Changes

These pictures are not in order.

Some quality time with my son :)

"Helping" dad grade exams

Sporting one of the many awesome hats Eammon received as gifts

Reading Eammon a book (On the Night You Were Born)

Eammon being adorable as usual

Drinking imaginary chamapagne

Milk Drunk

Showing off our Christmas presents from Uncle Nate

Eammon is very excited to leave the hospital

Eammon's first hair wash

The bouldering cave (short, but it works!)

The new car

The Gunks

(Need I Say More?)

Back in November, I drove down to New Paltz, NY (about four hours away) to climb at the world famous Gunks. Needless to say, this place is not overrated and is amazing. The temperature was near perfect and the crowds were minimal. I was fortunate enough to be climbing with someone intimately familiar with the crag, so I was able to climb some classic lines. For those not familiar with the Gunks, this place offers some of the best easy/moderate lines anywhere. A 5.3 here will be near vertical and host several roofs; a 5.6 could be overhanging. The caveat of course is that this is the land of jugs. All my expectations were exceeded on the two climbs that we did. The first was Beginners Delight, three pitches of 5.3 and the second was Minty, which offered two pitches of 5.5. I will be back this spring!

Part of the first pitch of Minty; the route climbs just right of the ridge line through steepness

Joe leading the second pitch of Minty; one of the most fun pitches I have ever climbed

Me leading the third pitch of Beginners Delight; 200ft of air beneath my feet

Joe leading the 2nd pitch of Beginners Delight; he is heading for the roofs in the middle

Pre-Season Dry Tooling

Back before winter set in, Justin and I headed to Lake Dunmore for some practice drytooling. This small crag offers some low angle dry tool options, that makes for a fun afternoon.

Dulling my tools and crampons

Justin getting his first taste of drytooling

Stashing the tools to focus on my footwork

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)