Tag Archive for: climbing

Mt.Webster, more than easy Gully's

Trip Report

Crawford Notch,  NH – North Conway Ice Fest Weekend

By Alan Cattabriga

I spent four days in the Saco River Valley last wk. and climbed on Mt. Webster everyday, it’s an awesome, complex climbing area with ton’s of fun options and hidden walls of ice.

After getting shut down by “considerable” avy conditions Thurs. morning at the Harvard cabin board I booked it down to Webster. The hike up to Shoestring, the climbing and the trail down were in some of the best conditions I had ever had there. While on top I notice I had a good time going so I totally ran the trail down and logged in my best car to car time yet.

approachingI hung out with with Doug, who just happened to be driving by as I ran the road and hydrated while I waited for Brady Libby to show up for my afternoon session on Webster’s cliffs just north of Central Coulour. By early afternoon Brady & I were hiking up for a recon of a golden flow on the north end of the cliff band that forms Central’s left side. We climbed a long (~300′) slab of ice to get to this section and were totally psyched with the ice we found.

The cliff is overhanging with beautiful, yellow ice all over it and a huge curtain with a window in it coming over the biggest part. This has a super cool looking route that would start behind the curtain with a tough mixed move then tunneling up a hollow tube and out the window onto the sheet.

Many other climbs could be done here, after spending some time checking the place out we traversed over towards Central and passed another wide flow on our way. We finished the day on Central, with daylight waning, traversed off right and down.

cauliflowerFriday Emile Drinkwater, Doug Millen & I had a great time soloing up Cinema and the awesome Cauliflower Gully, Doug did not have much time so he headed to Frankenstine Cliff for a quick solo of Chia and Bobs and then to IME to get his delicious soup ready for the Ice Fest. Emilie and I headed off to do Central to the big ledge. It was fun climbing and the rock above with it’s big gashes was glowing orange in the setting sun.

brady-gallery-3Saturday Doug, Brady, Dave Rioux, Ted Hammond, Todd Shafer & Tim Gotwols  went back to that cliff Brady & I had checked out on Webster, we were exited to show it off to our crew. Brady did an excellent lead of the Gallery route we had looked at and Dave did a cool looking mixed line on the cliffs left side.

There is also a sweet soloing all over the left end and a unusual low angle chimney line that exits thru a curtain that Todd had chopped a hole thru to get out! It was sunny and somewhat free of wind there…. what a wonderful climbing spot.

todd-landslideSunday was a bit nasty out so we all, with the addition of Courtney Ley, who for some reason wanted to join this crew of misfit toys, did the conga up Landslide Gully… Like I found on Shoestring, every bit of it was excellent!

The gullys on Webster are great fun, Central’s finishes are totally classic but there is so much more there… wonder up to the north slabs and climb something… I’m sure others have visited the yellow wall, we could not have possibly been the first…. I mean holy crap, it’s a roadside crag!

eguide

Alan Cattabriga

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Mt. Webster NH

More than Easy Gully’s

Cover-Dave-Webster

Dave Rioux mixing it up on Mt. Webster, Crawford Notch, NH
Photo by Doug Millen

Trip report by Alfonzo

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News 2/3/10

New Climb Smuggs 2010

Slinging icicles for gear, Alden Pellett persevered up a new route (Scotch and Water, WI5X, 300′) to right of Cloak and Dagger during the Alpinist Magazine sponsored 4th Annual Smuggs Ice Bash.
Photos by Jeremy “Rowdy” Dowdy

Smuggs Ice Bash Report 2010

Gadd and Emmett Suggest WI10

Will Gadd – The Endless Ascent – 25,414 feet of ice in 24 hrs. (video)

NEice Screen Savers – The first of many to come. Enjoy.

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Mt. Washington Valley Ice Fest 2010

WMF2010-posterWeb-bigFebruary 5-7 2010

Clinics, Demos, Multimedia Show, Guest Athletes & Guides, 2nd Face Off Comp, Climbers Party, and Amateur Photo Contest!

Steve House is coming into town and will be giving a killer show.  Steve is currently supporting the release of his first book Beyond the Mountain.

Read more about the Ice Fest here: ICE FEST BLOG . Enter the  Ice Fest Photo Contest and  More Here..

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News & Information 01/24/10

SmuggsIceBash

The 4th annual Smuggs Ice Bash, the local ice climbing festival at the foot of Smugglers Notch VT. Is This Weekend January 29-31, 2010.  More…

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The Bossman

Bayard Russell & Matt McCormick were crushing it in the “Dacks” during Mountainfest establishing “The Bossman” M9

Mountainfest Report

The 14th annual Adirondack International Mountainfest was held on January 15-17, 2010. This year’s event featured a slide show by blind adventurer Erik Weihenmayer and world-class alpinist Steve House. See the Report..

Beyond The Mountain

Beyond the Mountain by Steve House describes what it takes to be one of the world’s best high-altitude mountain climbers.  More…

Ghost River Seasonal Access Secured

After four years of lobbying and negotiations the Climbers Access Society of Alberta (CASA) won a seasonal permit from the Alberta Government for access into the North Ghost.  More…

New Petzl Tools

If you could change the Nomic, what would do? That’s easy; add a hammer and a spike. Well Petzl is working on this and the proto types are here.  More…

NorthFace – The Movie

Based on a true story, NORTH FACE is a gripping adventure drama about a competition to climb the most dangerous rock face in the Alps. More…

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Smuggs Ice Bash 2010

The 4th annual Smuggs Ice Bash. A local ice climbing festival at the foot of Smuggler Notch VT.

Big news? Alpinist magazine has made Jeffersonville its new home and is helping with sponsorship of the Ice Bash this year.

Come Join the Bash!

# Socialize at the Brewski on Friday the 29th, 6pm

# Demos, clinics & slide show on Saturday the  30th

# Demos and clinics on Sunday the 31st

Northern Revival

Matt McCormick will present “Northern Revival” at the Brewski, Saturday Jan 30th – 6:00pm, a multi-media look at the next generation of Vermont climbs and climbers, including ice, rock, and mixed – all local. Free, AND, it coincides with the Ice Bash raffle, arguably the most booty filled, cheapest raffle in the festival circuit (proceeds go directly to Crag-VT, our local Access Fund partner – Bolton Quarry, Upper West Bolton, etc.) – Bert Severin

Ice Bash Going Green!

For more details see the links below

Source:  Smuggsicebash.com / NEice.com/forum

Ghost River Seasonal Access Secured

Alberta Canada / January 18, 2010

After four years of lobbying and negotiations the Climbers Access Society of Alberta (CASA) won a seasonal permit from the Alberta Government for access into the North Ghost.

There are two elements to the access permit.

First, the permit grants access to climbers right now.  As of Jan 15, climbers have interim access to the staging area in front of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (GBU). Please note that for a short time we won’t have vehicle access to cross the river to the Valley of the Birds. The second part of the permit is that CASA has been given permission to build a track from GBU to the Malamute Valley, including a bridge and staging areas.  Once the construction work is done climbers will be able to drive across the river in front of GBU to access Valley of the Birds and other climbs to the south.

CASA is now at work arranging the construction of the track.  We will announce the dates for construction soon, because it will impede access for that weekend.  Similarly, once the construction is completed, we’ll announce the details of access including UTM coordinates of the staging areas and a GPS track log of the route.

In the meantime, we ask climbers to respect the current access restrictions (i.e. do not drive further than GBU).  The permit and our continued access is conditional on our communities’ compliance, and it is expected that Alberta’s Sustainable Resource Development will be monitoring the work we are doing in the Ghost.

The seasonal access is valid until March 31, 2010.  After that date the closure point will revert back to Crossing 38.

If you have any questions feel free to contact CASA directly at: chair@climbersaccess.ab.ca.

Source: Climbersaccess.ab.ca

New Petzl Tools

If you could change the Nomic, what would do? That’s easy; add a hammer and a spike. Well Petzl is working on this and the proto types are here.

See photos at Escalade Quebec / Forum

“The tools we are seeing at the show now and out climbing (Ueli Steck and the Petzl web page) are still prototypes. Close but still protos. I found it interesting the even Steck hadn’t seen or used the new tools till just last week.” – Dane

“All the new tools are now taking the older style Nomic picks. But now they are cut to take hammer and adze (the coldthistle hammer and adze are lighter fwiw). All the picks are now T rated as well and with a 3 year guarantee!” – Dane

Source: CascadeClimbers.com / forum

“Check them out and start drooling”  – pcooke

“The thing that attracts me the most, is the Nomic with the hammer…Now you have to carry a third tool for hammering stuff when you climb with those….if they manage to put a spike as well, those tools will see more usage on the mountains…” – farmax

Source: NEice.com / forum

The forum threads:

http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Number/935212/gonew/1/OR_show_neat_shit_thread#UNREAD

https://www.neice.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=51302#Post51302

Photo of the Week 1/22/10

Jason-Hurwitz-Advocate-RAS-1-21-10aJason Hurwitz leads the Advocate in the Black Chasm, Catskills, NY
Photo byRyan Stefiuk

See more Catskills action on his web site – Big Foot Mountain Guides

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Strippers!

Josh Hurst about to fire the FA of “Strippers” Frankenstein Cliff, Crawford Notch NH. – Bayard Russell

“it was impressive, the final roof suiting his style of climbing – extra burly pull-ups”

-Bayard Russell

The route is between Cocaine and the Wrath of the Valkyrie.

Read more at Cathedral Mountain Guides

Source: Bayard Russell