Caribou

[bln]

Kid is in, try to be gentle. Approach from the bottom will likely require water crossing(s). Little to no snow in the area.
Enjoy

[Carlene]

Gentle, indeed! The first pitch on the left is a good example of WI4 chandelier but the right side is what you'd expect--cold and brittle! Went out there on Thursday but didn't bother with the approach; just rapped in and climbed out. Stayed above 0, which was surprising since it was that here in Palmer in the am. Expect snow now, about 4"; enjoyed looking at the lynx tracks on the hike in. So great to have waterfalls to play on again

[JAConnolly]

Went in today (sunday) climbed Kid, and wished there was cold and brittle ice. Despite -10 temps in the early am, we found lots of flowing water on the bottom and middle pitches and ended up soaked with frozen ropes. Still fun and worth the trip. Bring your raingear or an umbrella..

[AK Grimey]

Kid was a lot of fun. We approached from the top side. Messed around for awhile, walked out and approached from the river. Everything is all frozen and looking good. Some open water, but no crossings necessary. The first pitch is a little soft. What a blast. So glad winter is here.

Second Pitch @ Kid.

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Bottom Approach

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[John N]

Went up "Kid" today. Creek approach is good but I recommend walking out from the top instead of rappeling like we did. Middle pitch is WET and ropes were a mess by the end.

[Chicks with Sticks]

The creek approach up Caribou to Kid around the Corner is in great shape. Quite a bit of drifted snow in the parking area but solid crossings up the river to the base of the climb. Be careful crossing the river at the cut in by the spruce trees, some areas collasped resulting in a wet foot but nothing serious.

The first two pitches had hard cold ice, and the remaining pitches had soft (wet) ice as well as harder cold ice. Pick your line and enjoy!

Experience a small snow slide while climbing the first pitch, so beware of this potential hazard while gearing up at the base of the climb. The slide was not enough to bury anyone, but could have knocked someone around if they were standing there.

~Cindi

[bln]

Via machine, Boone and I followed the tracks of Chicks with Sticks (see previous post) into Caribou today, yet just a bit further. Powder was deep and overflow was obnoxious for this time of year so we thought it better to put in new tracks to a route we hadn't been to. We machined into Hicks Creek only to find a downed tree about 300 meters from the bridge. Obviously skis or snowshoes are recommended if you go that direction. On the turnaround we put a hole through the ice ...strike two. We never got the tools out, but if we had it would have been within close proximity of the highway and we would have been able to get there and out during daylight hours.
Enjoy

[cd]

We need to get confirmation from the community on the true name of Kid. I have heard it referred to as 'Kid Around the Corner', 'Kid in the Corner', and several others. Can anyone confirm the true name?

[Adrian]

As of Saturday, 1/9, there is a good ski track back to Rhythm and Blues.

The route is much much thinner than depicted in the guide, but offers terrific and varied climbing for the grade.

[tmt]

Spent the weekend up in Caribou. Good traveling all the way to the falls. Falls looked passable with some creativity. Rhythm and Blues offered a good WI4 with some fun balancey moves for the start. Robopick was in great condition. Lower section had some onion layers with faceted snow under but upper was great. Felt more like a 4+ than 5 as the upper section was not a sustained steep curtain.

There was a "new" climb to the left of Kantellia Falls. In previous years I have never seen any flow here nor have I head anything about it. I am guessing that it has been climbed before and would like to see if there is any info on it. We found no rap anchor on the only tree on top, there is one now. Below are two pics, one of the climb with Kantellia to the right and one of the first pitch pillar (WI 5). There were old ski and snow machine tracks out there so people must have looked at it or climbed it. Either way it should be on the site, it adds a stellar WI 5 pillar to the great line up back there.

[bln]

Great weekend. Looks like a fun lead. Last year the same line (left of Kant.) was apparent, but consisted largely of dirt particles. The DOT construction crew on the Glenn Hwy tells me the summer of 2008 was one of the wettest they had ever seen, which might explain the new ice line. We'll try to get it added to the site. Thanks!

[mountainmidget]

First time in Caribou Creek, hit the Kid on February 5th. It was windy as a mofo until we got into the canyon. Bottom section was dry and well climbed. The last pitch obviously gets the most sun and had been healing itself, it was in better shape than the lower sections.

[ozman]

Caribou is in great shape today. Easy travelling for walking, skis, or sleds.

[mountainmidget]

Went out and climbed The Kid on Saturday. We hiked in because we heard the river had been opening up. The trail was still hard packed. The ice was fine until the last two sections. The sun has definitely been baking it. The leader tagged up a second rope, the visitor to Alaska went up second, then I cleaned the route third. I pretty much just had to wiggle the screws out. You could kick through in a few spots on the last two sections. Great ice for Slushies! The bottom sections might be climbable for a little bit, I just wouldn't plan on making it to the top for the walk-off.

[Carlene]

Thanks for the beta, Midget! I forgot to post I had Caribou open up on me while starting in Tuesday; went to the Long Rifle and then back to the beer climbs after that... Boring, yes, but no river crossings or rock fall to deal with at the beer climbs! Might go say good-by to Kid's tomorrow; hate to see it all go so early!