This past Saturday I got to summit Mount Washington with three guys from NYC and a gal from Boston. The mountain was quite busy with early Spring skier’s and folks attempting to summit so we looked for way to maximize our fun without getting bogged down in the larger groups on the mountain, and we found it!
Hitting the trail
The bottom portion of the Tuckerman Ravine trail was super busy with early Spring skiers many hiking up wearing downhill ski boots (ouch). We were happy to see the crowds thin out as we left the Tuck’s trail and started our ascent of the Winter Lion’s Head trail. As we neared treeline a couple groups that were ahead of us turned around. 60+ mph winds and -30 wind-chills were defeating anyone without goggles & facemask.
A bit nasty at tree-line, a few groups ahead of us turned around here…
The largest group ahead of us had seemed to lose the trail, or were following some random tracks 60 yards right of the trail, and were making there way through deeper snow on the edge of Raymond Cataract. We stuck to the packed trail and soon passed them.
Wildcat in the backgroundStarted to clear below Lion’s HeadMolly poses with the top of Tuckerman Ravine behind herLooking strong…
While all the other groups that persisted headed up to Split Rock, and a strong NW wind, I decided to break off and set a gentle traverse up the consolidated snow-fields to the right of the main trail. This route left us more protected from the winds right up to the lower parking lot, and with a few switchbacks we were able to maintain a solid pace…
Leaving the trail for a more direct (and more sheltered from the wind) line up to the summitSuccess!
We descended a direct line back down the snowfields in cushy walking conditions (calf deep powder).
Romping down the summit snowfields in fresh powder…
Realizing that there would be some bottle-necking on the Winter Lion’s Head trail, and considering Lobster Claw gully had LOW avalanche danger and great booting conditions we opted for that as a descent.
A quick descent down Lobster Claw GullyOne last shot below Tuck’s
A great day with a great group, hope to see all of you on one of our Observatory Overnight trips next winter!
Well that’s it! Today concluded the last avalanche course of the season. Without a doubt this has been the best year we’ve had for avalanche courses as Mother Nature has provided right up to the end! Later this week I’ll post a summary of the season, but for now I want to share the details from this past weekend’s course. We started the course as usual at the Highland Center and had a typical morning classroom session followed by afternoon outdoor Companion Rescue.
Early the first day looking at a local Case StudyEMS Guide Keith Moon talks about beacon care before we head out to our rescue site
After some morning classroom on Day 2 we headed to the western side of Mount Washington to skin up the Cog. The snowpack down low had converted to full on Spring concrete, but we knew there were still some layers to look at up high.
Base RdHalf-way HouseLooking back towards Bretton WoodsAmmonusuc Ravine
We found a small test slope on the Burt Ravine side of the tracks and dig a little digging while learning about layer identification, hand hardness, and tilt & compression tests.
Burt Ravine in the background
Today we met at Pinkham Notch Visitor Center and after obtaining the day’s bulletin we headed up Tuckerman Ravine. While raining we we arrived at PNVC it turned into a great day up higher.
Moments of blue-bird
We ran into Jeff Lane, one of the USFS Snow Rangers who gave us some additional info which later turned up helpful to our Tour Plan
Quick chat with USFS Snow Ranger
One of the students points out roller balls that came down Hillman’s Highway and small wet loose snow avalanches that had recently occurred in the Lower Snowfields.
Arriving at Hermit Lake
After some discussion we continued up to the floor of the Ravine, and decided to head towards Left Gully. We spaced out across the main runout, as the rating for the day was “Considerable”.
Where did the blue sky go?Heading up towards the left side of Left Gully
Poking around in the snow there revealed some buried grauple, pencil slab over 1F, CTM & CTH results 30cm and 60cm down with mostly Q2 and Q3 results. We scored a RB7 as well. I’ll post a field book page later when I get a chance to take a better shot of it.
After finishing our observations we skinned up to the mouth of Left Gully and got a quick short run in before dropping the Little Headwall and returning to PNVC to review the day and close the course.
I can’t thank the 11 participants enough for being so engaged through-out the 24-hour course. As silly as it sounds, I have to thank MN for providing such great conditions for every single field session we had this year. Exact numbers will come in my recap later this week, but I’m fairly certain we had over 120 people come through our 3 Day AIARE 1 program this year! Every single feedback form is being considered and I’m excited about making some changes to next year’s courses based on my experience this winter and all of your feedback. More to come in my re-cap, but for now I’m going to dry out and organize my back-country ski gear. What a great winter that was!
Today I got to do something a little different than teaching an avalanche course and returned to my roots so to speak… ice climbing! William, his son Billy, and close family friend Jeff have climbed with us a few times over the last few years. They’ve top-roped at Cathedral’s North End, sampled multi-pitch on Crawford Notch’s Willey’s Slide, and summitted Mount Washington via the Lion’s Head Route… but today they wanted an alpine gully. After gearing up with beacon, probe, shovel, and all the necessary technical gear for the climb, we made our way up to Pinkham Notch.
Start of the climb
We made excellent time to Harvard Cabin in about 1.5 hours, where we obtained the updated avalanche forecast. True “Spring” conditions have yet to visit Mount Washington as there was certainly a lot of info to ponder. “Moderate” danger means “human triggered avalanches are possible”, so I was glad we were equipped with beacon, probe, and shovel, but quite determined to use safe travel techniques and terrain selection to NOT be involved in an avalanche.
Checking the updated avalanche conditions at Harvard CabinThe hand written bulletin for the day
We made our way up into the floor of the ravine in just under two hours from leaving Pinkham.
Entering the floor of Huntington Ravine
Here we donned helmets and harnesses, and conducted a quick beacon check to make sure everyone’s beacon was functioning properly. We then climbed up towards the mouth of Odell’s leaving the established boot pack to break trail in order to choose a safer line outside the run-out since we could see at-least 6 climbers in the gully ahead of us. After reaching the start of the climbing we stomped out a ledge and crampon’d up. Out came the ropes and I led up an easy 190ft pitch of snow climbing on the left side of the gully. Within minutes we were all established on our first anchor.
Ready to start climbing
From here I crossed the first snow field to gain the steeper ice on the right side of the gully. While more challenging this reduced exposure from falling ice from the party of 4 above us, along with the avalanche potential when they reached the upper snowfields.
Jeff finishes pitch 1 while Bill and Bill Jr wait below
The next pitch was nice easy grade 3 ice, despite the constant spindrift from the graupel falling from the sky. The camera didn’t come out again until we reached the top as I was a bit busy managing 600 feet of rope and 3 folks a bit new to such a big climb. They were amazing BTW, constantly looking for ways to help the team complete the climb in a reasonable time. After the technical pitch it eased up a bit, and after a steep 200ft snow pitch I gathered us on a small ridge to the left of the steepest ice. We put away two ropes and I “long-roped” us up to the top-out.
After topping out of the technical bit
We stashed the ropes, grabbed our goggles, and made for the Alpine Gardens… and were pleasantly surprised… despite all the blowing snow and spindrift it was quite nice up there.
Crossing Alpine Gardens in surprisingly pleasant conditions
We made our way towards the Lion’s Head Trail and contoured down a bit into Raymond’s Cataract to cut the corner and save some time. The snow was consolidated enough to make the travel pretty easy going.
A bit of white-out while contouring over to Lions Head trail via Raymond Cateract
We soon caught a few groups gripped on the steeper sections of the Lion’s Head Winter Route, and they allowed us to pass. Further down we passed some folks in Yak-Traks and Blue-Jeans, sigh… but made it back to Pinkham in good time.
It was great to swing the tools today, as I have climbed less ice this season than I have in the last 10 years as I have shifted so much focus to running avalanche courses. It was made even better by doing it with such a cool group of adventures guys! Bill, Billy, Jeff, hope to see you again!
And everyone else, it’s still winter up here! Last avalanche course of the season starts tomorrow!
A couple years ago I introduced brothers Greg and Chris to ice climbing during a 2 Day Winter Mountaineering course. That trip report is here. Two weeks later Greg came back and climbed Hitchcock Gully with me, trip report here. After almost a two year hiatus Greg has come back for two days of climbing with goals of learning to lead and bagging the classic East coast route, Pinnacle Gully. Insanely warm temps (and rain) kept us away from the ice yesterday, so we focused on some self-rescue and glacier skills on the top of Cathedral. Namely;
1) Belay Escape
2) Ascending fixed rope
3) Canadian Drop-Loop
4) 3:1 Improvised Pulley
5) 5:1 Improvised Pulley
Along with looking at some of the advantages and disadvantages of various belay methods. To finish the day we rappelled the Book of Solemnity and Lower Refuse, 450 feet of steep exposed rappelling in wet conditions…
Rapping the BookBench anchor on the BookRapping Lower Refuse
Short clip finishing the rappel:
Day 2 was the start of the Mount Washington Valley Ice Fest so we knew climbs would be busy. Being a private 1v1 kind of day I suggested we meet at 7am to get ahead of the crowds, and off we went to the most popular climb at Frankenstein Cliffs, Standard Rt. Pulling up to the parking lot we were greeted by two good size foxes enjoying some food that a careless hiker/climber had lost on the road. One was quite unafraid as we drove by slowly:
We were the 2nd car in the parking lot and the 2nd party on route. Since the first party started up the middle we climbed up to the cave via the right hand start.
Close to the top of pitch 1In the cave, Standard Route
After waiting for the bombardment of dinner plates on P2 we headed up to the 2nd comfy belay ledge.
We headed down to the slab to the right of the Hanging Gardens and worked on some technique while running a couple top-ropes, then returned to the base of the climb.
Standard Route? Check!
Greg is amped to get on Pinnacle. While high avalanche danger kept us away this trip, I’m thinking next time I see him we’ll be making tracks for Huntington after a quick warm-up day. Now to get ready for 3 more days of guiding ice before heading to Lake Placid next week!
EMS Wintergreen, Big Chief Mountain, Cascades, Washington
When I first saw the new EMS Wintergreen Backpack I assumed it was designed specifically for back-country skiing given some of it’s features specific to the sport like a dedicated avalanche gear pocket and excellent ski/board carrying options. After teaching 2 avalanche courses with it and some field testing in the Cascades I have discovered it is truly more of a winter “jack of all trades” pack as EMS has referred to it.
Color: As I mentioned in my review of the EMS Prez Backpack color is important for winter use, and EMS did well with this bright red technical looking color. While the photo above from a couple weeks ago in the Cascades was about as nice weather as I have ever toured in I often find myself skiing in thick New England whiteout conditions, and visibility is key!
Features: I love the dedicated avalanche gear pocket that holds my shovel and probe, however I do have a preference for an externally accessible probe sleeve that doesn’t require accessing a zipper to gain access to. My previous back-country ski pack had a velcro sleeve along the side that made accessing my probe super convenient.
The insulated shoulder sleeve for a hydration system is a nice bonus for those who want to use bladders in the winter (I stick to water-bottles and thermos during mid-winter conditions). Glove friendly buckles throughout indicate this pack was definitely put together for cold weather use!
Fleece lined goggle pocket– This is a new luxury I look for in all my ski packs. Not only does it store my expensive goggles safely but they are super accessible so when it’s time to pull skins and shred the gnar I don’t spend any time looking for my goggles… or helmet because of a slick helmet carry system. This stow-able helmet carry system is great, though most trips I have found room in the pack for my helmet, on more involved trips it will be a great boon to be able to securely attach my helmet on the outside so easily.
Comfort: The compression molded back panel and shoulder straps are exactly what I look for in winter packs. Despite a stiff frame the pack moved well with me while dropping 40+ degree runs off of Cowboy Mountain in Washington State and was even more comfortable skinning up to Big Chief. The waist belt is nicely padded and comfortable and has one zippered pouch on the left hip (I would like it on both as that is where I stuff candy/energy gels for easy access).
Size: The size of this pack hints at it’s more general “Jack of All Trades” design. At 32 Liters (1950 cu. in) it is big enough for full day mountaineering trips, lightweight overnights, family snowshoeing, etc. For a dedicated back-country ski pack it’s a little on the big side. I would love to see a smaller and lighter version, maybe 26-28 liters and under 3lbs. This pack weights 3lbs 6oz, which is a bit heavy for a day pack. It’s perfect for a day of ski guiding since I carry an extra layer, a bivy sack, sam splint, and group size first aid kit when guiding. It’s a bit large/heavy for a more relaxed day of touring side country.
Convenience: Side zipper access! A huge positive for me on top-loading packs, it was a surprise to find this on a panel loader that opens up as wide as this pack does. Regardless the addition of a side zipper that accesses the main compartment makes quick stops for water or warmer gloves a snap. On the other side of the pack there is a zippered side pocket that is a bit interesting. While the product description says it can hold a probe I could not find one that would fit in it. It does hold a thermos or water-bottle easily, or my climbing skins when I don’t want to put wet skins back into my pack, but to be honest since this is a panel loader I would scrap both the side zipper and zippered pocket which would probably get this pack below 3lbs.
Bottom line: This pack is great for winter hiking in the White Mountains, general mountaineering (not technical ice climbing), snowshoeing, and back country skiing. But remember “Jack of All Trades” is not King of any. I’d like to see this pack stay in the line as an winter excellent all-arounder, and see a more streamlined dedicated back-country ski/ride specific pack come out over the next year or two.
Season’s Greetings! The snow is still coming down and I have over 6 inches in my yard so it is high time I get my pre-season email out to you all! I wanted to take a quick moment to connect with you on some exciting news regarding EMS Schools Avalanche Program this season. Please read on!
1) Guide Training– We have 4 guides heading out to Steven’s Pass in Washington state for an AIARE Instructor Training Course early this January. This commitment to training will help us offer more high quality avalanche courses to more people around New England and solidifies EMS Schools as the largest Avalanche Course provider in the East!
2) New Website– We’ve done a lot of work on our Schools website so stop by to see if we’re offering a program that might help you reach your goals this winter. We’ve grown our ski programs to include ski touring as well as back-country courses, but the greatest new addition is the ability to reserve a course right on the website! Just click on “Check Dates/Availability” and you can book just about everything without picking up the phone!
3) Join us for the Day 3 Ski Tour of a Level 1 AIARE Course! If you’ve taken a Level 1 in the last 3 years with us you can join us for the Day 3 Ski Tour day if there is space available! This is an excellent way to refresh your back-country skills gained from your recent avalanche course. We must keep our ratios to 7:1 to stay within AIARE standards, and precedence will be given to full course students (i.e. people taking the full 3 day course), however we often have a spot available. So basically check out our scheduled courses here. If you want to join us for Day 3 on one of these courses give us a call at 800-310-4504. We’ll get you on the wait list, and notify you as many days in advance as possible if there is a spot for you. We can lock the spot 3 days before the course starts to give you plenty of time to finalize travel arrangements…
The cost is only $120! You’ll be responsible for gear rentals, travel expenses, and refreshing your back-country brain by looking over your student manual (I know you’ve worn those pages out by now). We are very excited about offering this new service!
4) New Mount Washington Avalanche Center website. Check it out here. Bookmark it. Read it often. Find them on Facebook and like them there. Should be moving into the 5-Scale Avalanche Danger Rating soon!
5) Gear! We’ve got our biggest selection of beacons and avalanche gear ever this winter! With the current sale you can score a beacon at 20% off and get it in time for Christmas. Is the wife or hubby still looking for something for you? EMS has also made two excellent winter packs this season that I am excited about.
The EMS Prez Backpack is the first technical pack from EMS in a few years that I’ve really wanted to use for winter guiding. I wrote a review for it here.
The EMS Wintergreen Pack is a great back-country ski pack, and I’ll be testing it out in Stevens Pass, Washington in early January. Review forthcoming, but from checking it out at home I know I’m going to like it!
That’s it for now. Dust off your beacons (fresh batteries please), drop some wax on those skis, grab a buddy and get into the mountains. Winter is finally here!
It’s been a few years since Eastern Mountain Sports produced a backpack I would use for guiding ice, mountaineering, and back-county skiing in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. The EMS Arete & Pillar packs from 2006 were the last technical packs EMS made that met my needs, and the last few years I have pretty much stuck to my Wild Things Guide Pack for ice climbing and a Backcountry Access Alp 40 for mountaineering and back-country skiing. Despite contributing to the design of this pack during a meeting with Product Managers last year I had some trepidation after hearing I would get to test the pack, starting with a photo shoot on the summit of Mount Washington, and then through-out the winter guiding season.
My first look at the pack was during a staff meeting a couple weeks ago. As we passed it around the room most guides nodded in approval as they explored it’s various features. While I originally intended to submit a video review of the pack EMS Marketing has already produced a great video showing many of the pack’s features. Check it out here!
Instead of hitting on every feature of the pack I’ll just point out some of my favorites;
1) First off, the color. While color may only be cosmetic to some, being highly visible in the white out conditions we spend so much time in on Mount Washington is key. This bright yellow is a welcome change from the more muted colors of previous similar styles.
On a day like this bright colors aren’t as important, but how often is it this nice on the summit cone of Washington?
2) Comfort. The compression molded back panel is exactly what I like in a winter pack. While meshy ventilated packs are great in the summer I find they accumulate way to much frozen H20 in the snowy months. With the lightweight plastic frame inside and removable bivy pad you can load this up with 30+ lbs of climbing gear and not feel carabiner’s and ice screws digging into your back on the approach. There is a removable aluminum stay, which I left in, but I did remove this weird “coat hanger” metal piece that seemed unnecessary. Removing it improved the ability to look straight up while helmeted. This piece is visible at on the table at .26 to .28 in the video.
3) Convenience. This pack is loaded with convenience. The “loopless” ice axe attachments accept my mountaineering straight axe as easily as my more radical ice climbing tools with ease. So much better than ice axe loop attachments I hope this design change continues to appear on any packs designed for winter use. The crampon pouch is another favorite. While I used to endorse the more minimalist strap on approach this pouch is well thought out. Drain holes for melting snow, quick buckle tightening system with a handy release pull… I’ve noticed using a pouch is not only faster than the strap on method but provides a bit more confidence that my crampons will still be where I put them after 1000 feet of glissading. A built in bivy pad, removable top pocket, quality fabric… everything I like to see in a serious alpine pack… I am quite stoked to put this pack through the ringer this winter and if you’re in need of a new winter pack I’d suggest you take a look at this one. I’m hoping it, or something equivalent, stays in the EMS line indefinitely!
Pros: Adjustability, Storage, Ease of Use, Comfort
I’ve been a backpack/gear snob for 18 years, so when it came time to buy my first kid carrier I did some serious research. I wanted comfort for both me and my 9 month old son for the many White Mountain miles I knew we would be putting on this pack over the next 2 years. After trying the other companies high end model this one won out for a few stand out reasons;
1) Comfort for me; Osprey know’s comfort, as their suspension systems always involve very breathable designs while magically keeping the load close and over the hips. The shoulder and waist padding is a nice dense foam, the torso size easily adjusts even though my wife said “just keep it sized for you”. Thanks hun!
2) Comfort for baby; totally and easily adjustable, with ample padding, a removable washable drool cloth, built in easy deploy sunshade, adjustable stirrups for when he’s bigger… he showed us how comfortable it was by sleeping soundly the last 2 miles of our hike!
3) Storage. This pack has over 2000 cubic inches of storage space. The “bottom garage” as I’ve taken to calling it fits the diaper changing station, my extra layers, food, a kid blanket, first aid kit, etc with ease. The removable day pack could hold another 1200 cubic inches of gear but I just dropped my map, compass, headlamp, and some snacks in it. Plenty of room to spare. The hydration sleeve easily held my 100oz CamelBak Bladder. Built in changing pad? It has that too!
I searched other sites and found cheaper options out there, and they might be for you. But if you plan on logging any serious miles with the little one on the back, DON’T GO CHEAP! This pack is worth every penny for the comfort it provides!
This past weekend I had the opportunity to ride in the 2012 Five Borough Bike Tour. Held annually in May, the TD Five Boro Bike Tour is America’s largest cycling event, with over 32,000 riders cycling 42 miles though a very rare traffic free New York.
While I’ve considered myself a recreational mountain biker for years I’ve never really done any road biking. With the arrival of my son Alex and dreams of our new family riding the carriage roads in Acadia National Park the next few years I figured I should give it a try. Since EMS is a presenting sponsor I was lucky enough to get a ticket to this lottery style event.
But first I needed a bike. A few weeks ago Michelle and I headed down to EMS Portsmouth to shop for some Hybrids. I wasn’t quite ready to get all lycra’d up on a high performance road bike so the resident well known Bike Tech, Rog, suggested the MARIN Seadrift Hybrid Bike, and we were sold.
All techno jagin aside, this bike is just comfortable to ride. With only a short 6 mile warm up ride around my neighborhood I left for NYC and road it 47 miles in 5 hours. Not bad for a first real road ride!
6AM, inside the Staten Island FerryManhattan approachesLittle did I know my helmet cam was not chargedLooking back from near the start line, the World Trade Center Memorial building in the backgroundEMS Schools Office Manager, George KaraffaAround mile 26, going strongApproaching Verrazano Bridge… it’s always backed up when I’ve driven this way…Crossing the VerrazanoLooking out at the HudsonThe Finish LineFort Wadsworth
Hard to say what the coolest part of this experience was. The empty (of cars) NYC streets? Riding through dozens of red lights? The camaraderie of fellow riders and the company of the co-workers I shared many of the miles with? The gospel bands cheering us on while we went through the Bronx? The views… the list goes on. I’ve got to say it’s definitely one of the coolest things I’ve done lately and I think I’ve been bitten by the bike bug. A Facebook friend has already mentioned I should join his crew on a similar tour in Montreal in June… hmm… that sounds interesting!
Since my helmet cam saw no action please check out the official video:
Well rock climbing season is here, as I’m sure you all know. It arrived pretty early after such a mild winter. I actually have gotten 5 days in so far which is pretty good considering it’s my very first Spring as a dad. While I thought fatherhood might strain my ability to get out and climb my incredibly supportive wife has allowed me to get after it once or twice a week. I can’t tell you how excited I am about getting my son out to the cliff, once he reaches toddler age of course! Having a child to introduce to the mountains and nature and climbing… well… I just never thought about it until it happened… and it is definitely a life changer.
Speaking of changes I think this blog needs a remodel. While it is pretty active in the winter months with my avalanche course posts it gets awfully quiet here round’ summer. I’d like to change that, and make this blog more useful to you, the reader, whoever you are…
Since I only guide on a part-time basis in the summer I’m thinking I’ll use this interweb space for anything climbing/hiking/kayaking or otherwise outdoors related that I do. I’ve been getting inspiration from this climber from Charelston, S.C. who I have never met before but who’s posts have been fun and insightful to read.
So changes are coming. If you have a suggestion please let me know, I’d love to hear it. I’ll be looking at re-formatting, content, etc, etc. Not sure what the end product will look like, but that’s often the case isn’t it?
I’ll be riding in the 5 Boro Bike Tour this Sunday, and will definitely get some video and pics of that event. Considering I’ve only put about 6 miles on the bike this season, that 40 mile ride will certainly be interesting.
