CURRENTLY NO BEING UPDATED

YES/NO/MAYBE/?

Hyalite Canyon Main Fork

Date of Last Update: 1/16/2020

  • Clump Tree GullyYes
  • Genesis I –Yes
  • Genesis II – Yes
  • Hang Over –Yes
  • Hang Over Variations –Yes
  • Bourbon Tan: Yes
  • Whiskey: Yes
  • Lower Green Sleeves –Yes
  • Sleeping Giant Falls –Yes
  • The Golden Mean – Yes
  • The Soprano –Yes
  • Through Four More –Yes
  • Home Field Advantage- Yes
  • Upper Green Sleeves –Yes
  • Willow Gully –Yes
  • Zack Attack –Yes, mostly ice, P1 ice is getting more haggard. 
  • Notes:
  • Fat Chance: Yes
  • Variation on FC w/ bolts: Yes, lots of ice
  • Thin Chance: Yes, but thin up top
  • Sun Vow: yes
  • Desert Dance: Yes
  • Knoff’s D8: Yes
  • White Zombie: Yes
  • Switch Back Falls:  Yes,
  • Mummy 1: Yes
  • Mummy 2: Yes
  • Scepter: Yes
  • Mummy 3 & 4: Yes, all ice
  • Crypt Orchid: Yes
  • The Matrix: Yes
  • Cave & Gully: Yes
  • Feeding the Cat: Yes
  • Alex’s Solo I & II: Yes both are in.
  • Bingo World – Yes
  • Breadfan –NO
  • Bulldog World –No
  • Come and Get ItHas been Top-roped. bit thin to get to ice still
  • Expanding Horizons –No
  • Fatty Access Ice –Yes
  • Grassroots Revival – No
  • Jeff’s Left –Yes
  • Jeff’s Right-Yes
  • Magically Delicious –Yes, mostly ice
  • Sharp Dressed Man –Yes 
  • The Elevator Shaft –Yes
  • Broken Stair – Yes (mixed variation on right side of ES)
  • The Fat One –Yes
  • The Good Lookin’ One – Yes
  • The Itchy and Scratchy Show –Yes
  • The Penthouse– Yes
  • The Scrappy One –Yes
  • The Thrill is Gone –Yes, always as mixed
  • Notes: 
  • Black Magic – Yes, slightly tricker in the crack with ice, ice up top is easier than normal.
  • Smears for Fears – No
  • Smear Today, Gone Tomorrow – No
  • Smear Factor – No (Smear directly right of STGT)
  • The Shores of Pluto – No, may come in.
  • Uranus Start to SP- Yes
  • Pura Vida -No
  • Notes:  
  • Avalanche Gulch – Yes
  • Silken Falls –Yes
  • Silken Skein Falls –Yes
  • Silken Slot –Yes
  • The Climb Above The Dribbles –Yes
  • The Climb Left of The Climb Above The Dribbles –?
  • The Climb Right of Silken Falls –Yes
  • The Dribbles –Yes
  • Notes: 
  • Responsible Family Man –Yes
  • Rocket Boy – No
  • The Western – Yes
  • Irresponsible Bachelors (smears below RFM): Yes

Notes:

  • Disco Party – Yes
  • Poseidon – Yes
  • Strong Persuader –Yes
  • The G-Spot – Yes
  • The Monkey Ass Wall – Yes
  • Palace Butte Falls – Yes
  • Kansas Cornfield –Yes
  • Reparation – No
  • The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse – NO
  • Alpha Blondy- Yes
  • Hang Time – Yes, Dagger looked large.
  • Burning Spear: Yes,  There is enough ice to get from bolts to the ice. Needs second ascent.
  • Notes: Additional info
  • Airborne Ranger –No
  • Cleopatra’s Needle – Yes
  • Equinox – Yes
  • Marc Antony’s Wicked Tool –NO
  • Solstice – Yes
  • The Matriarch – Yes, bigger than the 1-3rd ascents of the climb.
  • The Shimmy – Yes
  • Twin Falls – Yes
  • Twenty One Stitches- Yes
  • The Cesarean Start: Yes
  • Ey of the Asp: Yes

Notes: 

  • Curtains –Yes
  • Dielectric Breakdown –Yes
  • Land of the Lost –Yes
  • Over Easy –Yes
  • Slot Corner –Yes
  • Winter Dance – Yes
  • The Nutcracker –Yes

Notes: Additional info

Hyalite Canyon East Fork

Date of Last Update: 1/16/2020

NOTE: We have not yet skied up this drainage but gaging on what we climbed and saw in Flanders Drainage,  this is out expectations.

  • Cave Falls – Yes
  • High Fidelity – Yes
  • Horsetail Falls – Yes
  • Lucky Feet – Yes
  • Slight of Hand – Yes
  • Rock And Hoar Pic Show – Yes
  • The Asteroid – Yes
  • The Comet – Yes

Notes: Road Conditions

  • East Hyalite is never plowed in winter, 4×4 and clearance mandatory. Bring a shovel and expect oncoming traffic in the one lane ruts.  Closes annually on 1/1.  After 1/1 you must ski in to gain access.

Lower Flanders

  • Champagne Sherbet – Yes
  • Champagne Slot – Yes 
  • High Crimes And Misdemeanors – Yes
  • Right Side Routes – Yes

Upper Flanders

  • Code Red – ?
  • Fact Or Flander –Yes
  • Butterflies on Tears- No
  • Flanders Field – Yes
  • Red Dog – Yes
  • Slick Willy –Yes
  • The Ice Miser – Yes

Flanders Cirque

  • Bulging Blues –?
  • Pigs In Zen –?
  • The Ghost Of Flanders –?
  • April Fools: Yes

North Side of The Mummy

  • Bobo Like –Yes. In huge.
  • Corkscrew Silliness –Yes
  • Direct Start to The Big Sleep –Yes, overhanging moss & choss is always in.
  • Men Are From Mars –Yes
  • Narcolepsy –Yes
  • Lurking Smear- No
  • Resurrection Start –
  • The Big Sleep –Yes, nearly hooked out
  • The Killer Pillar –Yes
  • Women Are From Venus –Yes

Notes: Road Conditions

  • East Hyalite is never plowed in winter, 4×4 and clearance mandatory. Bring a shovel and expect oncoming traffic in the one lane ruts.  Closes annually on 1/1.  After 1/1 you must ski in to gain access.
  • Alpha –Yes
  • Omega- Yes
  • Palisade Falls- Yes

1/16/2020- Not much has changed for ice conditions since early December in Hyalite Canyon.  That’s in part what makes this canyon so incredible.  The conditions are incredibly reliable throughout the whole winter.  In general, some climbs are fatter, the thinner lines that have dried up are more brittle, but all in all there is little to no change.  Enjoy!

From November – April 1st, Montana Alpine Guides will be updating ice climbing conditions for Hyalite Canyon and other southwest Montana areas on a weekly basis.

What may be “in” for one climber may be a fright fest for the next.  Enjoy it for what it is; an ego boost or lesson in humility.  We are just providing a general idea on conditions, but not too much info in order to keep some adventure in this pursuit.

Ice conditions change drastically from day to day, so it is up to you the climber to decide if a route is “in” for your own abilities, acceptance of risk, etc. We will be listing routes with “YES” if the ice is in and some one has climbed it, “NO” if it’s not in, “MAYBE” for routes that were close at the time of our last observation, and “?” which means we simply don’t know. Again, this list is merely a reference and it’s up to you to find out the latest condition of a route and make your own call. Ice climbing grades can vary one number grade in either direction so keep that in mind and make your own assessments. We have decided to make this list after numerous inquiries, we hope this is a valuable resource for our climbing community at large. Keep in mind that routes can fall out of shape/conditions in an hour. Take this list with a grain of salt and walk up there to find out the final condition, you may even find it to be “in” if you are willing to rock climb over enough choss.

Help us keep this list – We have 4-8 ice climbing guides who frequent the canyon both for work and play, but we need and want your input. If you see that a route has melted out, fallen down, formed, or feel it’s in different condition from our list please let us know by sending emails to info@mtalpine.com.

For the latest avalanche conditions please visit the Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Advisory.

Hyalite Ice Conditions 11/20/18

This year is lining up to be another banner year in Hyalite! …
SAM HENNESSEY

Flanders and Main Drainage

We climbed Narcolepsy in Flanders and had good views of other…
Sphinx, Ice Climbing, MT, Madison Range, Montana Alpine Guides, early season ice