I credit the American Alpine Club (AAC) Sierra Nevada Section (SNS) with introducing me to two of the best kept secrets in the Sierras: the Lost Trail Lodge and ice climbing in Coldstream Canyon.

I first joined them for the annual event in February 2007 and then again over the weekend of January 29-31, 2010. Both are located in the North Lake Tahoe region near Donner Pass and are little known among the average ice climber that either struggles to make the drive to Lee Vining or fantasizes about Ouray, CO. Little do they know that there is great naturally formed waterfall ice climbing just three hours from the San Francisco Bay Area.

Lost Trail Lodge
Each year, the Lost Trail Lodge serves as the launching point for the these AAC ice climbers. It’s a rustic lodge located 4 miles in the Coldstream Canyon. Hearty adventurers hike, ski, or snowshoe under their own power to the lodge for the start of their weekend. The lodge is open year round but the winter provides a special feeling of remoteness and quiet.

The lodge is off-the-grid powered primarily by solar panels and backed up by a generator. It’s 3700 square feet of ski cabin style architecture with wacky and historical artifacts littering the ceilings and walls – it must have taken years of effort to collect.

There are four separate cabin rooms that have beds, couches and lofts to sleep small groups in each room. Three of the four rooms have Jacuzzis tubs in their separate baths. A cozy loft above the main living area is heated by the wood burning stove below and also provides a birds-eye view to the festivities below. You can stay at the lodge for $89 (+tax) per person per night or the entire lodge for the weekend for $1380 (+tax).

Both the owner, David Robertson and his Great Pyrenees, Opie, are totally interwined with my warm memories of the lodge. David is the architectural genius behind the design of the lodge. Apparently he designed it on the back of a napkin in 1997 and spent the next five years carting materials over four miles to build it bit by bit. I’d venture a guess that his civil engineering background helped him immensely to realize his dream.

Most Fridays and Saturdays, David also graciously demonstrates his musical genius. Guest bluegrass bands come to play live and David will join them picking up banjo, violin, and the mandolin to join in spontaneously.

Although it is not recommended to hike in at night as it is easy to get lost, both times I have attended the AAC Ice Climbing weekend, I have navigated the snowy trails late at night with friends arriving at the lodge near midnight when everyone else was asleep. We felt comfortable with our route finding skills and snowcamping experience that we would survive if we weren’t able to find the lodge in the dark. It definitely adds to the adventure to find our way by headlamp and moonlight and makes the arrival to the lodge just that much more sweet. We quickly joined the other guests with dreams of waterfall ice dancing in our heads.

Climbing in Coldstream Canyon
We awoke Saturday morning to the sounds and smells of sizzling bacon and scrambled eggs. Most climbers were off by 8am but my lazy crew set off around 10am. My climbing partner, John, and I made the poor call to cache our snowshoes since the trail seemed hard packed, but later dearly regretted it as we postholed our way to the camp.

It was cold, the sky was overcast, and wet flurries were falling when we arrived at camp. Arriving fashionably late was definitely an advantage as we were able to appreciate the labor of others that came before and set up cozy megamid tents to hang out in between climbs.

On the far left side, Code Red (WI 4+, 60m) is an intimidating sight of near vertical ice with several bulges for variety and ice chandeliers threatening the belayer. In the middle, other climbers were beginning to try their hands at Code Blue (WI4, 60m) and Walk on the Wild Side to the far right (WI3+, 60m).

Given no one was climbing Code Red, my crew decided to head over there. I eagerly volunteered to be the resident belay bitch as I had no intention of starting out on this tough route with my generally limited ice climbing experience. Carter and John each made quick work of the route on top rope which was a very impressive sight to watch two strong confident climbers practically float up the ice. Two other fellows, Jim and Rydell also tried their hands on the route …as I watched them I continued to be thankful I hadn’t jumped on a climb that was over my head.

By that point it was beginning to get dark – we and the other stragglers hiked out by headlamp and watched one of the most spectacular moonrises of my life. I have never seen such a massive orange moon overtake the horizon and cast its glow over the snowy stillness.

The next morning was clear and beautiful. Most of the climbers left that morning to end the weekend and return to their daily lives. I was very glad John and I opted for extending the trip and staying Sunday night as well. We were able to hike back in to the climbs and enjoy a few more routes with just a handful of other climbers, mainly the dedicated event organizers.

I attempted Code Blue which was thought to be the easiest (given current conditions), however, an unnerving start set the tone for the rest of the climb. I had to surmount a bergschrund in order to even get on the ice which was no small feat for someone that is just 5’1”. The ice seemed was detached from the rock in several spots where you could look through gaping holes and see water running underneath the ice. Most of my axe swings resulted in “dinner plating” the ice and my mountaineering crampons struggled to bite when I put dropped my heels on them. After sufficiently thrashing about and feeling satisfied I fully recollected just how tough ice climbing can be, I was relieved to return to terra firma in order to belay John one more time before calling it a day.

Strangely, as we helped the other climbers pack up camp and headed back to the lodge for the last time, I was already looking forward to next year’s camaraderie and sufferfest! This short-lived memory of the fear and pain we sometimes experience while climbing is part of what makes us climbers…I hope you, too, have the opportunity to experience the wide array of emotions that the Lost Trail Lodge and ice climbing in Coldstream Canyon are guaranteed to deliver.