Catskills Ice Fest 2015
A Recon Flight by Ardu
Mount Washington Valley Ice Fest 2015
This Weekend!
The 22nd Annual
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
Smuggs Ice Bash Wrap-Up – 2015
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 (winners left to right)
Men’s
- Roy Quanstrom
- Tyler Kempney
- Peter Hoang
Women’s
- Andrea Charest
- Alexa Siegel
- 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.
[nggallery id=59]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
Win a pair of DMM Apex Ice Axes
To win all you have to do is answer a question correctly at the link below.
Test Drive the range of DMM Ice Axes.
DMM will be at the Mount Washington Valley Ice Festival in North Conway, New Hampshire.
Catskill Ice Festival 2015
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!
Climbers set sights on Ithaca's ice
Photo: A climber ascends ice at Six Mile Creek gorge during Ithaca’s Light in Winter Festival 2004. The City issued a special permit to people to demonstrate ice climbing during the festival.
Sometimes the Leader Does Fall
A Look Into the Experiences of Ice Climbers Who Have Fallen on Ice Screws
by Kel Rossiter / Adventure Spirit
INTRODUCTION
Last winter a climber with Adventure Spirit Rock+Ice+Alpine was asking me about the holding power of ice screws. We discussed the various lab studies that have been done (a list of links to some interesting ones can be found at the bottom of this paper) then he said, “That’s great, but has anyone ever specifically done research into how they actually perform in the field?” He had a point. While the dictum in ice climbing is that “the leader never falls,” in the end, they sometimes do. So presumably there was an ample population from which to sample—but I was unaware of any actual field research done with this population. So, fueled by that question, I decided to explore the topic. The results of this inquiry appear below.
Related articles:
The Waterfall Poke-O-Moonshine NY
Ardu takes a cold flight (4 degrees) at the 19th Annual Adirondack Mountainfest
January 17, 2015
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!
The Monster at Lake Champlain
Kevin Mahoney on ” The Lake Champlain Monster”. Alden Pellett keeping one eye on Kevin and the other for the Lake Monster.
Kevin Mahoney and Alden Pellett having fun escaping from “The Monster” during a midday break from their gear demo responsibilities at The 19 annual Adirondack Mountainfest.
*Photos by Doug Millen
Kevin Mahoney – Mahoney Alpine Adventures
The Mountaineer – Keene Valley NY
North East Ice
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