Grotto - ice

***Approach has ankle deep slush so use your best boots. *First tracks and quiet solitude on the way in. Until a good freeze turns the slush into ice the approach is a little sloppy. The start of the canyon has a couple slush spots, however the worst and deepest is after the pictographs, through the narrows. It's ankle deep and currently unavoidable. * Overnight snow looked to be around 8-10cm of low density snow. There will be plenty to transport around the area once the wind picks up although winds were calm to very light this morning. Grotto isn't known for avi exposure however worth bearing in mind for nearby areas. * His is rather lean, as was Hers. Hers has a tad more ice however a party reported the upper chunk to the chains was poorly bonded. * Grotto Falls was in good condition although first climb needed a lot of snow clearing to see the ice. With two parties hoping to climb it after me, it should get more snow shifted. The ice was pretty dry however the second step has an open gutter like trough with water running down it. The water disappears into a drain hole keeping the initial step nice and dry but with the sound of gurgling water ever present. * Ice was encroaching on the upper rap chains so I chopped it back a little. Keep doing that to keep the anchor in service (but don't hit the anchor studs). The lower rap rings are fully accessible on both the right side and the left side. The left side is high but I threaded one end of the rope while still on rappel to make it easy.