Catskills Ice Fest 2015

A Recon Flight by Ardu

 


Mount Washington Valley Ice Fest 2015

This Weekend!

The 22nd Annual

MWV Ice Fest 2015

Mount Washington Valley Ice Fest 2015

Feb. 6th-8th, 2015, North Conway, NH

Some highlights:

  • Ice climbing, mixed climbing, and mountaineering clinics with IMCS & Guest Guides (room still available!)
  • Climbing demos from 12+ sponsors
  • Morning coffee sponsored by Frontside Grind at the American Alpine Club Table
  • Beer sponsor, Tuckerman Brewing Company
  • FOOD! Gusto’s Food Truck will be at IME during Apres and at the evening events

Evening events held at Theater In The Wood, Intervale, NH

Friday Evening Events, 7pm, $10, at Theater In The Wood, Intervale, NH

  • Featured Presenter: Sarah Hueniken
  • American Alpine Club Silent Auction to benefit the Live Your Dream Grant

Saturday Evening Events, 7pm, $10, at Theater In The Wood, Intervale, NH

  • 15 Minute Opener: Miron Chlebosz
  • Featured Presenter: Jonathan Griffith

NEice and The Soup Kitchen Return with delicious homemade soup during the Apres Climbing Hour at IME Friday & Saturday, 3:30-5:30.  NEice has been bringing hot soup to ice climbers for over a decade and contributes to all the major Ice Festivals in the Northeast. The soup is alway a hit after a day out in the cold! Doug will also have his latest drones and some awesome footage from the UP project.

See more details at www.mwv-icefest.com/blog/

and at  www.iceclimbingforums.com

MWV Ice Fest Poster 2015

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Smuggs Ice Bash Wrap-Up – 2015

Smuggler's Notch Ice Bash

 

The Smuggs Ice Bash in Smugglers Notch VT was too much fun! It gets bigger and better every year.

So let’s get right down to it. Friday night’s Kick-off Party and Dry Tool Competition at Petra Cliffs was a blast. DJ Kanganade was spinning and the competitors were sending. There was a large field of competitors this year and some stiff competition. Many thanks to Matt McCormick for the MC work and Steve Charest for tool retrieval and solid belays.

And the winners are…

The Dry tool Comp. winners. Smuggs Ice Bash 2015

The Dry Tool Comp Winners. Smuggs Ice Bash 2015 (winners left to right)

Men’s

  1. Roy Quanstrom
  2. Tyler Kempney
  3. Peter Hoang

Women’s

  1. Andrea Charest
  2. Alexa Siegel
  3. Marissa Gorman

Now lets put things in motion.  The Highlight Reel!

Saturday and Sunday were filled with tons of free gear demos and clinics for all abilities and levels. The weather was gorgeous on Saturday, sunny and in the 30’s. The road up the Notch was packed with climbers psyched on the weather and the ice conditions. After it was all over, we were treated with three great presentations by Alden Pellett, Michael Wejchert and Will Mayo. The next day it was back to normal winter weather with temperatures in the single digits. And when everyone came down the Notch from a cold day of climbing, the hot soup prepared by Doug was the perfect warm-up.

We will let the photos speak for themselves.

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On Saturday, as the climbers headed up the road, Doug prepared the air fleet to grab some aerial footage of the Notch. The winds were calm, temperatures mild and the flying was fantastic.

NEice was proud to be apart of this years Smuggs Ice Bash and can’t wait till next year!

 

Photos by Courtney Ley and Doug Millen

 

Catskill Ice Festival 2015

AlpineEndeavors

The 17th Annual Catskill Ice Festival

January 30, 31, February 1, 2, 2015

This year again they will have multiple clinics on all the skills and techniques you need to get out on ice – from basic skills, to dry-tooling, to glacier travel techniques.

Demo ice climbing gear from Black Diamond, Petzl, La Sportiva, Outdoor Research and Rab.

Slide show will be held  Saturday at Rock and Snow at 8pm.

Saturday Slideshow:

NEice’s Doug Millen – Oh What a Long Strange Trip it’s Been!

Doug Millen reflects on the last 15 years at the helm of of NEice.com. Doug takes us on a journey of the ups, downs and glory days of NEice “A journey beyond my wildest dreams”. The Best of the Best from NEice.com. Including never seen photos and video from the Northeast. And a look at the UP project. Drones are fast becoming common place and Doug is on the leading edge. Have a look at his latest machines and where he is headed.

The demo gear will be located at Rock and Snow – so you can try out the latest Harnesses, Ice Tools, Crampons, and clothing from the best companies. You know them – Black Diamond, Petzl, La Sportiva, Outdoor Research & Rab.

Rates are $150 per person per event – Slideshows are free!

As an added bonus – Rock and Snow will offer 15% off for ice gear and apparel for all icefest registrants from the time they sign up through the end of the ice fest. All you need is to print out and show them the confirmation email we send when you register for it.

NEice will be at the Devils Kitchen on Saturday handing out hot soup and flying the drones. Hope to see you there!

More Information Here…

Catskill Ice Fest Cover Image


Smuggler’s Notch Ice Bash 2015

This Weekend!

Join NEice at the fastest growing Ice Festival in the Northeast! We will be at the notch road gate Jeffersonville side, dishing out hot soup and flying the drones. Hope to see you there.

 

January 23-25, 2015

Kick-off party | Clinics | Slideshows| Raffle | Camaraderie

Drytooling Competition: The East’s only Mixed Spectacle

Free gear demos, clinics for the beginner to advanced climber, multimedia slideshows, dry tooling competition, raffles and camaraderie in Vermont’s premier ice climbing destination, Smuggler’s Notch.

Don’t miss Saturday nights slide show by Climbing Magazine’s Golden Piton Award winner  for Ice Climbing for 2014, Will Mayo. Local hardman Alden Pellett and Michael Wejchert of North Conway will also be giving some great presentations.

The goal of the Smuggs Ice Bash is to promote the sport of ice climbing, to educate climbers, to exhibit and demo new gear, and to share a weekend of fun, challenge, and inspiration with other winter enthusiasts in one of Vermont’s most amazing places, Smuggler’s Notch. Learn forme some on the best guides around.

The Smuggs Ice Bash is managed by Petra Cliffs Climbing Center & Mountaineering School 105 Briggs Street Burlington, VT 05401 802.657.3872

See more here…http://www.smuggsicebash.com/about/     https://www.facebook.com/SmuggsIceBash

 

 Saturday Night, January 24th, 2015 @ 6pm

Presentations will take place at the Smugglers Notch Resort in the Meeting House Ballroom

CASH ONLY!

$20 for Italian Style Food Buffet and Presentation – Starting at 5pm

-or-

$5 for Presentation Only

Purchase Tickets in advance here:

Food and Presentations -or- Presentations only!

Cash Bar available too!

Adirondack International Mountainfest 2015

Mountainfest2015-web-poster

The 19th annual Adirondack International Mountainfest

January 16, 17 and 18, 2015.

Mountainfest is an annual celebration of ice climbing and mountaineering, featuring guest athletes who entertain us with tales of climbing adventures, instructional clinics taught by visiting climbers and local guides, demo gear, and a chance to gather with the climbing community for an exciting winter weekend.

Mountainfest 2015 boasts an excellent lineup of speakers, including Marmot and CAMP/Cassin athlete Fabrizio Zangrilli and Patagonia Alpine Climbing Ambassador Kitty Calhoun. Their slide shows on Saturday and Sunday evenings promise to be entertaining and also offer a chance to win raffle gear and free giveaways.

We’re offering more clinics than ever this year, including tons of ice climbing courses, snow and alpine climbing, snowshoe mountaineering, avalanche safety, and wilderness first aid. Many of the event sponsors will be here with the latest gear for you to take and climb with on both Saturday and Sunday.

Whether you come for the clinics or just climb on your own and check out the evening entertainment, Mountainfest is the place to be this Martin Luther King weekend.

More information on the event can be found here….

 


A message from Don Mellor

Greetings to ice climbers near and far:

Mountainfest is coming to Adirondacks for the 19th consecutive season. Most folks are really psyched – about the clinics, the demos, the presentations, the camaraderie, and the opportunity to meet some of the world’s best.

But we are also VERY aware that our presence can put a serious snag in your own climbing plans. We don’t own the local ice. We often wonder if it’s even right to get up early and drape a crag with ropes. But what we hear over and over from you is that Mountainfest is a good thing, and as for the crowds – well, most of you are happy to adjust. Thanks!

Our plan, so that you can plan:

Mellor’s Steep and Chicken-hearted course will be at the Pitchoff Quarry.

Visitor Fabrizio will do his advanced thing in Chapel Pond Canyon.

James and Andrea will be at Rock and River’s private property ice park.

Ian O. usually scouts out some ridiculously thin things around Chapel Pond, probably starting at Laceration.

Horner and McCormick are waiting to see how things set up.

Whether or not you are in a clinic, there’ll be a friendly welcome to hang out, listen, maybe even share a rope. The ice ain’t ours (except for the ice park!), that’s for sure, and we’ll do our best to make it a happy, jazzed weekend. See ya.

Things could change – we’ll keep you posted. Check in at the Mountaineer for the latest.


Born to Fail: A Slideshow

Michael Wejchert takes us on a fun fill journey of his climbing life.

Fund Drive 2014

What would the ice climbing season be like without NEice?

Think about it!

It’s time for the year end Fund Drive

Celebrating 15 Years!

NEice is a community web site run by volunteers, but we still have hard costs to run and maintain the server and all the related costs.  While sponsors and Google ads help,  it’s the viewer donations that make the difference and keep the site going.

If you like what we are doing and want us to expand our efforts and bring you the best there is in Northeast Ice Climbing. Contribute to the site and make a donation today.

 

Donate!

$10.00 / $15.00 / $20.00 or $25.00.  Or  whatever you can afford.  More is greatly appreciated. Your donation will go towards the hard costs that keep the site going.

It’s Easy!

1. You can click the donation logo below to make a payment using PayPal. PayPal is secure and easy to use system for online payments.

2.You can also send a check payable to NEice.com to the address below

NEice.com

PO Box 360

Bartlett, NH 03812-0360

 I would like to thank this seasons sponsors and supporters

Thanks for your support!

~ Doug Millen

The Swiss Machine in Boston

Do you have your tickets for Ueli Steck? The Swiss Machine is coming to Boston?

December 6, 6:30pm at the Science Center, Harvard University

Want to volunteer for the event? A few volunteers spots are left! If you are interested, shoot Jenn an email: jflemming@americanalpineclub.org

Mount Washington Valley Ice Fest 2014 – Highlights

Everyone comes out for this fest!  And for good reason.  This year’s Ice Fest was a huge success.  Saturday night for the main presentation, the Theater in the Wood was at capacity.  The biggest Ice Festival in the Northeast keeps getting bigger and better.  Around 245 people were there for the Friday evening events, 420 folks came to the Saturday evening events, 310 guided ice climbing clients, 39 guides, around 25 sponsors, a live band performance!.. not to mention a burrito truck.. Need I say more?!

I will..

ime after party

Upstairs at IME!

This was a full three day weekend with clinics and demos happening all day Friday as well as Saturday and Sunday.  It brought out the big names of both guest guides and local guides.  The major climbing gear and clothing manufacturers were there and they all converged at the after-clinic party which was held at the mothership, IME, in the evenings before the slideshows. NEice supplied the hot soup, Tuckerman Brewing Company supplied the beer, the American Alpine Club supplied the wine and everyone was already well stocked on good conversation and good times.

Friday night was Barry Blanchard’s presentation and as Bernie Mailhot puts it, it was a great retrospective presentation with gusto, spicy anecdotes, and good humor (with great microphone sound effects).  He is always humble and giving much deserved praise and gratitude to his climbing partners.  Opening that act was Jeff Longcor talking about his expeditions to Kirgistan.

Climbers, both in clinics and going out on their own, were at the crags, cliffs and alpine nooks and crannies all weekend.  Being out there climbing myself, I can’t say enough how awesome the camaraderie is amongst climbers during an event like this.  Some people go out of town when there’s an ice festival, thinking all the ice routes will be packed with people and climbing will be a miserable experience of waiting in line.  But from what I experienced, there was plenty of ice to go around and everyone was friendly and accommodating.  People were just stoked to be out!  And to top it off, the weather was really pleasant all weekend.

majka

Majka Burhardt on the stage.

Saturday night, Majka Burhardt gave props to New Hampshire climbing during a refreshingly lively presentation.  I think the ice climbing community is psyched to have her as a NH resident.  She opened for Tim Emmett, who is a someone that needs no introduction.  From his crazy base jumping, wing suit flying, and WI11 climbing, there wasn’t a dull moment.

On Sunday, Cathedral Ledge was busy.  Repentance and Remission were in  great shape and were being climbed.  Tim Emmett, Jason Kruk and the usual suspects, Bayard Russell and Kevin Mahoney were making work of the thin ice smears that were found all over the cliff.

The NEice choppers took to the air this weekend and took some of the best and most stable footage so far.  At year two of this project, it’s exciting to be able to see the product of all the hard work that’s been put in.  We decided to take some long and high flights to capture some of the big picture of northeast ice.  Here it is!

Frankenstein and Cathedral Ledge from NEice.com on Vimeo.

Cathedral Ledge has had some good conditions lately and the visiting climbers took full advantage. Below are a few photos taken at the ledge Sunday during the event. Including Tim Emmett (in red) sending  “Jack on Ice”.

NEice would like to give many thanks to the group that puts this shindig together.  Anne Skidmore Russell, Naomi Risch, Michael Wejchert, Ashley Link and Hanna Lucy on the planning committee.  And of course IME, IMCS, all the guides and sponsors. Without them, there would be no Ice Fest. Thank you!

Photos by Doug Millen and Courtney Ley. Cover photo, Andrea Charest on Remission.