This past weekend was the first (and only) weekend of the winter that I was not scheduled to teach an avalanche course. Instead I had the great pleasure of taking father/son team Stephen and Randy out for their first few days of ice climbing and mountaineering. These two have already had a hoist of adventures from volunteering in Nepal to vacations in Thailand, I was glad to be part of their ongoing adventures. So glad I decided to break out the iMovie skillz for a 3 minute recap of their 3 days. Enjoy!
ice climbing
Hitchcock Gully
Earlier this month I had the pleasure of introducing NYC brothers Chris and Greg to the joys of winter mountaineering. We had a blast climbing at Cathedral Ledge and Mt. Willard, so much so that I made a short iMovie video of the day:
Greg came back yesterday for more, and we geared up and returned to Mt. Willard. This time, for Hitchcock Gully. The day didn’t go completely perfect… Lunch? Missing. Ice axe? Dropped on lower Hitchcock (and recovered) Post-hole hell on the top out? Check!
Despite the small setbacks we had an amazing day! The ice was great (the de-thawed moss not so much), weather great, conversation great, and the post climb beer great.
Good to see you again Greg. Now get that speeding ticket taken care of and see you up here next time!
Ice Climbing in the Rain
On March 7th a regular client came up for two days of climbing with Paul and I. We have a history of climbing in the rain and unfortunately this trip was no different. We got a pitch of climbing in on Standard Route at Frankenstein, but the camera did not get much use. We were able to spend some nice dry time in the cave going over different types of anchoring methods, belaying, v-thread’s, etc, so it was a productive day out!
The next day dawned clear and Chip made a successful summit climb of Mount Washington with Paul. Good to see you again Chip and statistically we are due for a nice dry day in the mountains soon!
2 Day Winter Mountaineering Course
I had the pleasure of taking brother’s Chris and Greg on their first few climbs as they quickly discovered their new passion for ice climbing and mountaineering. We started the first day at the North End of Cathedral Ledge, working on the basics of crampon and ice ax use, belaying, rappelling, and more. On day 2 we headed up to Mt. Willard in Crawford Notch, and climbed the classic 700 foot “Cinema Gully”. After rappelling part way down Hitchcock Gully we were treated to a great 600 foot glissade back to the train tracks. These guys were soaking up the experience, and I look forward to climbing with them again!
Ice Climbing 201 Course
Headed out to Willey’s Slide in Crawford Notch today with Julie, James, and Anthony for a day of multi-pitch ice climbing in a beautiful setting. With bluebird weather and comfortable temps we were amazed that we had the whole climb to ourselves. We started with some self arrest practice, then roped up for the lower section and moved to 5th class belaying when it got more technical. A couple full 200 foot rappels brought us back to the ground and a fun glissade rounded out the day.
To find out more about this course go here:
Winter Climbing 101
I got the opportunity to introduce 4 guys to the joy of winter climbing over at Cathedral Ledge today. We covered a wide range of topics from self-arrest to roped climbing.
Excellent meeting you all. Best of luck on your future climbing endeavors!
Ice Climbing 201 on 2-8-11
Maren and Devin drove over from Maine for a day of ice climbing at Frankenstein Cliffs in Crawford Notch.
Good day out with you guys, hope to see you again sometime!
Summit & Swing!
Five med-students from NYC took a well deserved couple of days off from their studies to come up to North Conway to summit Mount Washington and get a taste of waterfall ice climbing the following day. We had excellent weather for our summit attempt (successful), and despite the crowds yesterdat we had plenty of ice to climb. A good two days indeed!
“Summit & Swing” is a new 1 and a half day program. We climb Mt. Washington on Day 1, then do a half-day of ice climbing on Day 2. This is offered to give those who need to drive aways home a chance to do more than just a day with us. For more info check out http://www.emsclimb.com or call 800-310-4504!
Ice Climbing Mt. Willard 1-4-2011
Katie and Matt, two EMS employees from the Harvard Square store in Cambridge, MA came up for a couple days of climbing. This past Tuesday I got to take them up Mt. Willard via a fun slab to the right of Left Hand Monkey Wrench, and then up “The Cleft”, one of my favorite geological features in the Whites. Check it out!
