We were in luck -- the warm conditions in Ithaca had by and large missed the Watertown area, and the ice was fat and sturdy. Salmon was packed with climbers, including the Syracuse University Outing Club, enjoying some of the thickest ice of the season. Almost all the routes were in.

Jim Janney assisted and learned some anchorbuilding skills -- ace caver Ben Currens also brought his ropeskills to ice for the first time, building several sturdy if caver-styled (which means bombproof and adjustable) toprope anchors for us.

Yu-Chi, David, Mike, Ben, and Lucy all climbed their first ice, while JR and Jim fine-tuned their existing skills. Over the course of the day, we set up four lines, finally getting the last few hours on the thick and juicy Salmon Steak.

There were many smiles and more than one instance of surprise when a climber on lower realized exactly how far they had pumped up the ice. By mutual consent, we milked our time until the gorge started to dim, and returned to the car just at dusk.