Winter can't seem to make up it's mind this year. Sunny. Then snowy. Then it got warm. Then it got cold. The variation has my internal body thermometer working overtime trying to get reset to whatever it is that the weather is doing, but in terms of outdoor activities, it's all good.Our ski days were limited. After only two days the hot sun melted away the snow cover, and we were back to hiking instead of skiing. When the temperatures reached 65 in the sun, we met our friend Ryan at Pat and Jack's (a climbing area in Yosemite) and spent a day climbing. Ryan had never been there before and was psyched to lead some routes. After such a long time of not roping up, it was nice to just relax, take it easy, and enjoy climbing from the safety of a top rope. My hands felt really weak after the long hiatus from climbing, but I still managed to do a bunch of climbing and have a great time.
The next day the temperatures plummetted, and the ice started to form on the waterfalls around the park. Bridal Veil Falls is still running with water, but the spray is freezing to the sides of the falls. From the highway, you can also see another frozen waterfall. It's not Widow's Tears, that route isn't in yet, but one gully over from it, this other line has frozen in solid. It's hard to tell exactly how long it is, because we haven't hiked that close to it, but it is at least a full rope length. Too bad our ice climbing equipment is in storage in the Bay Area still! We don't have very many screws and it's early in the season for Tom to feel comfortable running things out on ice, but it would make for an excellent top rope in a gorgeous setting.