Winter Game On!

There was a time not long ago that I couldn't wait for winter to begin. I would nab an ascent of the Black Dike as early as possible and even traveled to the Canadian Rockies several times to catch some Thanksgiving ice! In that last 4 years though I've stretched the rock climbing season as our east coast weather allows. This I traveled down to the Red River Gorge and the New River Gorge for most of November and left wanting more of that warm pocketed rock.

Then something clicks... I'm not sure what it is but every year all of a sudden I am psyched for winter. This year it was a photo posted online by my friend Eric Eisele of Cannon Cliff that sparked it. Out came the dusty ice tools and crampons, digging for warm layers that inevitably still have holes from last season. The whole process of packing for the first winter day out always takes twice as long.

Eric's shot of Cannon. Mean Streak starts with the pillar at the lower left corner

of the cliff line.

I left my house in Vermont at 5am and arrived in the Cannon parking lot a couple of hours later to meet Freddie Wilkinson and Bayard Russell. We had our eye on a route put up about 4 years ago by Will Mayo and Andy Tuthill called Mean Streak. Sure enough the 60 foot pillar at the start was in and the rest of the steep dry tooling, well it looked awesome. It was a great way to kick off the season!

Bayard styling the first pitch off the couch!

A short time-lapse that Freddie put together. More to come soon!

Pump and Dump

The ice conditions here in the northeast continue to be off the hook! Today I jumped on the ferry from Burlington and crossed Lake Champlain to meet my good friend Will Roth at Poko-Moonshine. Poko is conveniently located a short 10 minute walk from the road which also facilitates a nice drive-by to scope the conditions. When I pulled up to the cliff today I was blown away by the amount of ice plastered to Poko's dark anorthasite walls.

Will rapping off...

My eye was immediately drawn to to a subtle strip of ice that I had never seen before. This line turned out to be "Pump and Dump" a route that Kevin Mahoney had put up with Matt Horner a few years ago. The route has a reputation of being severely runout and Horner had told me that Kevin had more or less soloed some hard drytooling to access a barely usable amount of ice.

The route still had not seen a second ascent...

With all these images swirling in my head I decided to go and have a look. Will led a deceptively tricky first pitch where the ice was much thinner than it appeared which brought us up to the business. The crux pitch started off with a fun drytooling traverse which landed me at a stance below the crux seam. The ice just left of the seam was fully unusable and pretty much all came off with a tap of my hammer. In fact the first 30-40' of ice on the route was incredibly detached and flexed and shifted with the slightest pressure!

About to get going on the traverse...

Across the traverse...

After getting established below the seam, I was able to fiddle in a small red C3 and a small off-set nut. With this adequate gear luring me on, I launched up the thin seam, getting hooks in the constrictions and then swinging into verglas as the crack bottomed out. Close to the top with my monopoint torqued in the crack I fought for a hook in the thin verglas when suddenly I was off!

About to launch up the crack next to the unusable ice...

It seems that all mixed climbing falls are violent and mostly upside down and this one was no different as I slammed ass first into the slab below. With the confidence that the nut was good I jumped back on and fired the crack to the next stance and then continued past more wobbly ice and drytooling which led to a wonderful strip of body-width vertical ice and the top.

Through the crack and on to more drytooling around sketchy ice...

It was super cool to repeat this line. Here in the northeast there are a handful of those ephemeral routes which seldom come in and are must do's when they do appear. Pump and Dump is for sure one of them. The gear was where you needed it and the climbing challenging and exciting. Despite not getting it totally clean I am psyched to have had the opportunity to get up such a rare line!

I hope everyone is having a great season so far! Conditions are sick right now!

Shenanigans and a New Route!

Recently I had an interesting conversation with my friend Bayard Russell about getting "shut down". It was our second day out after spending all of the previous day on Cannon scratching around in vain to try and get up a hopelessly out of shape Omega. "Why do we always go after these type of lines," I wondered aloud. "These type of lines..." You know, the ones that seem barely there; that lure us in with tantalizing hangers, steep drytooling, and a low probability of success. These are the lines that get us psyched though and part of the deal is that many times things just don't click.

The South Face of Frankenstein with the arrow pointing to "Pole Dance"

This past Sunday after our frustrating fiasco on Cannon, Bayard, Kevin Mahoney and I found ourselves gearing up beneath another one of those tantalizing lines on the south facing upper tier of Frankenstein Cliffs. Kevin had a short chunk of time for the day and suggested a formula which had led us to this prospective line.

1. Difficulty (Is is gnarly enough?)

2. What is the probability of success?

3. Does it form often?

4. Sketchiness

The line...

As we racked up the sun beat down unnervingly hard on the ice above. Kevin walked away for a moment to shoot a few photos and suddenly yelled "watch out!" as a huge hanger cut loose above. Bayard jumped clear and I tucked behind a large maple tree. Our gear, including Kevin's wife Claire's $800 camera, took a beating and was strewn down into the talus below us. After picking up our gear and moving to a safer spot we considered our options.

Kevin and his broken glasses after the ice fall...

Kevin soloed up the short ice pitch and found a safe belay on the far right side of the ledge. Once Bayard and I got to the belay we peered up at the inspiring yellow torpedo of ice hanging from the roof above us. A steady stream of water dripped from the icicle as the sun continued to beat down. Frightened by our earlier experience we rapped to the ground. In the course of that the rope got stuck necessitating Bayard to solo up and free it.

Bayard following the steep ice above the roof...

For the next hour and a half we hemmed and hawed for the as line we had come to climb moved slightly more into the shade. After taking a short walk to verify that everything else was getting just as sun beaten we convinced ourselves to give the line another shot. I grabbed the rack and ropes and soloed up to the belay before we changed our minds.

Myself following the crux

Kevin took the lead and fired the rest of the pitch past super fun climbing on thin smears to an iced up crack with tricky gear and then onto a free hanging icicle which led to a steep finish on plastic WI 5.

Bayard following the crux...

It felt good to get something done and especially good to put up a new line at Frankenstein. Kevin decided on Pole Dance (NEI 5) for the name and grade after the delicate climbing on the narrow ice pillar and the other similarly themed route names on the upper tier.

We had broke through the shenanigans!

Catskills Ice Fest this weekend!

I'm extremely excited to be heading down to the Catskills this weekend for the Catskills Ice Fest. Check here for more information! I'll be presenting my multi-media show on Saturday night at Rock and Snow in New Paltz. I've actually never climbed down in the Catskills and am psyched to check out what I've heard is some amazing new route potential!

A sampling of Catskills Ice. photo by Ryan Stefiuk

Here's the slideshow line-up!

Friday: Ryan Stefiuk of Big Foot Mountain GuidesJoin Ryan as he talks about his ice climbing trip to Newfoundland, From classic lines to first ascents, see what awaits your next trip. Held at Rock & Snow, 8pm

Saturday: Northern Revival by Matt McCormickMatt presents a multi-media look at the next generation of New England climbers pushing the limits year round on ice, rock, and mixed terrain. Held at Rock & Snow, 8pm

The Black Diamond Fusion! A review...

I remember getting my first pair of ice tools in the mail back when I was in High School. They were a pair of Grivel Rambos with just a slight bend in the lower shaft. I could barely wait to get out that weekend and use them. Getting new ice tools, like getting new toys as a kid, increases my motivation. I want to get out on the ice as soon as possible to try them out and see where they can take me.

I recently received the latest in Black Diamonds esteemed line of ice tools. The new Fusion takes the place of the "old" orange Fusion that had been around for a while. The older Fusion had made it's mark as the best drytooling tool on the market if not the most popular ice climbing tool.

The latest Fusion closes that divide between drytooling and ice performance with an almost completely redesigned tool. The shaft is twisted ninety degrees as most of the BD tools are to increase clearance and distribute weight more evenly when swinging. The head of the tool includes a small integrated hammer which appears unlikely to be of much use but actually performs well banging pins, spectres, and other desperate pieces of winter pro. Using the hammer requires the climber to choke up on the shaft a bit and I've had great success placing all sorts of bang in protection with these tools so far. The Handle includes a reinforced upper pommel which is a nice improvement on the last Fusion. The last model's upper grip got torn up quickly and BD has solved this problem by reinforcing it with metal. The lower grip features a wide and comfortable pinky rest and can be adjusted in size using removable spacers.

The tool comes with a spike on the bottom of the shaft for plunging and walking which I removing for fear of lobotomizing. I would recommend that people do this unless you're headed into the alpine.

I've had the opportunity to use this tool on a variety of terrain from upside-down sport mixed climbing to traditional Scottish style mixed to straight up ice and I've been blown away by the all-around performance of the tool. There are ample opportunities to give them a try in the coming weeks at this weekend's Mount Washington Valley Ice Fest and at the Catskills Ice Fest the weekend of Feb. 20th. I would highly recommend checking them out!

Mountainfest and "Bossman"

Last weekend I had the privilege to take part in the 14th annual Mountainfest in the Adirondacks of New York. This event has a long and storied history featuring visits from many prolific climbers over the years. Some of the fathers of modern mixed climbing, Jeff Lowe and Alex Lowe frequented the event and blew the locals away with a slew of first ascents including the once repeated Gorillas in the Mist and the burly Ice Storm. Naomi and I stayed at the Rock and River guides lodge along with the other visiting climbers and guides. We felt like V.I.P.s with the generosity of the staff who provided us with breakfast, lunch, and dinner each day and a wonderful room to stay in.

I drove over on Thursday morning and met Steve House at Rock and River. I had never met or climbed with Steve before and was psyched to have the opportunity to get out with someone who I have always looked up to. My friend Matt Horner had climbed two pitches of an oft-attempted line at the High Falls Crag in Wilmington Notch and had rapped off 100' from the top. I was psyched to check it out and Steve and I headed over there.

From the road we immediately saw that the Crag was littered with drips. We racked up below our intended line after a rocks-papers-scissors, I headed up the first pitch. The climbing was fun but never desperate and deposited me at a 2 pin anchor. The line Horner took headed out right into a corner with a thin smear of ice. My eye was drawn to a seam just left off the belay though and I pointed it out to Steve. The seam was barely there and slightly overhanging and as he headed up to try it it became clear that the gear was going to be hard earned.

The High Falls Crag

Steve got a questionable pin and two brass wires in and then down climbed to the ledge for breather. After a few minutes Steve went back up on the pitch. It was an amazing display of confidence and control as he searched for thin hooks and made his way to where the angle kicked back. With his tools hooked at the lip, he got in another nut and began to move up. Then, as always with mixed climbing, he was off. The top nut ripped and the first pin and nut zippered with the middle piece holding his fall. I probably would have cashed in and headed up the easier way to the left but Steve went back up 3 more times, each time blowing off at his high point and whipping onto the brass rp. After his third attempt he decided to head out right and we climbed two more pitches to the top completing a new as-of-yet unnamed M6 line.

Steve heading up on the second pitch of what will become the Bossman

Over the next few days I climbed with my friends Bayard Russell and Jim Shimberg, both visiting from New Hampshire and also my local friend Matt Horner. Horner gave us the tour and we enjoyed a slew of beautiful, dacks style mixed pitches over the next few days. On Saturday I also taught a clinic with Horner which was fun. I really enjoy helping people to learn to climb and had fun with our great group of climbers. Naomi and Bayard's fiance Anne also climbed the historical Chouinard's Gully with Naomi firing her first lead on ice! Yeeeaah!

Naomi on her first ice lead. Chouinard's Gully

The prolific Matt Horner

Leading H14 on Friday with Horner, Russell, and Shimberg

Horner giving Bayard and I the tour

Shimilini!

On Monday I met Bayard in Keene Valley for a alpine 10:30am start. We were psyched to go back to the High Falls crag to check out the pitch that Steve and I had tried the previous Thursday. Bayard got the ball rolling by leading a new and more direct first pitch that check in at about M7 and had some tricky gear but at least a lot of it. He took the whip when a small chunk of turf blew and then finished it up.

I went up on the next pitch and spent some time figuring out the tiny hooks and thin gear, placing a bomber micro stopper up high. After getting the gear in, I spent some time trying to hit the enormous crux move which involved choking up to the head of the lower tool off some high feet. I hit the move after a couple of tries and got up even with the ice but pumped out trying to find more hooks in the seam higher up rather than swinging out right onto the ice. I came down and offered the lead to Bayard who fired it on the pre-placed gear, swinging out onto the dripping icicle. This was one of the coolest mixed pitches I've climbed. Erik Lambert from alpinist.com wrote a cool piece here.

Following the first pitch (M7) of Bossman

Bossman in red and the unnamed M6 in green

I led another short pitch to the top by climbing up behind a hanging icicle and corkscrewing through a small gap onto the front. We topped out just as it was getting dark so psyched to have completed such a fun and amazing route. It was a super fun day where we rarely stopped laughing and just generally had a really good time on one of the coolest lines I've had the opportunity to climb on. We named the route Bossman M9. It was the perfect end to a great 5 days in the Adirondacks climbing with great friends.

Ice and Mixed Season

For the first time in many years, I have not climbed ice before Christmas. I'm not entirely sure how this happened but due to a number of contributing factors I just haven't gotten out yet. Conditions in the northeast have been slow to come in but things are looking good now and I'm excited to get out next week.

Josh at the Toko Crag

I was able to make it out dry tooling in NH with my friend Josh Worley a couple of weeks ago. Josh is one of the strongest mixed climbers I have climbed with and is in impressive shape right now for the Ouray Ice Fest Competition in a couple of weeks.

Kevin warming up on "Unemployment Line"

We visited the Toko Crag in Madison, NH which houses a small but impressive number of really steep mixed routes. The first time drytooling every season always feels a bit awkward to me and I have a hard time trusting my tools and fruit boots. After a shaky warm-up burn I was psyched to send "Unemployment Line" (M8+) to the ice and then did a couple more training laps on it for the extra pump.

Josh and Kevin Mahoney each took a couple of burns on M.O.G. Country M11? with Josh nearly sending first go!

Kevin on "M.O.G. Country" M11? with Josh's tool stuck above

Hopefully with some free time in the coming weeks I'll have more to report on the ice and mixed side of things!