins-Quaco Head - (updated March 22, 2011)
OUT - St. Martins-Berry Beach - (updated March 22, 2011)
OUT - Waterfall Wall - (updated March 22, 2011)
OUT - Welsford Quarry - (updated March 22, 2011)
OUT? - Pollet River Falls - (updated March 22, 2011)

MARCH 20, GLEBE ROAD

Ice was still IN this weekend! And I have to mention that Glebe Rd. is a pretty amazing place, Thanks to Greg and Stacy for most of the work out there!!! Marty...

Glebe Rd.

Le Pilier du Pape WI 5 35m FFA M.Thériault, G. Hughes, S. Hughes, S. Arcand 19/03/11
Climb the first big obvious pillar in the gully. An easy ramp brings you to a 20m dead vertical pillar. A 3 stars route!

Total Fusion WI 3, 20 m. G. Hughes, S. Hughes, 19/03/2011
This is the obvious formation 5 meters to the right of Central Pillar. Follow slab up to a series of vertical steps and ice chimney.

Parlee Brook

Montagne Russes Printanière WI 2-3 75m(ish) FFA M. Thériault (solo) 20/03/11
Climb found 50m right (climber`s right) of Hullholmes falls. Climb the first 10m of Hullholmes and walk about 50m in the wood to the next drainage system. Link up a bunch of Head walls (up to 10m) all the way to the top of the hill.

Owl's Head

Pierre Cale (Chock stone) M2 WI 3+ 35m FFA M. Thériault, L. Gallant, D. Caron, F. Zambito 29/01/11
Climb found on Owl's Head about 1hrs walk from Alma on the beach. A very deep and narrow gully splits the cliff and has a very large chock stone about 8m up. Climb ice and rock for 10m to hit a long ramp, a final thick head wall is found on the left wall.


Feb 28, Quaco Head

Dan Coates and I explored between Quaco Head and Rogers head and found quite a bit of ice. I haven`t seen it anywhere on here and it isn`t in the guidebook. Close to Browns beach we found some stunning overhanging blue and brown ice mixed together. Has anyone been here? looks like some really beautiful hard climbs. We continued down the coast and when we came around the corner we saw this. Three gully-ish routes by a pretty unique hole in the wall. We hiked in to the line on the far left and rappelled down. Two 60m half ropes got to the bottom with maybe 5 m to spare. It turned out to be harder than we though with the first 3m or so climbing on chossy, seaweed covered rock and then a big move to get on the pillar. Beautiful climb, a bit out of our ability to lead. It is steeper than it appears, the first 15 meters are vertical or overhanging with one good rest. I don't trust my experience enough to give it a grade.

Curious if these lines are all virgin? The approach is very short, about a half hour from where you can park a car. If anyone is interested next weekend I would love to go back. I think this is right around the corner from Nautical Disaster in the guidebook. j.root.

Feb 27, Sunny Side

We went to Sunnyside today and surprisingly there was one good quality ice line. This is the only ice route at that crag:

La Duchesse - WI 4++ 20m FFA M. Theriault, L. Gallant, D. Caron, J. St-Coeur 27/02/11
Climb found in Sunnyside directly to the right of Black Dwarf (rock climb). Climb a vertical chandeliered curtain (hard to protect) for 15m then eases off over a few bulges to the top. The climb may be downgraded to WI4/4+ in Fat condition.

Feb 22, Eagle Rock

I was in Welsford alone this moring and gave Eagle Rock a try. Its better than expected, condition are good but lots of snow! Marty.

Feb 20, Welsford

Was in to Waterfall wall with Ice School on Sunday. To my surprise all lines were formed with stable ice (albeit baked). Bone dry despite warm temps and sun... absolutely no flow going on. Chris.

Feb 20, Little Salmon River

Luc, Dom, Greg and I ended up on the roster. What an amazing place! It was a perfect winter mini-expedition in WGC! We skied in from Crawford Lake, there where snowmobile tracks up until the Y junction going to Arnold Lake. We camped close to WG brook but not in the canyon. The brook is not frozen, but there's enough snow to navigate on it (felt like naving on a glacier LOL). As far as routes goes, Paid Vacation was not touching down and Deliverance was partly In (WI 6/6+) or mix on the right. WG Falls where in, but with closer inspection, it was snice (snow and ice), as deep as we dug it was never stable and a screw anchor/pro is not going to hold a fall (great condition for a solo but deep in the bushes like this.....nah) this is probably caused by the constant sunbake and refreeze cycle, it felt like sugar. We then hit One Green Line, its in very Fat condition, a great climb, 2 lines where lead. This was the only line In till the Eye of the Needle, and here the brook was wide open and there was no way across, too bad because we could see The Blue Wall and it looked In and Amazing! That's all we had time to do, the deep snow in the canyon and long approach in and out (4h15m in 3h30 out) really took its toll. All in all a great weekend! and we are looking to go back this winter.........with a SNOWMOBILE! LOL. Marty.

Feb 13, Grand Manan

We spend the weekend at Grand Manan, and I was super impressed, no where in New Brunswick has this caliber of ice. Conditions weren't bad and the weekend ended with one new line:

Cougar Town – WI5+ 40M FFA: Cory Hall, Joe Kennedy Feb. /11

Zigzag your way up the steep wall just to the left of Mrs. Dunsters, avoiding most but not all of the overhanging sections. Finish up very steep icicles to a root hook on the right side of the belay tree, a very steep and technical line. Cory.

Feb 10, Parlee Minor

I hiked into Parlee minor yesterday for a look see. Hullholmes is in great shape but Truancy Falls is only not even close to touching down. Doesn't look like it will form this year. On the plus side someone has been maintaining Arnold Hollow Road from The Abbey to the drainage of Parlee minor. Likely the owner of the cabin. That part of the hike took about 20 minutes. Approaching Hullholmes should now take about 30 minutes. Greg

Feb 6, Hampton
Hampton is in. Fat blue ice that takes long screws. Dom.

Feb 6, Mt Misery
The ice is good with most routes formed, but not yet fat. Joe.

Feb5, Berry Beach
Quahog Falls WI4++, 30m. J & D Kennedy, Feb 2011.
Found on Little Beach, 1 km west of the access trail to Superbowl. Once you get to the beach, head (right) towards St. Martins. The falls are hidden within a little cove along the beach, so you cannot see them until you are close. The falls have a good flow, and at the time of ascent the falls were hard on the outside but soft and liquid on the inside, like a clam. Under good conditions it would likely be WI4+, but when thin/soft the ice is manky and gear is poor. Best under cold and cloudy conditions. These falls are above the high tides, so tide tables are less of a concern.

Jan 30, Berry Beach
Fundy Gully and Superbowl are in, but thin at bottom, good higher up. Humpback is out. Joe.

Jan 29, Mt. Misery
Mt. Misery is coming along but it's not great yet. The left leaning ramp up the main face and the right hand flow were lead. Strait up was in good shape but a bit baked. The pillars left of the trail are yet to touch down and the log route has a long way to go. There's enough to have fun but it still needs time, cold, and water. Chris.

JAN 23, MINISTERS FACE
Joe and I were at Minister's Face on Sunday. Other than being very cold, the ice is in. No curtains at the top yet, but even with the intense cold, the ice was still dripping so hopefully they will form soon. Steve.

JAN 23, ST MARTINS
A crew of us were down in St-Martins all weekend. In Quaco Head, everything other than Ariel and Bouffe are IN. Funky stuff that I have never seen are starting to form pretty good! Superbowl and Fundy Gully are also IN and in great shape! Marty.

JAN 22, BEAR MTN
Lucas and i skiied our way into bald hill today, and we actually found some ice. we decided to "short-cut" our way to the base of the main cliff....bad idea, dense woods and skies sucks, chest deep snow sucks....thus the route names. Cory.

Bushwhacking - WI4 15m FFA: Lucas Toron, Cory Hall Jan 2011
Near the center of the main wall, on the lower tire, are two twin flows. Climb the left one, very thin ice for the first 20 feet, then great ice and gear to the top.

Jungle Shwacking – WI4 15m FFA: Cory Hall, Lucas Toron Jan 2011
Near the center of the main wall, on the lower tire, are two twin flows. Climb the right one, similar to bushwhacking but a little thinner.

We also climbed Matt Peck's routes which were super fun.

The Quarry looked like it was in good condition when we drove by.

JAN 22, WATERFALL WALL
Waterfall Wall is quite good. All lines leadable. Joe.

JAN 21, MT MISERY.
Mt Misery is still in bad shape, but everything is dripping so all we need is cold temps. I climbed the gullys to the right of the main lower wall..they were thin and wet, and you probably wouldn't be able to get much for pro. Cory

Jan 20, Hampton
Jan 20. Hampton is too thin for screws but OK for top-roping. It's got good flow, so the forecasted cold temps over the next few nights should make it good, likely for Sunday. Mt. Misery should be good too, but I'd still be careful of crossing the river. May be best to access from the Kingston Penn. side. Joe.

Jan 16, St. Martins
There was a crew out on Sunday. There are some leadable routes on the lighthouse side of town. Superbowl Gully and Fundy Gully were practically none existent. Also, if you do head for the gully's be very carefull with the tides. From what I figure there was only a 3 or 4 hour window to get in and out via the beach. We had to run between waves on the way in (tide was on it's way out) but this was only 1.5 or 2 hours before low tide. Greg.

Jan 15, Rockport
Got out to Rockport for a little soloing friday and things are in there for sure.
We had a crew in to Cape Maringouin today and 5 route where led.

Winter Monkey and Sick?Why Not, as well as:

Coward WI4 8m
FFA Michel Martin and Pierre Arsenault

Crowded WI3 8m
FFA Max Fisher and Mike Delaney

Root Beer WI4 8m
FFA Michel Martin and Max Fisher

Dorchester is in poor shape....... what is in is thin, ice is delaminated and of poor quality.
one line was led... that said the pillar is forming very well and should be in soon. Max.

Jan 15, Waterfall Wall
Lucas, Graham and I went out to Welsford today, and the ice is crap. Its super aerated, delaminated, thin...ect. the middle line was "lead". we also climbed cheekbone corner which was alot more fun than the ice. The ice, snow, and mountain boots made it a fun challenge, and memorable climb. Cory.

9 Jan, Parlee
Conditions are still thin. Sunbake, EMC, Patricks and KF Gully are climbable but screws are spaced and maybe tied off. Blue Pillar and Kings Horses are good. Boot trail is well packed and unobstructed of brush. Joe.

Jan 4, Cape Maringuin
Went to Cape Maringuin with Marty today. Things are forming well, conditions are thin. 3 lines were led. Max.
WI3, FFA Marty Theriault and Max Fisher.
WI3+ Sick, Why Not. FFA Max FIsher and Marty Theriault

January 1, Parlee Brook
A couple friends called on their way back from the Gaspe asking if I wanted to hit up Parlee on Friday the 31st. I had been in there with the Adamsons and Cory Hall on Tuesday and the ice was real bad. But after Marty's update I thought it might be worth another shot.
We hiked in from the bottom. There was an excellent boot track laid down making for relatively easy hiking
Rich lead All the Kings Horses and then we top-roped a scrappy line between the Blue Wall and the Back Wall. A short pillar at the top and bottom with mucho snow in between. The wet snow that fell last week seems to have covered most walls.
Parlee Brook is hurting right now. It's pretty scrappy all around. You can find some ice but expect lots of snow, delamination, and bottoming out on wet rock. I think it was better a month ago.
With the warming weather I think it will be cruddy for a while. The warmth may help it reform from scratch again when it gets cold.
Graham

January 1, Hayes Falls
Hayes falls is in. The center line and the smear in the woods were led. The main falls have a huge volume of water running under the ice... especially on the right hand side. Another week and the whole thing will be fat. Jon C. also led a nice little 25' falls half-way between Fredericton and Hayes Falls. It's not a destination in of itself but the thing is almost literally roadside, so it's worth a stop. Park at KM #250.
Chris

**************************************************

NB Winter 2009/2010 Ice Conditions and Reports

March 6, Parlee
Went to Parlee today. The ice is fat, but quite rotten: one might have to dig for a while to get a good screw. ATKH covered in snow completely. Snow conditions for the top approach were perfect. Stan

Feb 5, Mt. Misery
heres a few more routes we put up friday, probably the last of the pure ice lines at Mt. Misery. - Cory


The Cave – WI3+ 10M FFA: Cory Hall, Graham Waugh Feb. /10
Several possible lines at the far right of the of the lover cliff, see guidebook

Stalactite – WI4 10M FFA: Cory Hall, Graham Waugh Feb. /10
A hanging icicle, that occasionally forms into a free-standing column as was the case for the ffa . Guidebook correction: found 5m to the left of”The Cave”, not on the far right.

Freedom 24 – WI4 15M FFA: Graham Waugh, Cory Hall Feb. /10
Climb steep ice through trees to top, normally thin. Found 10m to the left of “the Cave”.

Cascade Falls - WI4 20M FFA: Cory Hall, Graham Waugh Feb. /10
Climb the thin curtains to the right and downhill of “Right Buttress”, then up one of two thick pillars to the top.



6 Feb, St. Martins
decided to head to St Martin's today and climbed Fundy Gully probably the best route I have done in NB and Superbowl. Both in very nice condition. max

all the steep stuff at berry beach is out imo,except fit 2b tide which is in - Cory

5 Feb
The Quarry is in but thin. Waterfall Wall looks OK. Ministers Face is good. Hampton is OK. Not sure about Mt. Misery, it was poor last weekend. Joe.

5 Feb, Dorchester
got out to dorchester today.... got in one fun lead. If you have Joe's new ice guide the first route in dorchester is Hollow Curtain which isn't touching down. Everything else is in thick!! there is the potential for 4 other lines between Hollow Curtain and Unnamed #3. 1 being a steep slightly overhanging Pillar WI5/6 15m rap on V thread, 2 being a thin vertical flow very narrow at the bottom and very sustained 15m, 3 a variety of starts from WI2-WI3+ to a ledge then up the just off vertical ice to a few metre's on dry tooling to tree's WI4 25m, 4 being a gem if it gets climbed.... I think this would go in 2 pitches: start up Unnamed #3 and then when at the first sloping ice rail traverse right for 10+m to an impressive pillar, set anchor here, and climb died vertical ice for 20m, I think would be a solid WI5/6 route. I haven't seen these routes form at dorchester before not saying they haven't formed or been climbed in the past but I just have a feeling they haven't. MAX

Jan 31, Quarry
We were into the Quarry today. Conditions are still thin/mixed with lots of ice coming down despite the cold temps. Iced Cheese leadable on stubbies. - Stef

Jan 25, Tracy Falls
I climbed Tracys Falls, found 2.5 km east of Taylor Lake in Saint John, along a popular snowmobile trail. I haven't heard of anyone else climbing this before, but it's not really worth a special trip. It's about 12 meters tall, WI4, very layered ice giving technical climbing and poor screws. But it's sunny, sheltered, and cute. I can map it if requested - Joe

23 Jan, Cape Enrage, Pollet River Falls & St. Martins
Cape Enrage, Its badly OUT!, Pollet River Falls, Thin, St Martins ... Berry Beach, OUT! Quaco Head IN, Fat blue ICE! - Marty

23 Jan, Quarry
we were a few people in the Quarry today. Some of the lines were very thin and dripping wet in the sun, but we were leading Iced Cheese (in) and the Drainpipe (thin/mixed topout). Greg and Stacey did another thin line more to the right (Cosmic Orgasm?). Very warm and nice in the sun! - Anders

23 Jan, Mount Misery
Out at mt misery today, jan. 23, the ice is in rough shape - cory


We managed 2 new routes, the other 2 are last years un-recored gems

Doing the Dirty Work – WI3 FFA: Lucas Toron, Graham Waugh Feb. /09
Climb ice line to the right of “Straight Up” trending left at top

Test Drive – WI3+ FFA: Joe Kennedy Jan. /09
Climb the large flow to the left of “Little Dike”, involves a cool log mantel. A Special thanks to Greg Hughes for cleaning the branches off this one.

Flashback – WI4+ FFA: Cory Hall, Graham Waugh Jan. /10
Climb the cave on the far right on the upper cliff. It was renamed from “Mr. Fantastic” in the ice guide. This climb has it all; good vertical ice, stemming, chimneying, ice fist jams, blind tool swings...super cool

Golden Shower - M7 FFA: Cory Hall, Graham Waugh Jan. /10
Start up “Golden Pillar” then trend left up another short pillar to finish on steep bolted face above (b3).


21 Jan, Falls Brooks
The waterfall is freezing slowly. Left side is leadable. Right side is aerated crappy ice. Center you can see on the photos. It was a nice day out though. The road had been plowed before the last snowfall. There was ~15 cm of powder on top of it - Subie's AWD came handy. Stan

17 Jan, Mount Misery
It was like a spring day: warm and sunny. Ice is in good shape. Steve

16 Jan, Waterfall Wall
Waterfall Wall is in reasonable shape. The three main lines were led, but Cave Fever looked a bit too thin for a comfortable lead. Curly (left) and Larry (middle) were great, but Moe was was quite technical with layered ice.

16 Jan, Falls Brook
The actual water fall still has a lot of water flowing on the left. I couldn't get a great view from the top... The brook it self is is still open in places. I did find some ice at the top of the falls that was in at the bottom and very thin at the top... nothing to write home about. - Payne



10 Jan, Ministers Face
Ministers Face is in good shape, as is the river. Right curtain touching down but too thin to climb yet. Routes dripping wet, so the cold temps called for this week should make for fat conditions for next weekend. Joe.

8 Jan, St. Martins
Was in St Martins yesterday with Dom, the early season ice has survived the heat spell in patches, it makes for thin ice with mix moves, one line was lead, should be IN next weekend!! Marty

... We went into the Superbowl area and Flower Pot today. Everything very thin or out. Stef

8 Jan, Parlee
Dan and I were into Parlee and Hullholmes today. Everything is in and in good shape. Approach from the bottom requires snowshoes. Stef.

Jan 4, Waterfall Wall
We were at Waterfall Wall yesterday. The ice is soft and thin at the top. The trail is now packed in to the cliff, although snow shoes are probably still a good idea. If we get cold nights the ice should be good by the weekend. SteveA

Jan 2, Dorchester
got out to dorchester yesterday there is more ice forming there then i've seen in the past. led 1 line things are still thin but forming well. max

Jan 1, Red Head
Ian and I went Ice Climbing at Red Head ice falls. Condition is thin and one route open up the center. We only top roped. Andrew

Dec 31, Cape Maringouin
was out to Cape Maringouin today and climbed 4 new lines:


The routes are numbered from 1 being the furthest away looking down the beach and 17 being the first one you arrive to, mainly because I counted them this way. 1 is ice rain, 2 is 3 days of feasting, 13 is winter monkey, 14 has the tallest & widest flow and has 2 lines at WI4 the right most being 2 Planes of Ice. the first flow you get to is Fat So WI 2-3.

2 Planes of Ice WI4 20m
FFA Max Fisher and Kristen Lewis

Winter Monkey WI3 20m
FFA Max Fisher and Kristen Lewis

3 Days of Feasting WI3 15m
Max Fisher and Kristen Lewis

Raining Ice WI 2/3+ 18m
Max Fisher and Kristen Lewis

needless to say things are in!! heading back tomorrow! Max

Dec 30, Rockport
got out to rockport today things are forming.... led 2 lines.... things in dorchester and cape mariguin should be in aswell.... I'm heading out there tomorrow so we'll now soon. max

Dec 27, Hillsborough
Thickening up, but not touching down yet, stacey

Dec 25, Hayes Falls
I wasn't out climbing today but saw photos on Bookface of Hayes Falls and it's In. No open water from what I could tell. Fred

Dec 23, Mt. Misery
New mixed route. This is the first of several mixed lines I plan to bolt this winter, just have to wait for the ice to thicken up so my bolts dont get covered up, in the meen time jump on this one it should have u thinking. Cory H

When In Doubt Deck M7, 18m
FFA: Cory Hall, PJ Adamson Dec.23, 2009
Climb the bolted line B(3) between Meringue and Main Street, through the overhang and up the rock buttress to finish on ice up top, first bolt is a stick-clip.


Dec 22, Parlee Brook
Was In Parlee yesterday. There's about an inch of snow/slush on everything.... but good ice under it! so... will still be good for a while! Marty

Dec 20, Mt. Misery
Mt Misery is in but only just, 6 lines were led. Im not sure if it will survive this next warm spell. Cory.

Dec 20, Hampton & Cape Enrage
Weekend ice... Hampton was In on the left side but thin and delicate on the right, the pillar is not yet ready and is flowing with water. As for Cap Enrage, its thin and very delicate... could easily come down and be ruined for a while so I would wait for the next cold snap (my opinion). Cheers Marty.

Dec 20. Dorechester
Was out to dorchester today, things are thin, led one line, looked across at the rockport penninsula and things looked good. hopefully things stay cold this week! Max

Dec 20. Waterfall Wall
Great day in Welsford. Lots of ice and still flowing nicely. Fred

Dec 19. Waterfall Wall
out at waterfall wall today, ice was great all main lines are in. I also led cave feaver, it was thin and very wet with hero ice. It protected with screws on the bottom half, and a few cams after the slab. Cory H

Dec 11. Parlee Brook.
The day was awesome - and saw many climbers (~12) out for the first early days of ice climbing...
Everything was led...3 amigos, blue pillar, yellow pillar, ECA, ATKH's and the back wall... Patrick's Choice & KF gully aren't in yet - - but coming. Stace

Start of a new season, Dec 7.
A new season is underway and I have revived the ongoing thread. Check this thread regularly for ice report. Fred


**************************************************

NB Winter 2008/2009 Ice Conditions and Reports

Waterfall Wall, 14 March.
out at waterfall wall today. Everything was thin. Middle and right line were led, but very thin. Left line was topropeable. Lots of ice coming down. Bottom half of the left line was gone by the end of the day, Joey's mixed line completely came down, causing a very scary moment, and cave fever was falling down. The warmth has not treated waterfall wall very well. PJ.

Quarry, 13 March
Friday Matt and I went down to Bald Hill, had a quick look at the Quarry from the road on the way. The lower portion of Debatable was still there and parts of Iced Cheese (as far as we could tell with zoom lenses); otherwise we were mostly looking at rock. Weather was great, super sunny with a wind that was chilly in the morning but refreshing later in the day.

The lower tier of Bald Hill had quite a few separate flows, not all touching down and most very thin but looking like with good weather they'd plump up. The day ended with two lines:

Concepcion WI 3-, 40' (T)
FA: M. Peck, J. Barth (13.March.09)
FFA: M. Peck, J. Barth (13.March.09)
Follow the far left gully escape route from the lower tier to the upper.

Happy Adventure WI 4, 50' (T)
FA: M. Peck, J. Barth (13.March.09)
Ascend the flow immediately left of bolted line Neopolitan. Thin and delicate lower moves up to a small overhang, past Neopolitan's bolt anchors to tree on ledge above.

Parlee, Feb 15.
Hullholmes was awesome - slightly thin at bottom and waay steep at top, but hero ice throughout. An excellent route. Joe.

St. Martins, Feb 15.
Went out to St. Martins today. We were at the area just left of the stairs. A few lines weren't in, but for the most part everything was thick, and the ice was perfect. PJ.

The Quarry Feb 7 & Waterfall Wall Feb 8, 2009 ( Matt Peck)
Another year of ice school down with resounding success! A great day out on saturday to the Quarry, with excellent just below zero temps and fair ice. Drainpipe was fat, Ice Scream less so but still leadable, and a number of small pillars on the main face to play on. Slabs upper right were ok. Pictures athttp://www.noelchenier.ca/GALLERY/album442
Sunday was great despite the warm temps. All three lines on Waterfall Wall were in and leadable, with Moe being lead. Cave fever was wet and barely in, but saw an impressive lead by Dave Peabody amidst a throng of avid viewers.
Thanks to all who helped monitor, and to those who came out for the weekend!
See you next year!

Hopewell Cape February 7, 2009 (Stacey)
Bain de Sang was chandelierie and wet but fun and challenging. Acadie was full (wet to left and brittle on right). Fun quick climbs.

Red Head February 7, 2009 (PJ)
Went out to Red Head beach area today. All the lines were in, and were fairly thick. Needs a cold day though, everything was way, way too soft

Welsford Quarry February 1, 2009 (Jon Corey)
Brutal hike in, Knee deep snow with 1" crust just under the surface
2 lines led. conditions not great

Waterfall Wall and Mt. Misery, 18 Jan 09 (Joe)
Ministers Face is good, with the top right curtain mostly formed. Almost all lines at Mt. Misery are formed.

Hillsborough Jan 11, 2009 (Joe)
The three main lines are in but still forming.

Parlee Jan 10, 2009 (Joe)
Parlee is good enough, but not quite fat yet. Hullhomes also looks like it is in, but not yet fully formed.

Quarry Jan 11, 2009 (PJ)
Checked out bear mtn for any ice possibilities today. Nothing in yet, but there are 2 or 3 lines that will come in later on in the season. Went to the quarry afterwards. It's in-ish. Iced cheese is in, and drainpipe is thick. Most other lines are only topropeable at best.

Minister's Face Jan 10, 2009 (PJ)
Minister's Face is thick now. The rightmost pillar has touched down, and all lines are leadable. River seems to be solid.

St Martins Jan 3, 2009 (Cory)
St Martins. The overhanging seeping conglomerate just left of the caves has 4 or 5 hanging pieces, but only one goes to the ground and it looks quite climbable. This of course is from someone who has not, does not, and will not climb ice. Hiked out just beyond Melvin's beach, lots of ice forming, but nothing reaching the ground yet. Some lines on the West side of the St. Martin's harbour looked complete, but didn't get close. Again this is non-expert opinion, but figured the info may be a good start for anyone considering a trip that way.

Minister's Face Jan 4, 2009 (PJ)
Tried to get to minister's face today, but the river is still sketchy definitely would not recommend trying the crossing for a little while yet. We got to about 200 feet from the ice, but it made scary cracking noises and dropping feelings so we turned back.

Waterfall Wall Jan 3, 2009 (Joe)
At Waterfall Wall Saturday - no one else there!!! Led central; left was too thin and right too layered. Sun killed Cave Fever, and ice falling from mixed route. Ice quite soft (hero).

Grand Falls Jan 3, 2009 (Jeremy H)
Grand Falls is in. 3 lines were led.

Waterfall Wall Jan 2, 2009 (PJ)
Out at waterfall wall today. Everything is really good. All the lines were led. Cave fever is looking fairly decent as well.

Hampton Marsh Jan 1, 2009 (PJ)
Out at the hampton marsh today. Everything is still good. Most lines are in, except for the far right pillar, which hasn't touched down yet. Two lines were led.

Parlee Brook Dec 31, 2008 (Greg H)
I was in to Parlee yesterday. Things are shaping up nicely. Lots of leadable ice there now.

Mt Misery Dec 27, 2008 (Peter A)
We were at Mt. Misery today, and conditions are getting good. Cory led 2 lines, and we toproped a few others.

Hampton Marsh Dec 27, 2008 (Ropeguy)
Greg and I spent the morning climbing Lower Norton shore road Kingston, Lots of plastic Ice today.

Parlee Brook Dec 21, 2008 (Shawn)
The upper canyon is starting to get good. Lots of ice to toprope and a few lines including blue pillar leadable by the right person. That said I wouldn't call any climb "in". The lower canyon routes are starting to form at the top but look pretty lean if any ice at all on the bottom. Will be tricky with this snow to know whether there is rock or ice under it. And speaking of the snow...not a lot of people around here think about avalanche possibilities. If the snow is behaving in parlee like it was on my truck this morning there will be definite potential in the ravine. It is avalanche terrain. And the worst part about the ravine is that it wouldn't take much snow to slide to bury a person walking in the bottom or carry them over the icefall from the top. Pay attention to what is above you if you are walking in via the bottom with extra concern below 3 amigos, sunbake and kf gully. If walking around the top from the rap route to TR blue pillar roping up may not be a bad idea. A small slide there with you on the slab will have bad consequences. You may feel safe amongst the trees but they are too spaced to provide adequate anchors for the snow.


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NB Winter 2007/2008 Ice Conditions and Reports

Quarry Mar 2, 2008 (Fred)
Matt Peck and I were in to the Quarry yesterday. Drain Pipe was in decent condition but the rest was in pretty poor shape. Apparently it has deteriorated tremendously from two weeks ago. Iced Cheese was led by Peck in very thin delaminated condition.

Welsford Feb 17, 2008 (M@)
Ice school this weekend was a fantastic success, exposing some new blood to the Ice scene. Fantastic temps and conditions lead to great climbing at the Quarry and Cochrane Lane. Cave fever was lead on Sunday and was as fat as I have ever seen it. Pure ice for the slabs as opposed to prior sunbake. It's a rope stretcher for 50m. Some interesting mixed climbing right at the end. Probably starting from scratch after the rain though.

Grand Manan Feb 17, 2008 (Fred)
A crew from Masachussets were touring NB and report that Grand Manan was thin at best. Not sure if this applies to all lines.

St-Martins and Welsford Feb 17, 2008 (Fred)
St-Martins Berry Beach is out. The ice has been hit hard by the rain. Nothing was climbed. The stuff by the lighthouse looked much better from a distance but we opted to head back towards Fredericton and stop in at Waterfall Wall. Welsford is in pretty good shape. Waterfall Wall all leadable. Cave Fever was led. Also, report of the Quarry being in good condition. Ice school was held at the Quarry on Saturday and Waterfall Wall on Sunday.

Mt Misery Feb 17, 2008 (PJ)
We were out today to mt. misery and found a 2nd cliff with about 5 ice climbs on it. It is about 100 ft uphill from the top of the other (lower) ice climbs. It is about 50 ft high at its highest point. Sorry we don't have any pictures but we didn't bring a camera with us.

Hayes Falls Feb 11, 2008 (Richard)
We were in to Haye's Falls on Saturday. No one has been yet this winter judging by the lack of tracks. The left side is a jumble of snow and ice, the middle is wide and good and the right side is either open or snow covered. The pillar far right in the woods is fat and full to the very bottom, although the first fifteen feet will only take a stubby.

Minister's Face Feb 11, 2008 (Steve A)
We climbed at Minister's Face on Saturday. The left side is fat. The middle is good. The right side is thinner but leadable. The right side goes to the top, but the left curtain has not formed yet. The river is solid.

Hayes Falls Feb 3, 2008 (Shannon)
Went in To hayes this morning, and was out by around 1:30. Fairly fat in there, with the main falls filled, and a left line and a harder right line of vertical ice.

Kingston Jan 29, 2008 (Steve A)
We went to a spot that was new to me, and which I have not heard about. The ice was about 60' high with at least 12 routes, all about grade IV. It is upstream from the Gondola Point ferry about 1/2 mile on the Kingston side right on the river bank. The routes can be led or easily top roped from trees. Definately a worthwhile spot.

Welsford Quarry Jan 27, 2008 (Richard)
Stan and I were into the quarry yesterday. Ice was quite thin and scarce in places where it usually is fat. Couldn't get a full 15 screw on Iced Cheese, and hardly a stubby in most places. Rotten and shell ice with flow beneath and on surface in spite of the temp. Fun on top-rope 'tho.......

Waterfall Wall Jan 27, 2008 (Fred)
Two reports (from Dave and John) confirm Waterfall Wall looks like it's in.

Grand Falls Jan 27, 2008 (Matthew)
Great day out at Grand Falls today, with a possible two first ascents to record. An awesome but cold day out. Conditions are good in Grand Falls again, though the usual sunbaked and sometimes rotten ice forms the Dirty Cliff.

Lunch Gun. WI 3+ 20m
FFA Matthew Peck and Fred Berube. 27/01/08
Newly formed narrow pillar of ice climbers right of "Into The Woods" before the "easy Gully" ramp. Short and steep.
This is the first time I've seen any ice on this climb, but it took 22cms the whole way.

Goof Juice. WI 5 30m
FFA Dave Peabody and Matthew Peck. 27/01/08
Leftmost major pillar of the left area. Steep and sometimes overhanging chandaliers. Abalakov Rappell.


Parlee Brook Jan 20, 2008 (Matthew)
Was in to parlee yesterday with Fred and Dave, looks like just about everything is in and fairly fat. Patricks is out but that was about the only one. left of three amigos is fatter than I have ever seen it, and Yellow pillar is fat but very moderate at the moment. Approach from the top was about 1.5 hours from the stopsign, Joe "longlegs" Kennedy said that approach from the bottom was about 50 strenuous minutes. Yellow pillar, Yellow opposite yellow, and blue pillar were all lead on long screws.

Waterfall Wall Jan 17, 2008 (Burley)
I was in on Sunday and it was 100% gone. Some was formed in the morning, but it was gone by the afternoon. Parlee or possibly Grand Falls would be the only options for the weekend.

Hayes Falls Jan 15, 2008 (new to NB)
I was in to Hays Falls today, to have a look and seams good 1st time there, hard to see it as WI3 as stated in Joes web site but good. A few mixes lines we played with, however you can hear a bit of water running under neath so we backed a way from lead and TR'ed the day fun and a easy hike on with 2 feet of snow ......

Parlee Brook Jan 13, 2008 (Stacey)
We made the hike in today - - was worth it...the little micro-climate held some ice. We climbed 'All the King's Horses'...great little climb...
great to see Darrell, Denise and Shawn too

Minister's Face Jan 5, 2008 (Steve A)
I hiked over to Ministers Face Sunday. The ice is not too great. The upper section is not formed at all, and the right side would be a thin lead. The ice on the river was only 8" thick and with this weeks warm weather I would recommend staying off it for a while.

Waterfall Wall Jan 5, 2008 (Matt P)
I was in to Cochrane lane yesterday to check out some mixed lines and this warm weather we've been having has deteriorated the ice significantly. I'd say today (sunday) will be the last good day we'll have for a while with the temps this week coming up. There was lots of delaminated ice yesterday, so be careful climbing late in the afternoon/evening, folks.

Hillsborough Dec 27, 2007 (Don)
hillsborough is out. 50% of it is gone from the melt and high tides.

Welsford Quarry Dec 22, 2007 (PJ)
Steve, cory, and I trekked out to the quarry yesterday. It's in, but thin. Iced cheese is pretty good, but not many of the other lines were thick, although they might still be doable.

Grand Falls Dec 22, 2007 (Fred)
Peck, Corey, and Berube out for a great day in Grand Falls. The main flows under the rap line are formed nicely. Stuff around the left end of the cliff is in but was not climbed. Peck led a sweet pillar at left end of the big cliff. Impressive lead which earned him the MVP again. Finished with a sweet TR of the big cliff. Very wet and as always very pumpy.

Welsford Dec 20, 2007 (Fred)
Out to Waterfall Wall today which was still in great shape. The right line is dripping wet and getting fatter every day. Drove by the Quarry and there seemed to be a considerable amount of ice. Might be worth the hike in but couldn't say for sure.

Hillsborough Dec 18, 2007 (DanR)
Ice in hillsborough is IN. Easier lines are pretty fat, steeper pillars are forming nicely, but should get much bigger. Few pictures for those who've never been there. Right off the road, you can almost belay from your car, but gotta be carefull for the tides!
http://flickr.com/photos/ahdont/2113822588/

Waterfall Wall Dec 16, 2007 (M@)
Welsford today in the blizzard which was wicked. All 3 main lines are in, and leadable. Middle and right lines were lead, with the right yeilding the best ice. Cave fever is rapidly forming, slabs are in but thin, and the main fall could use another week or so to fatten up.
Best winter ever.

St-Martins Dec 15, 2007 (M@)
Another killar weekend. St. Martins on sat; very cold and lots of ice, but few lines completely formed. After descending to the beach, hang a left towards the flowerpot and several 3 and 3+ lines are in. Watch the tides!

Waterfall Wall Dec 15, 2007 (Fred)
The ice at WW is fat. Like end of January FAT. All climbs were top-roped and could have been lead. Cave Fever is formed top to bottom but looked pretty thin.

Grand Falls Dec 9, 2007 (M@ Peck)
Yeah Hey! Killer weekend, and a great day in Grand Falls. Fred Berube and I decided to risk the drive for early season ice and were rewarded for our perservereance. The pillar in the woods is better than I have ever seen it, and quite plastic which is rare in my experience. The main Rapline is filled out nicely,but gets quite soft in the afternoon. The topout is a little dicey yet, unless you enjoy a little drytooling to round out the experience (cool). Both lines were lead. The big wall is also coming in nicely, and will go to the right leader. Several possible lines exist allready. The ice over the river is thin at best, making the traverse upriver quite dangerous. I'd reccomend approach from above. Hope to see lots of people out next weekend!

Parlee Brook Dec 8, 2007 (Fred)
A big gang was out to Parlee Brook today. The trek in was long but nice. The road is not plowed at all so hike is 4.4km from Lisson Settlement Rd. The ice today was great. Everything is forming nicely. Blue Pillar, ATKH, Sunbake, KF Gully, Three Amigos all saw some leads today. Ice was pretty good for the most part and is improving rapidly. Peck wins the MVP for the day with impressive early season leads of Amigos and Blue Pillar. Great day out with exhausting approach.

Parlee Brook Dec 2, 2007 (M@)
Hella awesome day today. Blue pillar is in but thin, as is all the kings horses. Three Amigos looks really good. Patricks is coming, as is K Gulley. Sunbake is in but the first pitch is thin. yellow pillar should be there by next week, as should the yellow pillars opposite. Cold conditions in there, with lots of flowing water, so formup should continue nicely. Hope to see lots o folks out next weekend!



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NB Winter 2006/2007 ice conditions and reports


Parlee Brook Jan 31, 2007 (Max)
Was into Parlee Brook today and things look great. It was my first time in so I'm not sure the usual but everything was really fat in the back and right side looking down. The left in the back was great and then things started to thin up but still locked really good.

Falls Brook Jan 28, 2007 (Ken)
For anyone who cares, Fall Brook Falls is very solid.
The gate is now open for the remainder of the winter.

Welsford Quarry Jan 28, 2007 (M@)
Hey all. Lots of folks into the Quarry today, conditions are quite good, and by that I mean fatter than they have been in at least two years. Drainpipe and Ice scream both saw multiple leads from all sides and several other lines got tr'd. Best leading is early in the morning as many lines delam by 1 pm or so. Beautiful day out, no need for the Down at all.

Hampton Jan 28, 2007 (Ropeguy)
Excellent, ice was fat and all lines were in.

Dorchester Jan 28, 2007 (Max)
I was into Dorchester Cape Friday and and today and things are in great shape nice and fat on most lines. There was 4 climbs led. There is also a nice big pillar forming about 15m high. Should be good in a few days of this great cold weather.

Welsford Quarry Jan 27, 2007 (Peter A)
We were in to the quarry today and conditions were fat. Steve and Jon each led a route. Ice was solid. We'll be in there again tomorrow.

Waterfall Wall Jan 22, 2007 (M@)
Got into WW in the middle of the blizzard on Friday night, and I hear several parties got in on the weekend. Conditions were on the way to fat for two flows, with ice thick enough for at least medium screws. Hero ice with a lot of flowing water seeping down. Cave fever was quite thin, but is forming up.

Hayes Falls Jan 22, 2007 (M@)
Big group was into Hayes yesterday, and the mainface was well in. The pillar in the woods saw a couple of leads but was almost nonexistant for the bottom half. The upper section takes medium screws on the upper third, with brittle ice as usual.

Waterfall Wall Jan 15, 2007 (Fred)
John C and I were out to Welsford today. Top-roped the center line on WF wall. Very thin conditions. Quarry is out.

Dorchester Dec 31, 2006 (Marty)
Jay and I went to Dorchester, the Ice was there, but in bad conditions, I was still able to get a lead on ''Knoggin Knocker'' but the screws were bad and the run out wasn't formed.

Waterfall Wall Dec 31, 2006 (Cara)
Five of us out in Welsford today. Waterfall Wall had the centerline in but only TR-able today. It was hollow in the middle with running water behind it. Lots flowing. A few more cold days and there will be lots of ice there. By mid afternoon, ice was coming down everywhere. What was frozen on Cave Fever also came down.

Grand Falls Dec 29, 2006 (Jeremy)
Grand Falls was ok on friday, mostly tr but some climbs would have been leadable. after the past 2 days of cold, it will only be getting better, quickly...

Hampton and Welsford Dec 29, 2006 (Fred)
While out getting guidebook info today I happened to stop in to check out some ice. Hampton looked TR'able from a distance. Waterfall Wall looked TR'able from farmer's field. Larry, Curly, Moe all covered top to bottom but couldn't tell how thick. The Quarry is totaly non-existant.

Grand-Falls Dec 27, 2006 (John C)
John visited Grand-Falls this week and drove past the ice. From a distance he said it looked in very poor shape and questionable whether it could be top-roped.

Hayes Falls Dec 24, 2006 (Stef)
Mal and I went for a walk into Hayes falls. Nothing is climbable yet. Ice at the bottom is unstable; I went for a little swim...

Parlee Brook Dec 8, 2006 (Fred)
Richard and I were out to Parlee today (Friday) and conditions were terrible at best. The road is un-passable without 4x4 and major water holes at end of clear-cut we opted to walk the rest of the way. There is already a surprising amount of snow up in there. Wind was blowing, snow was falling... it's very much winter in Parlee Brook. Road is not plowed through blueberry fields and drifts have already started so walk in is 1h20 min without 4x4 and who knows for how long. The drive through the clear-cut was extremely muddy with hidden sink holes not yet frozen. We only managed to TR All The Kings Horses below big rap tree. Last 10ft and first 10ft no ice at all. The remainder of the climb was a thin coat of ice over not yet frozen muck and rocks.



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NB Winter 2005/2006 ice conditions and reports

Parlee Brook March 19, 2006 (Darrell)
In to Parlee, Mar 18&19th. Conditions were very good and stable on most shaded climbs - KF Gulley and Patricks Choice excellent. Cool Temps - low sun meant nothing was falling from Sunbake - However the recent warm temps have caused variblle conditions on 3 Amigos / Sunbake Wall. Chuck led 3 Amigos, but large dinner plates - 5-6 inches deep, not uncommon. Beware of the large overhanging, almost unsupported, chevette sized blocks at the top of the back wall. The ice above Blue Pillar is stable, but to the left of that, large blocks could come down if the temps warm alot - or if someone raps / lowers down on them from above. Hopefully the ice will keep forming, and these blocks may consolidate with the ice below.

Grand Falls March 4, 2006 (M@)
another awesome weekend ice climbing. Fred, John, Eric, Tony and I headed up to Grand Falls saturday for a great day with weird weather and extremely varied ice conditions. Lines 3,4 and 5 were lead and an awesome attempt on the rightmost line of 8 was made by Fred. Not sure how much longer the season will hang on, but I hope for a couple of weeks like this.


Parlee Feb 18, 2006 (Fred)
Drove right in to Parlee today with 4x4. Ice was "scary" brittle. Most lines are in.


Welsford Feb 13, 2006 (Fred)
John Corey et al. were out to the Parlee on Saturday. Very brittle conditions. Some stuff was led. I don't have anymore details except that Matt and Pat both agreed there wasn't much for this time of year.

Welsford Jan 29, 2006 (Fred)
There is no ice whatsoever at the Quarry and for all intensive purposes, Waterfall Wall is also out. I started leading the centerline when realizing partway up that the hollow ice I was climbing on was not only the bottom 20ft of the wall but in fact went up all the way. Matt Peck threw me a line and I abandoned that idea. We did manage to TR but the ice was delaminated everywhere and very thin. The left line was non existant. With the heat of yesterday, the ice was coming down in chunks. We decided to climb Reindeer Land and then headed back home.

Hayes Falls Jan 25, 2006 (Fred)
Four of us made it out to Hayes Falls last night. The falls were hit hard by the rains but the ice is quickly forming again. Lots of open water but things are closing up nicely. The left side is climbable where as the middle and right are thin. Once it hardens up things will be nice since the water overflowed over the rock face on the right again. Pillar in woods is in fine shape except the top out is moss and loose rock.

Parlee Brook Jan 22, 2006 (Darrell)
very good conditions at Parlee Brook. Ground was mostly frozen - 4x4 still needed. Blue Pillar itself looked excellent – didn’t try it as we were by ourselves, late in the day – stuck to easier stuff. 3 Amigos was great – nice plastic yellow line top to bottom, and even the smooth, blue ice was not that brittle. Yellow Pillar was leadable – all the way to the top – same for Dog Gulley. Sunbake looked great, and there were numerous lines fat enough to lead on lower sunbake. Patrick’s choice left was leadable, but narrow, and the right side still not in. Only concern was the stability of the huge lower section of the rap route (All the King's Horses), as I caused 2 huge fracture lines, about 20- 30 ft high and wide, with two swings on the way out. The upper section was fine, but be cautious on the lower parts. I would have moved my Belayer out of danger, but it was only Jamie P.

Welsford Quarry Jan 8, 2006 (M@)
Annie, Ryan and I were into the Quarry today for a spot of fantastic weather. Most of the routes are in and at least 50% are fat enough to lead. We had a quick day in with Iced Cheese being lead. Still a little thin, so bring your stubbies! Lots of water flowing in places so if we get some cooler temps things will fatten up quick!

Welsford Jan 8, 2006
Cave Fever was led today

Parlee Brook Jan 8, 2006 (Fred)
We went to Parlee on Sunday and the conditions were great. We drove in all the way with a car. Climbed 1000 ft of ice. Three Amigos, Sunbake, Blue Pillar, All the Kings, Back Wall are all fat. Paticks and Yellow Pillar not in. Fred

Welsford Jan 07, 2005 (Fred)
Dave Lister and myself attacked Welsford today. The first hour of our day was spent scoping out a new cliff for some mixed ice. The "Reception Wall" (located directly accross from the cell phone tower on the way back to Fredericton) had some ice forming but nothing big enough yet to climb on. It's too bad because the cliff is quite overhanging and would have some fun steep stuff if only the ice could form. After returning to the car we headed over to Cochrane Lane Cliffs. Once at Cochrane Lane we hiked up to Minkey to check out the smears. Some ice, but nothing climbable. Then we went around the corner and checked out "The Dike". There was great ice on "The Dike" and I think that thing could be lead with screws on the first half and rock gear near the top. Looks interesting. We thought maybe "Never Ending Story" might have some ice since it's always seeping wet in the summer. Nada... So finaly we headed over to Waterfall Wall. It's in pretty good shape considering the rain we got not too long ago. Both left and middle lines were lead. The right line was TR'd by Mat. It looked decent but a bit sketchy for screws maybe. I accomplished my only objective for this ice season, which was to lead Waterfall Wall. I was pretty happy about that and felt great. We didn't get a chance to see "Cave Fever" but Mat said the line was in. However, on our hike to Minkey, the slabs up top appeard sketchy at best. On the drive back home I decided to swing by the Quarry to check it out. The ice appears to be 3 times better than the photo I sent Joe over the holidays. It looks in decent shape from the road (from the road that is... ) FRED

Grand Falls Dec 31, 2005 (Fred)
A bunch of us were out to Grand Falls today. Conditions were decent and most lines were led except the big stuff.

Hayes Falls Dec 28, 2005 (M@)
Hey All, was into Hayes Falls today, The main face is in and fairly fat, but the rock face on the right isn't iced over yet. The hidden pillar in the woods is extremly thin still.

The Quarry Dec 24, 2005 (M@)
Hey all, I was into the quarry on Xmas eve, and it's still a little thin. The Drainpipe is the only route on the main wall that is fully in, and the crux is pretty thin. I lead up but could only get in stubbies and 16's. The crux has decent ice, but no pro. There are other lines that are climbable, but I'd wait another week before going back. Other than that it was sweet! First lead on the new tools! The vipers rocked (traversing leashless is the shizzo) but still stick in the ice a little, time to modify that pick a little more.

Waterfall Wall Dec 18, 2005 (Fred)
Darrell Steele et al. were out at Waterfall Wall yesteday. All three routes on the main wall were lead in thin but good conditions. Cave Fever was not climbed but is forming nicely.

Hampton Marsh Dec 10, 2005 (Fred)
Drove by Hampton Marsh today. Ice is forming nicely but no climbing yet.

Parlee Brook Dec 10, 2005 (Stef)
Ice was good today, still thin but climbable. Road is driveable for cars with caution. We ripped off a metal bit from the bottom of Rob's car.
All the king horses: good, takes 22's in places
Back wall: ok/thin maybe leadable
Blue Pillar: thin, got TR'd today
Sunbake: top looks good, but the bottom is out.

Parlee Brook Dec 9, 2005 (Lisa)
Don't want to burst anyone's bubble (or plans for the weekend), but Amber and I went to check out the ice at Parlee today - let me just say it's thin at best at the bottom of everything. . . guess you could have fun doing some very wet mixed climbing/sliding.
I'm not a hardcore ice climber by any means, but I lived in Banff for 6 plus years and know what good ice looks like.
cheers and remember to play safe,