Festiglace 2020

The Return of FESTIGLACE

Feb. 21-23, 2020

After an absence of over a decade, Festiglace is back and ready to stoak the ice climbing fever again in Pont-Rouge, Quebec. Thanks to the team of passionate volunteers that have brought this event back for everyone to enjoy.

Festiglace was my favorite ice climbing festival in the Northeast and I am so glad it is back. Held in the spectacular setting of the Jacques-Cartier River where grade 5 & 6 ice climbs are a dime a dozen, it is a dream location for an ice climbing event. 

Stay tuned to NEice throughout the season for more information on Festiglace 2020

Full Press Release here… Festiglace 2020

Web site – http://www.festiglace.org

Festiglace Friday

Every Friday till Festiglace 2020 I will be posting photos from my archives. I attended all 10 of the previous festivals and have many great photos to share.  I will start off with this spectacular photo of Abby Watkins competing during Festiglace 2001. The harder the climb, the more points you receive. It was a cold day and the ice was hard and dry. Not an easy climb, but worth big points. This climb was first climbed the day before by Rich Marshall. It goes up and left. He rated it WI7.  

Abby Watkins Festiglace 2006

Abby Watkins competing at Festiglace 2001. Note the leashes on the tools. – Photo Doug Millen


Abby sporting some vintage gaiters

Abby sporting some stylish gaiters during the event


Doug Millen

Majka Burhardt on the Black 10-24-18 Peter Doucette

The Black Dike 10-26-18

Finding Balance

Majka Burhardt on the Black 10-24-18 Peter Doucette

Majka Burhardt on the Black 10-24-18 / Peter Doucette

An October ascent of the Black Dike is rare, but it is just as rare to find a good balance in your life. Family, work and following your passions. The Doucette / Burhardt family is right on track. After a late night speaking event and the morning logistics of two young children, Peter and Majka still managed to pull off the coveted first ascent of the Black Dike this season. A 10am start “delivered the goods” for them. Another experienced party with an earlier start, backed off the climb that morning. The Black Dike is not in by normal standards and the little window that was there has passed. The ascent is a testament to their ability and balance in their lives.

Find out more on Majka from her website www.majkaburhardt.com/

Photo by Peter Doucette, Mountain Sense Guides

Update on the Proposed Skyline Lodge on Mount Washington

A year ago, the Mount Washington Railway Company announced their intention of building a lodge at 5,600 feet on Mount Washington. Despite growing opposition, they still intend to move forward with their plans. The Protect Mount Washington campaign needs your support!

It was a snowy December evening and the Coos County Planning Board meeting was packed. There were over 40 members of the outdoor community in attendance to hear what Wayne Presby, owner of the Mount Washington Railway Company (MWRC), had to say about his latest plans to introduce more development on the tallest and most iconic mountain in the Northeast. The MWRC owns a 99-foot wide tract of land on which it operates the Cog Railway, a mountain train that has been taking passengers to the summit since 1869.  It is at 5,600 feet on this tract of land, perched above the cliffs of the Great Gulf Headwall, where Presby intends to build a 25,000 square foot, 35-room ‘luxury’ lodge.

Rendering of the proposed Skyline Lodge that is posted in the Cog’s Marshfield Base Station

That same evening, a small group of North Conway based climbers began preparations to organize opposition against, what Presby called, Skyline Lodge, with the intention of halting the formal building application to the Planning Board. Soon after, the group formed Keep The Whites Wild (KtWW), a New Hampshire non-profit organization.  Their mission: to preserve and protect the diverse biology, natural aesthetic, and intrinsic value of New England’s White Mountain region.  They quickly launched Protect Mount Washington, a campaign specifically designed to stop MWRC’s lodge proposal.

When the news broke, it made both regional and national headlines.  The Washington Post read: “Coming Soon: a Luxury Hotel With the Worst Weather You’ve Ever Seen”, while the Boston Globe and New Hampshire newspapers published articles interviewing those for and against the development.  As time went on and word spread, the opposition grew.  Two months after the announcement, six conservation groups, including the Nature Conservancy and Appalachian Mountain Club, submitted a letter to the Coos County Planning Board stating the development would be harmful to the sensitive alpine habitat and is contradictory to County Master Plan which was adopted to conserve and protect these natural and ecological resources.   The Protect Mount Washington campaign started an online petition just days after the announcement and it has now received over 17,000 signatures.

The White Mountain Fritillary, a NH endangered butterfly whose entire range is limited to the alpine zone in the Presidential Range. (Photo: Courtney Ley)

The White Mountain Fritillary, a NH endangered butterfly whose entire range is limited to the alpine zone in the Presidential Range. (Photo: Courtney Ley)

Since that time, Protect Mount Washington has been on the front lines defending the alpine tundra which is in danger of being irreparably harmed by the Skyline Lodge proposal.  Backed by scientific expertise, they contend that the rare alpine habitat, which comprises less than 1% of New Hampshire’s landscape yet holds numerous rare and some endemic plant and insect species, is too ecologically important to lose. Using that reason and others related to safety and view-shed impacts, they have undertaken public advocacy by fielding thousands of emails and phone calls, sending out press releases, organizing events and networking with numerous conservation organizations and countless individuals.  Perhaps the biggest move the campaign has made was hiring an environmental attorney, Jason Reimers of BCM Environmental Land Law to defend the recreational, ecological and economic benefits that Mount Washington provides to the region.

The MWRC has also been busy since their announcement.  Wayne Presby continues to inform the public that Skyline Lodge is still on the table despite having not formally applied for permitting through Coos County; and there is no evidence to the contrary, as surveyors were recently seen in the proposed building area.  In a recent move which could be interpreted as a step toward the reality of the lodge, the MWRC sent excavators from the railroad base station up along their tracks and began moving soil.  Without any local or state permitting, they cleared and widened an old utility trench scar that serves the summit buildings with the stated intention of driving passenger-carrying snowcat machines up and down the mountain. Although they own the land, it is zoned as a Protected District (PD6), and only certain activities on that land can happen without permitting.  According to the Coos County Zoning Ordinances, the purpose of  PD6 is to regulate certain land use activities in mountain areas “in order to preserve the natural equilibrium of vegetation, geology, slope, soil and climate in order to reduce danger to public health and safety posed by unstable mountain areas, to protect water quality and to preserve mountain areas for their scenic values and recreational opportunities.” Lands are zoned as such in areas above 2,700 feet in elevation or slopes in excess of 60 percent (27 degree angle) over ten contiguous acres.   

Diapensia, listed as a NH rare and threatened plant, growing in the alpine zone.

Diapensia, listed as a NH rare and threatened plant, growing in the alpine zone.

Keep the Whites Wild argues the use of the land as a road intended to bring tourists to the summit of the mountain would be prohibited according to County regulations and they’ve requested the County Commissioner cite MWRC and require it to restore the land that was disturbed by the excavator work.  Presby responded to reporters stating he is well within his rights and told InDepthNH.org that he built a trail, not a road and didn’t need a permit.

Debris and coal along the Cog tracks.

Debris and coal along the Cog tracks.

According to InDepthNH.org, he said Keep the Whites Wild misunderstands the zoning regulation and his plan for the three-mile trail is for maintenance and to provide emergency responders and others quicker wintertime access to the summit than the auto road, which is eight miles long. However, the Berlin Daily Sun reported that during a Mount Washington Commission Meeting in November, Presby stated the Cog had just opened up a trail to the summit that he believes will be able to accommodate passenger-carrying snowcats up the three-mile route in winter, a concept that would soon be tested.  At the upcoming Coos County Commissioners meeting on December 13, 2017, commissioners plan to discuss KtWW’s letter and potential violations brought up by the Protect Mount Washington Campaign.  

When the MWRC is going to formally apply for the permits to move forward with the Skyline Lodge is a question still unanswered.  In the meantime, the alpine of Mount Washington puts on its coat of white as winter settles in.  The large majority of hikers and tourists leave the high peaks as the plants and insects continue to find a way to survive in the harsh extreme.  Ice climbers, backcountry skiers and hardy winter hikers will start coming to the mountain now to watch the landscape transform into a cold, strikingly beautiful world.  To all who seek out the mountain’s ravines, trails, rocky cliffs, icy gullies, alpine gardens, famous weather and tallest summit, Mount Washington is a precious and finite resource.  It is a resource that provides not just significant ecological value, but also solitude, challenge, appreciation, reflection and inspiration.  

Mount Washington and the Great Gulf in winter. (Photo: Courtney Ley)

Mount Washington and the Great Gulf in winter. (Photo: Courtney Ley)

Support Protect Mount Washington’s efforts
  

Previous NEice Article: Cog Railway Announces Intentions to Build a 35 Room Luxury Hotel on Mount Washington

Other Recent Media Links:

Caledonian Record: Group Opposed To Mountainside Hotel On Mt. Washington Claims Illegal Road

Berlin Daily Sun: Keep the Whites Wild Accuses Cog of Constructing Unpermitted Road

Union Leader: Conservation group files complaint over Cog Railway’s ‘Snowcat road’

InDepthNH: Coos County To Consider Assertion Of ‘Unpermitted’ Cog ‘Road’ Up Mount Washington

NHPR: Group: Cog Railway’s New Mt. Washington Trail Is Illegal

 

The Sound and The Fury

Raphael Slawinski, Nick Bullock and Bayard Russell tackle the Stanley Headwall, just outside Banff National Park in British Columbia.
The Headwall on November 9, 2017. The Sound and The Fury is left-center. (Photo: Nick Bullock)

The Headwall on November 9, 2017. The Sound and The Fury is left-center. (Photo: Nick Bullock)

Home to a number of the Rockies’ best-known ice and mixed routes, the Stanley Headwall is a truly spectacular venue. Joe Josephson’s guide says it best: “Every major route on the wall is sustained, technically difficult, and contains sections of serious climbing.” (mountainproject.com)  Our own Bayard Russell brings his northeast climbing skills to the big mountains of B.C.
“It was great to see a world class climber like Raphael, from 2500 miles away, strap it onto an engineering project like this pitch, working out the gear the same way a local like McCormick, Doucette or Mahoney might on some temporary dribble, sporting a bloated rack of trinkets and taking the time needed to get them in. Same rack , same tempo, different place.”
– Bayard Russell
 
Raphael Slawinski on The Sound and the Fury

Raphael Slawinski on The Sound and the Fury. (Photo: Bayard Russell)

The Sound and the Fury is a rare former on the Stanley Headwall reminiscent of an early season route you might find in miniature at Cathedral, Frankenstein or Poke-O.

Read about the ascent in Nick Bullock’s crafted words with more photos and videos here: Escaping the Alligator

 
The three of us stood beneath a line of ice. The word ‘line’ suggests continuous, and the ‘line’ we now stood was anything but! This ‘line’ was disjointed islands, feeble daggers, and frozen blossoms crawling insidiously down from the snow field ninety metres above. This did not look to be a ‘line’ or a climb that I would choose to warm into winter.” – Nick Bullock
 
 
Pitch 1 of the Sound and the Fury, 2004 route first climbed by Jeff Relph, Paul McSorley and Tom Gruber and graded WI 6 M7, according to a report on gravsports.com
 

 Bayard Russell is an NEice Ambassador and part owner of CATHEDRAL MOUNTAIN GUIDES.  Cathedral Mountain Guides is a New Hampshire climbing guiding service founded in 2008 by American Mountain Guide Association certified guide Bayard Russell, Jr. and now run in partnership with local guide, accomplished alpinist and Piolet d’Or Recipient, Freddie Wilkinson. 

Climbing Dreamline in Newfoundland

Dreamline (WI6+, 1,260′)

February 21, 2017
Gros Morne National Park,  Newfoundland, Canada

Joe Terravecchia,Will Mayo and Anna Pfaff  climbed a new, and spectacular line today, “Dreamline” (WI6+, 1,260′). Dreamline is a spray ice climb to the right of The Pissing Mare Waterfall on Western Brook Pond. Joe and Casey Shaw have been dreaming of, and eyeing this line since 1997, waiting for it to come into condition. Today it was in condition. Unfortunately, after waiting out a week of storms and bad weather Casey had to return to work and was not around to finish his dream of climbing this phenomenal ice route.

Will Mayo – “It’s the raddest ice climb I’ve ever done”. Anna Pfaff – “we sent a new mega line up wild medusa like formations of spray ice and other worldly features”.

“This was the most adventuresome and satisfying ice climb of our careers, we all agree.” – Will Mayo

Dreamline" (WI6+, 1,260') - Will Mayo

Dreamline” (WI6+, 1,260′) – Will Mayo

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Pissing_Mare_Falls,_Western_Pond

Pissing Mare Falls, Western Brook Pond. A summer view – Wikipedia

 

More here..https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pissing_Mare_Falls

 

Sources: Facebook, Wikipedia, Instagram, Gripped.com & Will Mayo

 

The 21st Annual ADK Mountainfest

Mark your Calendars!

January 13-15, 2017

Final-Mountaifest-17

Mountainfest 2017 has an excellent line-up of speakers this year including Patagonia athlete Kelly Cordes, Rab athlete Scott Bennett and Black Diamond athlete Kevin Mahoney.

safe_imagePatagonia Worn Wear will be hanging out in the shop during Mountainfest weekend and doing minor repairs (patches, zippers etc.) on your clothing! How cool is that!

Bluelines 2The new ice climbing guide book is here! BLUE LINES 2. Available exclusively at The Mountaineer for a limited time! Blue Lines 2 describes the explosion of routes in Panther Gorge, Hayes Mountain, Hoffman Notch, West Canada Cliff and Silver Lake Mountain. The new guide has more than double the route descriptions of the previous guide.

The Conditions are Great!

Conditions are shaping up nicely for this event and the area will offer some great ice climbing opportunities. Get the new guide book (BLUE LINES 2) and go out and explore. I am sure you won’t be disappointed.

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Photos from the NEice.com photo section

Hot Soup!

SoupNEice.com will be delivering hot soup to selected clinics. Nothing is better than hot soup on a cold day. NEice will also have it’s drones in the air capturing photos this great local event. SoloInterested in Drones? Doug will be around and happy to answer your questions on drone use for photography.

Tag your photos #northeastice on Instagram to show up on the front page of NEice.com.

– Mountainfest is an annual celebration of ice climbing and mountaineering featuring guest athletes who entertain us with tales of their climbing adventures. You will also find instructional clinics taught by visiting athletes and local guides, demo gear, and of course an opportunity to mingle with the climbing community for an exciting weekend of winter climbing and fun!

For more information on this event go to http://www.mountaineer.com/mountainfest-2017/


Have you been Naughty or Nice?

Merry Christmas to All

This has been the best start to an Ice Climbing Season in recent memory. Seems like most climbers have been “nice” this year. Thank you Santa!

@zacst.julesclimbing Started the day getting shut down by Omega. Finished the day on Fafnir. All around good day with @pgcooke. Thought Id share this fantastic photo of the sun lighting up Omega. .

@zacst.julesclimbing – Started the day getting shut down by Omega. Finished the day on Fafnir. All around good day with @pgcooke. Thought Id share this fantastic photo of the sun lighting up Omega. 12-20-16
.

Cathedral Mountain Guides December 21 · Ice climbing is back! It's looking pretty good up in Crawford Notch - Frankenstein, Mt Willard and Mt Webster are all pretty icey right now. Here is CMG's Jake Job on a pretty steep, early season Dracula. Yeah!

Cathedral Mountain Guides – December 21, 2016
Ice climbing is back! It’s looking pretty good up in Crawford Notch – Frankenstein, Mt Willard and Mt Webster are all pretty icey right now. Here is CMG’s Jake Job on a pretty steep, early season Dracula. Yeah!

The Amphitheater ice in Grafton Notch is in well. Even the steep curtain is touching down. Acadia Mountain Guides Climbing School #maineiceclimbing #neice.

The Amphitheater ice in Grafton Notch is in well. Even the steep curtain is touching down. Acadia Mountain Guides Climbing School #maineiceclimbing #northeastice.

Scott Lovell leading Crazy Diamond up to the cave. The finish pillar wasn't in. The roof system beside the pillar on the right now sits on the ground. Maybe 20 tons of rock cut loose this fall. It's the same roof that many climbers have thought a wild mixed finish might go through. Well I thought it would go, and it did.Then we did Twenty Below Gully. It didn't rain over there like it did here. The lake is not going off yet.

Scott Lovell leading Crazy Diamond up to the cave. The finish pillar wasn’t in. The roof system beside the pillar on the right now sits on the ground. Maybe 20 tons of rock cut loose this fall. It’s the same roof that many climbers have thought a wild mixed finish might go through. Well I thought it would go, and it did.Then we did Twenty Below Gully. It didn’t rain over there like it did here. The lake is not going off yet. – Jon Sykes

@adventurespiritguides@zebblais keeping things straight on Mindbender. @mammutna @mammut_absolute_alpine #runatribe #neclimbs #northeastice #lakewilloughby

Adventure spirit guides@zebblais keeping things straight on Mindbender, Lake Willoughby VT.
@mammutna @mammut_absolute_alpine #runatribe #neclimbs #northeastice #lakewilloughby

Here it is. Poster for the 11th Annual Smuggs Ice Bash! Psyched for a great weekend climbing and celebrating with you all.

Here it is. Poster for the 11th Annual Smuggs Ice Bash! Psyched for a great weekend of climbing and celebrating with you all.

Warm temps and soft ice in the Catskills right now! A fair bit of water running but plenty to climb right now in Devil's Kitchen. #alpinelogic #catskills #iceclimbing @arcteryx @sterlingrope @petzl_official @julbousa - Silas Rossi

Warm temps and soft ice in the Catskills right now! A fair bit of water running but plenty to climb right now in Devil’s Kitchen. #alpinelogic #catskills #iceclimbing @arcteryx @sterlingrope @petzl_official @julbousa – Silas Rossi – alpine-logic

EMS guide @dmarshallphoto chasing the sunshine on the classic route Fafnir at Cannon Cliff. #emsguides #shreddingthegnar #northeastice @petzl_official @scarpana @lasportivana 📷 @80percenter

EMS guide @dmarshallphoto chasing the sunshine on the classic route Fafnir at Cannon Cliff. #emsguides #shreddingthegnar #northeastice @petzl_official @scarpana @lasportivana 📷 @80percenter

Doug Ferguson - Martin enjoying the type 2 fun with the perpetual calf burn of NFOP — at Pitchoff Mountain.

Doug Ferguson – Martin enjoying the type 2 fun with the perpetual calf burn of NFOP — at Pitchoff Mountain, Adirondacks NY – Mountain Skills Climbing Guides

Matthew Horner With Bill Schneider at Chapel Pond.

Matthew Horner With Bill Schneider on “Power Play”, Chapel Pond, Adirondacks NY

#skadidog test fitting her new Rex Specs!!! Bring on the blower pow!!!! #chistmascameearly #rexspecs #skidog — at Petra Cliffs Climbing Center & Mountaineering School.

#skadidog test fitting her new Rex Specs!!! Bring on the blower pow!!!! #chistmascameearly #rexspecs #skidog — at Petra Cliffs Climbing Center & Mountaineering School.

The business on Notched in Stone. A Tom Yandon and Joe Szot route, up and left of Moss cliff. #adirondacks #iceclimbing #northeast #winterfun — in Wilmington, New York.

The business on “Notched in Stone”. A Tom Yandon and Joe Szot route, up and left of Moss cliff. #adirondacks #iceclimbing #northeast #winterfun — in Wilmington, New York. – Matthew Horner

Doug Ferguson shared Stephen Pucci's photo — with James Matalvin Tullos. Yesterday at 5:30am · Pucci tang scored this nice shot of me yesterday in Cascade Pass. Thanks Pucci!

Doug Ferguson shared Stephen Pucci’s photo — with James Matalvin Tullos. Pucci tang scored this nice shot of me yesterday in Cascade Pass. Thanks Pucci! – Mountain Skills Climbing Guides

Joe Vitti at Catskill Mountains. December 21 at 5:11pm · Instagram · Here's a beautiful route on the west side of Stony Clove called Spiral Staircase. Troy climbing strongly through the steep crux. The ice was a bit delicate today, not perfectly bonded to the rock, there were some hollow thuds and some missiles, but the climbing was so cool! #catskilliceclimbing #frozenwaterislife #blackdiamondequipment #vittimtguides

Joe Vitti at Catskill Mountains. December 21, 2016 
Here’s a beautiful route on the west side of Stony Clove called Spiral Staircase. Troy climbing strongly through the steep crux. The ice was a bit delicate today, not perfectly bonded to the rock, there were some hollow thuds and some missiles, but the climbing was so cool! – Vitti mountain guides

@inphinitelyripped Gettin the goods on Mt. Cannon today with @kob6... Third pitch of the Black Dike 📷 @kob6

@inphinitelyripped Gettin the goods on The Black Dike, Cannon Cliff. NH today with @kob6…Third pitch of the Black Dike 📷 @kob6

Ice Revolution

Ice Revolution from Granite Films ~ Jim Surette on Vimeo.

“My main climbing partners were John Bragg, John Bouchard and Henry Barber…” Rick Wilcox narrates the ice climbing revolution of the Northeast in the 1960s and 1970s.