Green Ice

The Comprehensive Ice and Mixed Climbing of Vermont.

- Kel Rossiter

“WELCOME TO SMUGGLERS’ NOTCH!” the tour leader bellowed. Alluding to the narrow canyon’s Prohibition-era history as a place for Canadian bootleggers to hide liquor, he added, “Go up into those rocks ’n you might just find yerself some whiskey!” The participants of the snowmobile tour giggled outside our tent. We did not. It was midnight, 20 degrees below zero, and the third time we’d heard his spiel that night. Finally, my climbing partner and I drifted off to sleep, waking among snow-covered boulders in the arctic morning.

We geared up and waited for body heat to melt our frozen layers before searching for Grand Confusion (WI3+) in the Easy Gully area. True to the route name we got lost, and decided instead to head for the Notch’s most obvious feature, Jefferson Slide (WI2- 4), a 200-foot-wide swath of ice easily seen from the access road. Though we found it, we bailed after the first pitch, fingers numb and gloves frozen to the tool shafts. The day before, our harnesses, gloves, and pants had wetted out on the approach to the Blue Ice Bulge (II WI3-4), which we eventually abandoned in the face of a slabavalanche release. High winds and ample snow in the area erased paths and created dangerous cross-loaded snow on the approach gullies. While I’d climbed high-altitude peaks from Alaska to Ecuador, this was a new level of pain and frustration. Faced with post holing, vague guidebook info, aimless bushwhacking, looming avalanches, and cruel temperatures, like many Notch first-timers, we left the next day utterly defeated. Despite the smack down, we had gotten a glimpse of the crown jewel of Vermont ice climbing.