Late Summer in the 'Dacks

Isaac and I climbed the Wiessner Route (II, 5.6) on Upper Washbowl Cliff during the first week of September. The weather finally was no longer excessively humid, which allowed for a comfortable day in the mountains. The first pitch of this route is the crux, with a few awkward moves getting over a roof/block. Needless to say, I "beached" myself atop the crux. The rest of the climb was very enjoyable and never difficult, just fun. Only four pitches, this route was short, but of high quality for its rating. The Adirondack Mountains are definitely my favorite place to climb out East.

Our route takes the ramp that weaves up the left side of the wall in the upper right of the photo

Isaac working his way up the last pitch

Me nearing the top of the second pitch

The view towards Chapel Pond and Chapel Pond Slab

Mt. Washington: Pinnacle Buttress

A few days before the first day of school, I drove over to NH to climb Pinnacle Buttress of Mt. Washington (5.8, III). I met up with Jeff, with whom I had ice climbed with a few months prior. We completed the steep approach in just under two hours, which was par for the course. We racked up at the base and I tackled the first "pitch", which was easy fifth at most. I ended up breaking the first pitch in two, in order to alleviate rope drag. Jeff took the third pitch, which led to the supposed crux pitch. I led the next pitch, which involved stemming and a big reach to break through the initial section. Higher up, an awkward move gained a ramp, which led easily to a belay. Jeff took the next two pitches, because one involved a chimney. For those of you who know me, I despise chimneys. As it turned out, the chimney was no such thing. Whomever decided to call this feature a chimney has never climbed a chimney before. I would call it a large corner, as much of the moves involved liebacking and stemming. I took over after this and led us to the top. Overall, an enjoyable climb, with fun moves and a great position over Huntington Ravine. Once on top, it was a mere two hours back to the car.

Pinnacle Buttress, with Pinnacle Gully to the right of the arete

Belaying Jeff up the last pitch

Pondering the crux moves

Jeff climbing up the fourth pitch

Jeff leading up the third pitch

Solo on Mt. Colden

Once again, I was unable to scrounge a partner for one of my many adventures. That is something that I have noticed is lacking out in the East; a willingness to just go. In WA, it was no chore to find someone to go slog up some crappy mountain in horrendous weather or toprope in the rain. Anyway, I had to do this one on my own. This climb is considered one of the best, if not THE best "summer mountaineering" climb in the Adirondacks. The approach and climb total just over 13 miles RT, with several thousand feet of gain (most of it on the actual "climb"). Car to car it took me just over six hours, which was a bit slower than I had anticipated. The climbing in the dike was fun, with two steps that require 4th class climbing, where a fall would be bad, but the holds are bomber. The slide itself was a cake walk. Mostly 2nd class, with one 3rd class bulge. According to the guidebook, the slide is "extremely exposed", which I find very hard to believe. A nice day in the mountains, but not the climb I was hoping it would be.

Avalanche Lake

The view from the top. Looking towards Lake Placid

Looking down Colden Slide towards Avalanche Lake (just out of view)

The "steep" section of the dike

The classic Mt. Colden summit photo

Rainier

Visited the Paradise visitor center on Mt. Rainier with my mom, dad and Krista. The new visitor center is pretty nice compared to the old Henry M. Jackson center. A gorgeous day on the mountain, without much of a crowd. There is something about this mountain that is transfixing; every time I stare at it, I feel as if I cannot look away.

From inside the visitor center

Taken from Alta Vista

Paradise alpine zone

Tatoosh Range with the visitor center in the foreground

Mt. Rainier during our flight home

Tourons

Krista and I played the role of tourist for a few days in Seattle. We headed to one of our favorite spots, which is Pike Place Market. We spent a while cruising the shops, bought some fruit, had a piroshky at Piroshky Piroshky (yum!) and then of course I had a latte. We also took a Duck Boat tour, which was a great way to spend an afternoon. We also spent some time with my aunt Kathleen. We headed up to Edmonds to check out some condos she was interested in. Overall, a fun time in the Emerald City.

Pike Place Market

Seattle from Lake Union

A Duck Boat tour from our Duck Boat tour

A seaplane landing on Lake Union

Krista and I on the beach in Edmonds

Squamish-Tacoma-PDX-Tacoma

(Lots of Driving)

After Squamish, Krista and I spent a night in Tacoma before heading down to Portland to see a bunch of my friends. We met up with everyone (Pete, Brad, Trevor, Whitney) at the Sandy River for some awesome swimming. After a relaxing afternoon, we headed to Brad and Olivia's house for some wonderful food, including some grilled chicken and vegetables. Obviously some amazing NW beers were had by all (including the Hopczar, given to me by Brad). To top off the night, we headed to the Concordia, which had some great brews on tap. Thanks to Brad and Olivia for their hospitality. We had a great time in PDX and it was nice to hang out with everyone.

That morning, Krista and I headed back up to Tacoma (first we stopped and saw Nate and had a snack at Muchas Gracias). My sister and cousin put on a wonderful baby shower for us. My whole family was there and we received all sorts of great gifts for our baby, which is due very soon. Lots of good food and fun games was had by all. It was a very nice get together.

Volcano evacuation route signs in Fife, WA

The spread at the baby shower

Krista and I at the shower put on by my sister and cousin

The gang after a relaxing day at the Sandy River, OR

(yes, Brad is wearing a sarong)

Mt. Hood, OR

Squamish

(WA Trip Part 1)

One of the first things on the list during our Washington excursion was some quality granite climbing in Squamish (Skwxwu7mesh, in the native language). Nate, Krista and I drove up for a couple of days and met BJ up there as well. Great times with good friends. I led a few nice routes that I had climbed before. Nate led an awesome route called Crime of the Century (5.11c). On our last day, Nate and I climbed Rock On (5 pitches, 5.10a), which was spectacular. Squamish is absolutely amazing; the best rock I have ever climbed on.

Mt. Garibaldi and a suburb of Squamish (from Rock On)

The Crew (Nate, BJ, Krista and Andrew)

Nearing the top of Pixie Corner (5.8)

Scoping the route ahead on Pixie Corner (one of my favorites)

All the Approach, None of the Climbing:

"Fun" Times On Giant Mountain

The northeast has some great climbing and the Adirondacks contain some supposedly excellent slide climbs. Isaac and I went to attempt Eagle Slide on Giant Mountain, which is rated very highly and I'm sure it is a great climb, but we never got to it. The guidebook description was a bit vague and cryptic in that details such as "at the base of the hill" and " follow the stream" did little to guide us while we crossed multiple streams and were on the side of a mountain with countless hills. I consider my navigation skills to be quite good, but those skills were put to the test today. I am pretty positive that we were originally on the right path, but underestimated the scale of the mountain, thus we turned around too early and did not stay near the stream we were supposed to. I will be back to climb it, but honestly, I'm not sure how a 4th class slide climb can be so highly rated with a mediocre approach that is in the trees 100% of the time. Next time I'll climb it and see if it is actually as good as they say.

The "herd path" leading to who knows where

Isaac near the start of the "herd path"

The map, route description, & gps did not jive

Vermont Summers

Are very rainy and hot! Granted that this summer has been fairly dry, with plenty of sunny weather, except for the damn thunderstorms which seem to occur every day. However even when it is nice if the humidity is 100% and the temperature is 92 degrees, one is not inclined to partake in active outdoor pursuits such as climbing. I have been able to get in a decent amount of climbing, mainly with Justin, whom I've been climbing with since the spring. Once again, my a well planned Presi Traverse trip was foiled by forgotten running shoes (my hiking partner forgot them, not me!). Still a few months of dry weather left before summer slips into a dreary fall. Thus far, I have climbed a Lake Dunmore, Bolton, and the wonderful Adirondacks. Soon I will be in Washington (home of big mountains, no thunderstorms, and great beer).

Isaac on his first climb of the season at Lake Dunmore

In the maw at Bolton (I try to like chimneys)

Justin rappelling from a climb at Chapel Pond, NY

Getting ready for the last pitch of a climb at Chapel Pond, NY

Tilmans Arete, Chapel Pond

Rumney Rocks!

Rumney Rocks is touted as one of the best sport climbing destinations in the U.S. and deservedly so. Though I am not a "sporto" by any stretch of the imagination, I was in need of a confidence boost for my first rock lead of the season; so what better way than to clip some bolts! From Lincoln, Rumney is a little less than 2.5 hours away (not bad for a such a quality venue). The weather was a perfect 50 degrees and being Monday, we had the place to ourselves (almost). Krista kindly belayed me and gave support as I thrutched my way up some face climbs. Climbed two easy routes, both of which were quite fun and a good intro into the season. Very excited about rock climbing this spring/summer; lots of places to explore. The Adirondacks, the Gunks, Katahdin, Cannon Cliff, Cathedral Ledge, and of course my local VT crags.

Lacing up for my first rock lead of the season

Love clippin' those bolts!

To Rappel Or Not to Rappel, That Is The Question

I have the habit of building climbs up in my mind, thus setting my self up for major disappointment when it is not in the cards.  Waking up at 2am and driving 3.5 hours to New Hampshire is quite a way to start a morning.  The approach up the packed trail to Huntington Ravine did not take long (2 hrs).  We were heading up the approach slope by 8:45, but already the sun was beating down.  The avalanche rating was moderate for Damnation Gully, mainly because of a wind loaded slope at the apex of the gully.  However, there was the added danger of an above average sized cornice looming over the entire gully and upper slope.  Deciding to travel under such hazards is tricky.  When conditions are low, most climbers go for it, while when conditions are considerable most would not travel under such hazards.  However, when the rating is moderate there is a rather large gray area of decision making.  Needless to say, we headed up Damnation and quite quickly I realized I was unwilling to travel under such hazards.  My mind became entangle in past experiences of being caught in avalanches and this subsequently affected my climbing ability.  I became sketched out on steep snow; terrain that would be easy.  Given slow climbing, warm conditions, and constant debris falling down the gully, I decided I was not going up, thus we rapped off a V-thread to terrain we could down climb.  Soon after descending, loose snow avalanches began flowing down the gully as the winds picked up to over 60mph.  We descended back to the cars...for another day I suppose.

Packing the "kit"

Alpenglow on Mt. Washington 

Ready to climb! (I've been up since 2am)

Jeremy soloing up the first bulge

The winds picked up to 60mph in the afternoon (Pinnacle Gully in the background)

Huntington Ravine; Damnation Gully is just right of center

The nastiness that is Mt. Washington (and it was a nice day!)