​The ice fractured in a moment and with no warning. The blue chunk only dropped a foot or so before it collided into my thigh. Tool already gone as a result of the fracture, my foot was sheared off the ice. I was down to two points of contact, and my body began to “barn door." With a hasty adrenaline-charged readjustment, my free tool found purchase again. I was secure, and now, fully awake. “It's not going to be a cakewalk!” l shouted down to my partner as l placed another screw and clipped my rope. ​

When it comes down to it, nothing worth doing is a cakewalk...adventure comes with a bit of insecurity.
 
My partner, Jeff Buffetti, had located the flow in scouting trips in the fall. He had noticed a wet band coming off a cliff band miles into the Flat Top Wilderness. “That is the perfect sign," I told him. Too much water, and the ice melts - like cubes in your glass. A trickle will turn into a giant flow.   
 
Jeff's second trip into the area, after a week of below freezing temperatures, revealed just what we thought, a ribbon of ice welded to the side of a cliff. It was time to explore.
 
There were a few other flows in the area as well, but they appeared to be sun-rotted, and we didn't venture to them…yet.
 
It was about a three-mile walk to the base. Not terrible, but with loaded packs and butterflies in our stomachs, it took a little toll. As we wound our way through the terrain, the ribbon of ice falling off the cliff band came into view. The ice was sitting in regal fashion at the head of the valley like a sentinel. With the position it held, it seemed dramatic.  
 
We stood at the base and marveled. "l don't think anyone has ever climbed this," l stated. "There should be crampon marks on these rocks." 

​We started up the first pitch. After about 40 feet of steep climbing, l was swinging my axe into a cap, trying to get my feet up a little. The ice fractured, my foot sheared off, and I barn-doored.

Jeff Buffetti stands in front of an ice flow he discovered while scouting. Jeff and author Matt Tredway go to scope out the potential climb. (Photo Credit: Matt Tredway)

My body found another level of heat as l recovered. I continued through a few more vertical steps, then stopped to belay Jeff. The waterfall was his find, and now it was his turn to climb the pitch.
 
Jeff cruised, though later admitted that he had taken a shot of ice in the chest. We both would end up walking away with war wounds.  
 
The second pitch was dramatic, but upon climbing higher the top we discovered it had not built up to the point where it would hold body weight. We chose not to expose ourselves to the danger of the final pillars - live to climb another day was our go to phrase when getting spooked.  
 
The exit proved to be spicy. There were no telltale anchors left from previous climbers so we had to resort to a couple of v-threads. This is achieved by putting in an ice screw at an angle, then removing it. This is repeated, but from the other side. The resulting holes need to match up in the back, creating a v-shaped tunnel through the ice. The rope is then threaded through the v and the ends are thrown down.

ABOVE: (click on photos to enlarge) Matt Tredway and Jeff Buffetti on a first ascent of the climb Nick Would. (Photo Credits: Matt Tredway and Jeff Buffetti.)

We threaded the rope into our v-anchor, rappelled, then pulled one side of the rope, where it slid through the v and fell cleanly to the ground beside us. The final relief.
 
We looked at each other proud, certain it was a first ascent. Jeff and I knew, without question, what we would name the climb - "Nick Would."

Nick Simon was 6th grade student in my class, l taught him fractions, and he taught the rest of the room, including me, how to be human. He was a calming presence, and everyone gravitated to him. Bright eyed and enthused, he made space for others. Nick literally made everyone around him better, and had that quality that made everybody think of him as their best friend.
 
Nick lived life fully - he was intellectual, an artist, and embraced the natural world.
 
Nick's outdoor life started early with the Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club. Then the Everything Outdoor Steamboat (EOS) group - a group I started some 30-years ago - in the schools. That is where Nick learned rock and ice climbing, sleeping in igloos, and ski mountaineering. His adventures expanded and continued with backpacking, surfing, a van life experience with friends, a National Outdoor Leadership School Himalaya semester in India, a self-supported solo bike trip across Colorado on the divide trail. He did all of this while excelling in school, painting, and writing songs, and, most importantly, being a friend to so many. ​

Nick Simon as a young student in the Everything Outdoor Steamboat (EOS) program started and run by author Matt Tredway.

Nick was an adventurer in body and spirit. He knew that in life, everything we want is on the other side of fear. He was willing to take the extra step, take the road less traveled.
 
When Nick passed in 2022 at the age of 25, “Nick Would” became the battle cry of friends and family. It was the little extra encouragement we all need to fully live life as we mourned his loss. The Nick Would foundation was established to honor Nick's memory and place in the community and further the call to action to help others achieve "outdoor pursuits, wildland exploration, and artistic development...who otherwise could not experience these activities for physical, mental, or economic reasons." (https://www.nickwould.com/).

ABOVE: (Click on photo to enlarge) Nick Simon was an adventurer and giver. He loved people and the outdoors and touched the hearts of anyone he crossed paths with. 

Nick's quality of making everyone feel good could be seen by 200 kids doing a paddle out in California’s Pacific a year after his passing. It was an ocean of friends remembering and a continued flow of events that were inspired by Nick's good life. 
 
Jeff didn't know Nick directly, but his wife Jenny, grew up in Steamboat and was a student of mine in EOS. When you are a part of this community and swing an ice-axe, you know Nick in spirit. You see, Nick loved climbing ice - even more so than rock.
 
Jeff and I had both felt Nick with us that day - keeping us focused and our heads on. We experienced a continued remembering and an inspiration by as close to the perfect person as has existed.
 
l remember asking Nick years back about the huge double back he pulled off in his ski video. He explained “we started working on the jump, it just kept getting bigger and bigger. Suddenly, it was just going to happen. It was a scary - and a little much - but we were there for that." That sentiment captures the essence of this climb. So, Nick Would was the perfect name.

​There are moments in life that cause us to reflect upon mortality. As we age; when we take a risk that rests on that fine edge; and when someone you care about dies too young. In the end, no one will remember if you won the race or had a nice car, they will only remember how you made them feel. Good or bad, they remember. So, bolster up your crew. Be kind to strangers. Give until you are uncomfortable. Nick Would.

Author Matt Tredway stands by the newly established climb "Nick Would" with the Nick Would Foundtation sticker honoring his former student.

Climb Description
 
"Nick Would"
Water ice 3-4
260 feet. Two pitch
3-mile approach from the trailhead at Flat Tops Wilderness area
First ascent. November 10, 2023
Jeff Buffetti, Matt Tredway
 
First ascent... a bold claim. Can we be sure?
 
The evidence:

• In my 35 years climbing ice in Routt County, l have never heard of it.
• The outdoors know all and be all, Pete Vandecarr, owner of Backdoor sports and ears-to-the-ground guide has never in his 40 some years heard of it.
• In my lifetime of climbing ice, climbers have a tendency to boast, and one up the next with stories of previous experience...  this would be an easy one, it's big and dramatic.. and yet... not a whisper.
• There is no word of this on the Internet.
• It would take special conditions for this to be apparent...  low snow and cold temps ...  it would disappear for the season snow accumulation...   this one is maybe only in one every few years.
• On the climb itself... No evidence of past climbers... the dead on the tree at 150 ft up... to rap off, people would have slung that tree...  there were no slings, in fact, no broken branches…
• No tools or crampon scars on the rocks. 

 
My conclusion is that this was the climb's first ascent…  it was spectacular.
 
Getting There
 
Through the town of Yampa Colorado. Follow the road to Still water reservoir. Hike past the reservoir and continue on good trail to the head of the valley (3 miles) towards the mosquito lake area. Climb is obvious from lake.
 
This is pretty seasonal.  It is located within the wilderness area. Additionally, winter road closure will increase the walking or skiing distance to 15 miles.
 
Route description.  
 
This ice has the perfect aspect… well protected.
 
First pitch.   140 ft, wi 3
 
Series of rollers, with some vertical headwalls…  Nice line and easy fat ice to protect. A good belay point protected by a small rock face. Screw ice anchor.  (There is a tree available on climbers left)     
 
 
Second pitch. 120ft, wi 4
 
Short ramp leading to a series of steeper cauliflower and mushroom caps. These give way to a choice between two 30-foot pillars that lead to the top…  trees on top for rap.   

We theorize that this climb (and the other 3) are visible in certain conditions… This year has been perfect.  A wet summer provided the water, a dry and cold fall let it form up. The lack of snow created conditions where it didn't disappear or get choked out .
 
There are a total of 4 other climbs at the head of this valley. 
  
1.  Nick Would
2. Vinny B’s: One pitch steep curtain, Wi 4, obvious to climber's left of Nick Would, ¼ mile across boulder field          
3. Aces and Eights: Two pitch of stacked pillars, wi 4, ½ mile from the wi 4 climb to climber's left    
4. Six Shooter: One pitch of roller to short pillar to climbers right of Nick Would wi4 
 
We placed no permanent anchors, and left no slings, as this is in the Wilderness area respectfully, and humbly submitted...   Matt