Ice climbing season kicks off

And, boy, does it ever - it was FREEZING! It was the annual Bozeman Ice Climbing festival in Hyalite Canyon, and the climbing part wasn't so bad, but the waiting around to climb was very, very, very cold. So cold that my camera refused to function, so I have no pictures of my own. Which is especially sad because the ice was very beautiful, and I feel I have definitely improved over my performance at the same event last year. In fact, my (attempted) climb of The Sceptre was one of the most exciting of the day! At least I thought so, anyway. It was really very hard, with a bulging, overhanging section in the middle with giant icicles hanging off it. Most of the climbers used the rock on the side of the waterfall for support over this difficult section. I tried to do that, and was way more successful than I thought I would be - only I didn't really know where to go from there. For some reason, I edged left over the icicles, which left nothing for my left foot to connect to. So I was connected by two ice axes and my right foot, and I wasn't getting anywhere, so for some reason I moved farther left... so I then had nothing for my right foot to connect to. So I was just dangling there. I pulled my right ice axe out of the ice, but then I was just dangling from one arm - which was kind of exciting with all the people watching below, including some truly world class ice climbers. (Canadian Guy Lacelle had just done the route before me - he's climbed more ice than anyone in the world.) So I'm hanging there by one ice axe, realizing I can't go on - but I can't really get off, either. Well, I can, but it would involve falling. We're on top rope, so it's pretty safe, but falling would involve leaving my leashless ice axe in the ice. Which, in the not-very-coherent moment, seemed like something I shouldn't want to do. But, really, with all the top-notch guys down below itching to go next, it wouldn't be a problem. So I let go of the ice axe and fell, and then the ice axe came out of the ice and fell, narrowly missing my head and then crashing down toward the spectators below. Exciting!

No one was hurt, thankfully. I was dangling there on the rope so I asked to be lowered by my belayer, who seemed a bit surprised that I didn't want to try it some more. I was so close!