Are you ready to Rock! (Climb)

March 18th is certainly the earliest I've ever rock climbed (withholding bouldering) in New Hampshire. But with an extremely low snow year and crazy warming spells I was able to get out on the Whitney-Gilman Ridge 5.7 on Cannon Cliff yesterday. I met up with Tom, Jay, and their friend Ty from Jackson Hole. Notice Ty's mountaineering boots in the photo below. Although the weather was clear, low wind, and high 70's, there was still three feet of snow on the ground and an icy decent trail to contend with at the end of the day.

Ty booting up the approach trail.

Tom knee deep in the slush on the approach.

Knowing that the rock fall season from freeze thaw was in full swing on Cannon we tried to move judiciously through the talus fields and it was wise of us to do so. While at the top of the first pitch there was a rock fall from the top of the winter route Fafnir that contained some refrigerator size blocks and flew right down the slope we were on in the photo below. We saw other rock fall all day long, including near another couple parties that were climbing Reppy's Crack and Slow and Easy. The Whitney-Gilman ridge is really the only route that could be called "safe" this time of year, so I just don't know where those other parties heads were.

Jay and Tom moving with haste through the drop zone.

We certainly had a great day in t-shirts and summer temps. I wore my wind shell just to keep from burning in the sun! Hope everyone has a great and safe start to the rock season. Watch out for rock fall and don't climb under the last remaining frozen daggers of ice. Cheers.

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A Note on Wussing Out

This past Sunday I got out climbing with Tom, an old friend of mine from college. Tom was one of my early ice climbing partners that I learned a lot from and hauled me up some crazy hard routes. He's one of few people I know whose talents on ice are much greater than those on the rock. Our plan for the day was to get on the classic Repentance at Cathedral Ledge in North Conway, NH. Unfortunately when we arrived at the cliff there was already a party on it and a line forming in cue behind them. We opted for our backup plan of climbing Super Goofers further left along the cliff. Tom had done this route the previous weekend so was happy to lead the first easy pitch to set me up for the crux second pitch column. From the ground the column looked short and relatively straight forward, but up close was a different story.

Contemplating whether or not to go for it of Super Goofers WI 5-

I climbed up to the base of the pillar to give it a good look. The first moves were going to be a bit hairy with one foot on the column and the other on the rock face next to it. A lot of precise swings and upper body pull-ups would be required for sure. It was quite cold as well and the ice was brittle. Without having climbed any steep columns yet this season I wasn't feeling psyched to attempt this WI 5- route. So I backed off and we rapped down. Tom spent the afternoon teaching his sister and mom how to climb at the North End of Cathedral, and I headed up to Crawford Notch to solo Shoestring Gully. I felt like I needed to accomplish something else after backing off Super Goofers.

I got out of the car at Crawford notch and hiked quickly through the woods, across the stream, and up into the gully along the well trodden path. With such little snow this year I was stepping on rocks as often as I was snow. I climbed the lower sections of ice without any hesitation, but towards the top of the route there were a couple different finishes possible so I stopped to contemplate which to take. You can continue along the gully up another couple hundred feet of low angle ice, or climb up a rock chimney to the right. It looked short, fun, and easy enough so I decided to exit here. I strapped one of my tools to my backpack and kept the other handy for hooking on the iced up chock stones in the chimney. The moves were strenuous and I hesitated a bit, but the biting wind forced me to keep moving so I could finish and head to the shelter of the trees above. I was happy to pull the finish and snap a couple photos before hiking down. I was back at my car at 3pm for a round trip time of about 2 hours. Not bad for a 2,000 foot gully climb.

Looking down on the 5.5 rock exit from Shoestring Gully high on Mt. Webster

I'm glad I backed off of Super Goofers. I had some little remorse that I didn't have the confidence to nail the route, but getting on the route without that confidence would have been a much worse scenario. In ice climbing you can't just go for it like you could on a rock route. The gear is more questionable, and even if it holds the sharp objects on your feet and in your hands tend to cause serious problems when you come to a stop. The mantra "falling is not an option" means that you shouldn't put yourself in the position where you could fall. I made sure of that by not attempting Super Goofers. But it is this same sentiment that makes me confident enough to solo an easy WI 2 gully and a 5.5 section of rock. Its a weird dichotomy between not climbing something hard with a rope, and climbing something easy without a rope. But to me they make total sense and go hand in hand. So in the end, its okay to wuss out; its just a wise decision.

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American Mountain Guides Association Presents 2011 Industry Award to Five Ten

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July, 25 2010 Contact: Betsy Winter, Executive Director American Mountain Guides Association betsy@amga.com Laura Sanders, VP - Global Sales Director Five Ten laura.sanders@fiveten.com American Mountain Guides Association Presents 2011 Industry Award to Five Ten

Salt Lake City, Utah - Five Ten, Brand of the Brave and makers of some of the finest outdoor sports footwear available, is the 2011 recipient of the American Mountain Guides Association (AMGA) Industry Award. AMGA Executive Director Betsy Winter will present the award to Charles Cole, Five Ten Founder/President and Laura Sanders, Five Ten VP - Global Sales Director, at this year's Outdoor Retailer Summer Market.

The AMGA Industry Award was created to recognize and honor those companies who have helped further the mission of the AMGA and grow the mountain guiding and climbing instructors professions by providing outstanding support, through scholarships, sponsorship, product and donations. An AMGA Partner for the past 17 years, Five Ten is one of the longest-continuing supporters of the AMGA. Additionally, Five Ten has outfitted an untold number of guides and climbing instructors with approach and climbing shoes, ensuring a quality experience in the mountains and in the gym.

"I'm excited to present Five Ten this award," says AMGA Executive Director, Betsy Winter. "Their significant and continued support of the AMGA highlights their commitment to professional mountain guides and climbing instructors in the United States."

The award presentation will take place Saturday, August 6 at 11:30am at the Five Ten booth.

About the American Mountain Guides Association

For over 30 years, the American Mountain Guides Association (AMGA) has inspired an exceptional client experience as the premier source for training, credentials, resource stewardship and services for professional mountain guides and climbing instructors in the United States. A national non-profit, the AMGA is committed to enhancing the quality of outdoor services provided to the public, while serving as a resource for accessing and protecting the natural environment. The AMGA is our nation's exclusive representative to the International Federation of Mountain Guides Association (IFMGA), the international governing body responsible for guiding standards and education around the world. For more information please visit www.amga.com .

About Five Ten

Five Ten is a privately owned manufacturer of equipment for biking, rock climbing, water sports, trail running, and any activity where high-friction footwear is a necessity. The Redlands, California-based company has been making high-quality, performance climbing shoes for 25 years. By focusing on innovative products, Five Ten prides itself on helping to make outdoor activities more fun, safer, and more accessible to new and core enthusiasts alike. As the Brand of the Brave™, Five Ten also prides itself with making cutting-edge footwear used by athletes in the World's Most Exciting Sports™. With the help of top national and international athletes and guides, combined with a world-class rubber-testing and R&D facility, Five Ten provides footwear for some of the world's top athletes, such as JT Holmes, Dean Potter, Sonnie Trotter, Greg Minnaar, Danny MacAskill, and Mayan Gobat-Smith. Check out the 2011 blockbusters, Mission Impossible 4: Ghost Protocol, Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon, and Twilight Breaking Dawn for shots of Five Ten in some of the world's most exciting stunts.

For more information about Five Ten or Stealth Rubber, go to www.fiveten.com, or contact Five Ten's director of communication, Nancy Prichard Bouchard @ nlprichard@aol.com. For sales information, contact Laura Sanders, Five Ten's Global Sales Director. Laura.sanders@fiveten.com

_____________________________________________________

I wanted to publish this letter sent to members of the AMGA in a public place so I could directly reference it in my commendations of Five Ten. Five Ten has and continues to provide monetary support to the AMGA as a Patron level Partner and continues to support individual guides with the footwear needed to work in the mountains.

On a personal level, the Five Ten Daescent approach shoe dramatically changed my climbing and guiding in multi-pitch terrain. Really more like an amazingly comfortable climbing shoe, I've been able to lead 5.8, second 5.10a, and scramble with ease over any terrain in these shoes. I'm grateful simply for Five Ten making such a product. Keep up the excellent work!

-Jeremy

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Blew through like a Nor'easter!

Leading Trestle Left WI3+. Placing a lot of screws for Ice Climbing 201 students to practice removing and placing while on top-rope.

I had the new and unique experience this year of visiting the northeast in the winter for only a brief month. Normally I live in the Northeast and have been able to take in the glory that is winter (snowboarding, ice climbing, snowshoeing, etc.), but this is my first year living in the Southeast. It does mean good things for my rock season, but my ice season would have to be concentrated into one trip. This trip focused around Fox Mountain Guides' annual NH Ice Climbing Courses. I had the opportunity to assist Senior Guide Ron Funderburke on our Ice Climbing 201 course, privately guide a few days, and climb everything I could on my free days!

Bundled up trying to stay warm while belaying in Smuggler's Notch, VT.

All said and done, here's what my tick list included:

Smuggler's Notch, VT - Jefferson's Slide WI3, Playground Left WI3, Various Workout Wall Routes WI2, WI3, WI4, Grand Illusion WI4, Grand Confusion WI3
Lake Whilloughby, VT - Renormalization WI4
Frankenstein Cliff, NH - Standard Route WI4, Trestle Left WI3+, Cave Route WI4, Pegasus WI4, Chia Direct WI4+, Dropline WI5, Up In The Woods WI3
Texico Slabs, NH - Unknown WI4
Duck's Head - Unknown Right WI5-, Dreadlocks M7

That's 18 routes (7 multi-pitch) in 17 days (6 "rest" days). And it's all the winter I get. Besides three days previous to these out on North Carolina ice (see older post), that was my winter climbing year. Not a bad selection of climbs, and just after this trip I swung through the New River, West Virginia for a couple days of sport climbing. Didn't feel like a rock climber there (still had the mentality of DON'T FALL from ice climbing), but still tons of fun.

On lead of Chia Direct WI4+. Normally done in two pitches, I streched the rope and finished directly above.

I had the pleasure of climbing with my friend Michael Morley for most of my free days, and he compiled some video footage of the trip. The following couple silly videos are all his doing. Some good climbing mixed in with goofy footage of myself jamming out in the car yields a cinematic masterpiece.

Untitled from Michael Morley on Vimeo.

I climb first in the next video of the two pitch Pegasus WI4. Michael takes the sustained finishing pillar. Notice how he kinda climbs ice like a rock climber. That's because this is his 8th or so day of ice climbing ever! And he's leading WI4 like a champ, at least a champ rock climber! Did I also mention he lead a M7 on this trip? More video of that to come!

Untitled from Michael Morley on Vimeo.

The highlights of this season for me were getting on my first WI5 leads, and feeling comfortable and confident guiding multi-pitch ice up through WI4+. A great winter for myself and I'm really looking forward to next year!

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Accident Analysis: 15 Foot Ledge Fall

On Saturday February 26th at Whiteside Mountain in North Carolina I fell on pitch 3 of the Original Route. The fall was due to a loose rock that I pulled off while down-climbing through a roof. I was down-climbing in order to extend the sling on my previous piece of gear because it was causing some awful rope drag. Because of the move I was putting an outward pull on the mail-box sized rock with most of my body weight. The block came loose and I immediately fell backwards. There was a sloping ledge below me that I had just traversed from the right. The rock and I hit the ledge at the same time, luckily in different places. The rock continued to rocket down the 200 feet of slab below and crash on the ground. I landed directly on my gluteus maximus and slid a couple more feet before my slide was arrested by a #8 Black Diamond Stopper. After a string of expletives I assessed myself for injuries. My rump was the only thing that hurt, but I waited for the pain to subside to see if it was masking any other painful injury. After a minute I realized nothing else hurt. I was fine. And really surprised that I was fine.

Whiteside Mountain, North Carolina. The Original Route (5.11a) ascends 9 pitches in the center of the upper wall.

Now for the analysis. The accident occured due to loose rock. How can we avoid loose rock? Testing blocks like this before trusting them helps. Tapping it to hear if its hollow or pulling with partial body weight before using full body weight are a couple ways to test. I did tap the rock and notice it sounded a little hollow, but I used it to ascend this section and it had already held. But when down-climbing I pulled harder because I couldn't see my feet and ripped the block out. It was a fluke type of accident that I was really lucky to get out of scot-free. As a side-note one might ask why I didn't have more gear above me? Good question. I tried to get a piece in to lower off of, but there was nothing to find. Climbing at Whiteside is in general run-out, and for most climbers probably shit-yourself-scary. So that probably didn't help the big fall.

If you have a similar story about a near-miss feel free to share it in the comments section. I'd love to hear and learn from others.

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