Wild Fire Race

Here are a few shots of the "Wild Fire" Race that team "In-Laws and Out-Laws"participated in last weekend. We didn't win, we didn't come in last...but we DID have a blast!!! The middle of the pack never felt so good!!!

You can click on the photos to enlarge!

Team "In-Laws & Out-Laws" 2009

Sherry, Nik, John, Kate, Emma, Kerin, Chris, Lizzy, Sally and Ralph

Nik, John, Kate, Kerin and Chris

"Sistahs"

What is this guy doing in the water???

More pics of the route!

She Goes!

Placing gear on "Heros and Thieves" - 5.10b/c, Humphrey's Ledge

I had a very exciting afternoon today. I was scheduled to pick up some art work at Plymouth State University after school. I checked my email before leaving the building to discover that the guy that I was supposed to meet had not returned my email confirming our meeting so I called him only to find that he was thinking Friday!!! One door closes...another one opens.

So, I quickly ran back upstairs and emailed Dave Penny who was skiing at Wildcat. The message basically said, meet me at Humphrey's (Ledge) at 4:00...I got an immediate response that said "see you there"! We're on!

To put this whole story in perspective, it was Dave and I a year ago that went out to check out this moss and lichen covered wall, but we both saw the potential that we knew it hid. We did some route rehearsing but it was late in the season, and before I could get the route developed, the snows had blanketed the northeast and I knew the must wait another year.

My palms sweat as I made the drive home to quickly grab my gear. "Could this be the day"? I thought to myself. It was one week ago that we placed the three bolts on the route. Doubts began to flood my mind. Could I even climb this thing? Had it been done before? Will the route be worthy? Will someone come along and chop it? You get the picture...

The sun was shining on the Main cliff as I turned the corner on West Side road, and all I could think about was how badly I wanted to send this route. The nervousness that I felt was excitement and not fear or self doubt. It had been years since I last felt these emotions before a climb and I knew that all was good. "I'm sending this thing".

We quickly geared up, I stretched the neck and shoulders, stretched the legs and took some deep breaths. "On belay" Dave said..."Climbing" I returned and before I knew it, I was stretching for the first bolt. I clipped in, gathered myself, walked the feet as high as I could and shot for the crux hold. I felt my fingers curl over the stone's edge as my feet cut loose. Once my fingers closed my motion settled and all was good. "Got it". The next few moves were tricky and I placed a #00 TCU and quickly clipped in. I edged my way out left on a balancy shelf to good holds and a shake.

I made the move up to the next bolt, stepped up and clipped...."one more move and this thing is over" I thought as I chalked my hands and prepared for the second crux. Right hand up to the thin horizontal and left up to the side pull...right foot up...and I shot up for the shelf. I stuck the hold and quickly plugged a #1.5 camalot in the horizontal...shook out and up I continued...two more pieces...the third bolt...up to the exit....plugged in a blue Alien and I could see the tree ledge. Before I knew it, I was calling "Off Belay" to Dave below. Laszarus had fallen and I hadn't a care in the world...

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Making friends with Pain...

I was recently diagnosed with a degenerative bone disease called Cervical Spondylosis:

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/cervical-spondylosis/DS00697

My doctor seemed to think that my condition is not a hereditary one, but was brought on by an injury or overuse. As we talked about injuries (of which I had one playing college football), the background didn't seem to jive; so as we dug deeper, the conversation led to climbing...specifically belaying when the neck is craned up while watching the leader. When I lived in CT, I would spend 3-5 hours in the gym, 3-4 days a week working out, bouldering, climbing and belaying and I remember vividly the neck pain that resulted from sessions at the gym spotting and belaying my partners as they worked routes.

Just an FYI and a warning to take care of yourselves out there. At the first sign of neck pain, adjust yourself and neck so that you are no longer putting pressure on the base of your neck (C7-T1). Stretch the neck regularly and stay hydrated.

I am 43 years young and last year was one of the best years I have had climbing and felt as strong as I ever have...until this struck me in late August (I assumed I pulled a muscle which in turn pulled my spine out of alignment). I was sadly mistaken...

I won't allow this to slow me down, but the thought of making friends with this pain sends my spirit into the dumps from time to time...I guess it is normal whenever we are faced with our own mortality. Moral of the story: Take care of yourselves and climb strong

"Heros and Thieves" 5.10 b/c

Yesterday Bob Ahearn and I met at 10:00 a.m. To check out a route that I had spotted some years ago and actually rehearsed with my friend Dave Penny. It is located on an upper wall (central) of Humphrey's Ledge next to a terribly dirty corner and first pitch of Dedication (5.7+).

Warning: the information below is route beta!!!

The route ascends a steep and thin seam to shallow horizontal holds, up through a face and then finishes on a steep section of corners. The route itself is slightly overhanging and very pumpy. The route could have gone with natural pro, but the pro was not good and we tried to figure out if it could go with small wires and cams, but the wires kept popping, and any gear that we could place, seemed unsafe, so the route will go mixed...50' with 3 bolts.

There are two distinct cruxes and the first is after the opening move up to a bolt roughly 12' of the ground to protect the crux move. Once the bolt is clipped, you make a dyno/deadpoint to a handhold out right and then quickly make another dynamic move up with the left hand to a sidepull and horizontal for the right. We found a shallow pocket for a metolious #00 that seems ok that protects the tricky and slightly overhanging traverse out to the left.

The traverse takes you to some beautiful holds where you can get a bit of a shake, but it is not comfortable... not a true rest really. You then make a careful move up and clip the second, then step back down for a shake as the clip is a bit pumpy. Once the forearms are good, you launch into the steep face on crimpy little edges and face holds and make a powerful move straight up to a big shelf with a deep horizontal crack...somewhat remeniscent of the Gunks! (Cams from #1-#3 can be placed at various sections of the crack).

Once you mantle up onto the shelf (balancey), you can find another placement in the first corner that you encounter. You then make 3-4 moves up and make a clip out left that protects you from another tricky move on a high sidepull/layback with sloping feet up to a good hold out right. Another 8'-10' takes you to the anchors!

I have not yet done the first ascent as it was getting late. The route took about 5 hours to rehearse, clean, mark for fixed protection, consult with my partner and a few other climbers that happened to be there that day. The general consensus was that the route was a good 10c/d, and that the gear was just right...not some grid bolted nightmare and inkeeping with local ethics for the most part. We will see...

Partners

The author and his partner Bob Ahearn enjoying a cold but sunny day cruis'n the Upper East Face Slabs on Mount Willard, Crawford Notch, New Hampshire.

There is no question that climbing has been one of the most powerful passions in my life over the past 20+ years, and I was thinking the other day about all the road trips, expeditions, foreign countries and close calls that have made up my climbing career. But despite all the adventures, training, planning and the physical act of climbing, the one thing that I always remember are the people that I have shared these experiences with and the close bond that is made with a partner.

A partnership in climbing goes well beyond what would be considered a typical friendship. You need to be able to depend on this person with your life. They must be focused, share the same goals, climb at a similar level, be comfortable with the systems and how to escape them, understand how to feel your every move through the touch of the rope, and have thick enough skin not to take suggestions or criticisms shouted at them (on a cramped bivy while snow is pouring down one's back), personally. A tall order to fill by most standards, but these are the qualities that are needed when undertaking such a sport as the one we have chosen.

The realationship between partners would be easy enough if everything went as planned, but for those of us who climb, events rarely unfold without a hitch in this sport and often we are left with just our instincts and experience to guide us through some "undesireable" situations. It is these times that not only test our metal as climbers, but test our relationships as dependable partners as well. There is a saying that "adversity breeds character", but in the world of climbing, adversity has been the death knoll for even the closest of partnerships.

In my experience, climbing experience is just a small ingredient in the make-up of a bond that will stand the test of time. No doubt chemistry, that unknown element, plays a greater role when the proverbial "crap hits the fan". It goes back to a deeper understanding of the person, his or her limitations and of course his or her strengths and the confidence that the person on the other end of the rope is as willing to do what it takes to get things done.

Mark Twight, does a great job getting into greater detail of the attributes of a successful, productive and healthy partnership in his book: "Extreme Alpinism", pp 150-153. He also talks a little bit about his climbing encounter with a new partner, Michel Fouquet on a new route on Khan Tengri. Despite similar resumes, endurance and techical skills, the two rubbed each others nerves right out of the gate and proved to be a disasterous experience for the two of them. Despite their similarities on paper, the partnership was doomed from the start, the chemistry and lack of common vision created a chasm that even the best of climbers could not overcome. Moral of the story: A good partner is not to be taken for granted!

After years of climbing it is truly magic when one finds that one, two or even three partners that one shares that connection with. When I look back on all those experiences, it is the people who I shared them with that truly made the adventure what is was. I see those faces smiling back at me, I see the looks of anxiety, I hear the voices, the laughter and the exhaustion. I feel the knee in my back as I roll over in my sleeping bag, and taste the coffee on those bitter cold days when a hot cup of coffee is a greater gift than a 15% raise.I remember those embraces at the summit, and the understanding look afterward that we are only half way through our experience.

All these memories I will cherish and all those who I have shared them with will forever be with me. Climbs end, and when the gear is packed away, and the peaks dissapear under the clouds as the plane sores to the next destination, its the friendships that remain...

Here is the movie that accompanies the photos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fG2nY06T2g

Hanging up the tools...

My son Bolton poses for the camera after sending my project in the woods (WI 3+/4-)

Well, after looking at the weather forecast for the next couple of weeks, it seems like a reasonable call to officially call it quits on the ice season and start to prepare myself both physically and mentally for the rock season.

One would think that this transition between the two seasons would be an easy one, but it is not neccessarily so. Despite the similarities of the two sports, both sports offer their own sets of challenges, physical conditioning, systems and frame of mind.

Physically, I need to shed the winter "insulation" (roughly 5-7 lbs) to get back into my peak rock climbing form. I tend to allow myself a few extra pounds over the winter so that I may stay warmer and more comfortable in the severe cold that New England winters bring. So what was once considered a positive (namely my spare tire), is now a hindrance as I start to prepare for the upcoming rock season.

I will give myself 90 days and that should do it; it gets me to June so I should have 4-5 months of good climbing left to attempt the harder climbs that I have on my tic list. More to follow...