Photo of the Week 2/28/11
Mate, Spawn and Die
Leslie Ackerman on the first female lead of “Mate, Spawn and Die”(WI5 M4) Salmon River Falls NY.
Photo by Jim Lawyer
Agawa Canyon Ice
The Ice of Agawa Canyon (Eastern Shore of Lake Superior)
by Shaun Parent
Canyon Sign at Mile 113
My first trip into Agawa Canyon was some 25 years ago on December 27, 1986 when Chris Lloyd and I ventured into the area for a week long adventure of exploring and developing ice climbs.
Things have changed plenty since the mid 1980’s when ice climbing was just beginning in the Canyon. Orient Bay to the north was known and climbers from the Midwest were flocking there on weekends due to the number of easily accessible routes. Here in Agawa Canyon, unlike Orient Bay, after 25 years the Canyon sees less than 50 visitors a season, and most of them head in during the annual Agawa Canyon Ice Festival. This March 2011 celebrates the 13th anniversary of the occasion.
The canyon is a 6 mile long north-south corridor between Miles 110 and 116 on the Algoma Central Railway which connects Sault Ste. Marie Ontario with Hearst Ontario at the end of the line at Mile 296. The line is used for hauling freight, but also has a passenger train service.
The Canyon hosts over 135 ice climbs and each year between mid-December and mid-April ice formations hang off the 200 meter walls which cloak the east and west sides of the canyon……..Read the rest of the report
Southbound Train with the ice climb TRESTLE to the left.
North of Superior Climbing Company
Shaun Parent
P.O. Box 85 Batchawana Bay, Ontario, P0S-1A0
705-946-6054
info@northofsuperiorclimbing.com
www.northofsuperiorclimbing.com
Agawa Canyon
Agawa Canyon
Ice Fest Face Off – 2011
Mount Washington Valley NH
February 4, 2011
click to see the video
The Winners!
Men’s – Josh Worley / Women’s – Janet Bergman
Video by by Julian Rodier – Climberism Magazine in collaboration with Juharo Productions
Source: Vimeo, Climberism.com
Quand l'Diable s'en Mêle
Marc Paquet dancing his way up on the St-Laurence north shore near La Malbaie, Quebec. Photo by “pathbeaudet”
Mount Washington Valley Ice Festival 2011
February 4th-6th, 2011
North Conway, NH
The Mount Washington Valley Ice Festival, aka Ice Fest, was started 18 years ago by local climbing legend Rick Wilcox. One of the premier climbing events in the country, Ice Fest brings together climbers of all abilities to celebrate the adventure, the fun, and the comradery of ice climbing.
Friday evening Film Fest: The evening includes the Outdoor Research Film Fest with films that include Matt McCormick, Rufus J Lusk, Granite Films, Ueli Steck , Rob Frost , and Steve House !
“Granite Films documented Steve House soloing Repentance last year! This piece will make you squirm and your hands sweat.”
Openings for clinics are still available. Sign up before they are filled!
See more about this event on NEice, the festival blog spot and IME
See you there!
Spray Ice, Quick Report
“This is going out from Tim Hortons in Salmon Arm, BC. I wanted to post Pondella’s photos and some words. Yeah!”
“I am sure of little in life, but of this I am sure: The Helmcken Falls spray ice cave is absolutely the wildest, best, most insane ice climbing area I’ve ever seen.”
“The metal detector was an integral part of the rack, and will be for future ascents” – Will Gadd
Source: gravsports.com, Will Gadd
Smuggs Ice Bash 2011
The 5th annual Alpinist / Smuggs Ice Bash takes place this weekend.
Friday, January 28: Kick off the Ice Bash weekend at Petra Cliffs in Burlington!
6:45 p.m. Matt McCormick presents “Climbing & Culture” – world class photography and video from Pakistan’s alpine playground, the Charakusa Valley.
7:00 p.m. Drytooling Competition begins – watch the area’s best climbers battle it out to a winner take all finish. Presented by Petzl.
Saturday & Sunday, January 29-30: the 5th annual Smuggs Ice Bash, the local’s ice climbing festival at the foot of Smuggler’s Notch, will be offering some great clinics for women, beginners, intermediate and advanced climbers alike, and a wicked slide show by Ian Osteyee at the village tavern, 6pm
For complete event info, schedule and clinics, visit: sunrise adventure sports.com
New M8 at “The Lake”
Tiny Dancer
Lake Willoughby, VT
FA: 01-21-11 Ryan Brooks and Josh Hurst
“Tiny Dancer, It’s between Plug and Chug and Call of the Wild. It’s a modern mixed route that deserves to see a lot of traffic due to it’s accessibility, reliability and rock quality” -Josh Hurst
P1: M7 Climb 20′ of Plug and Chug than diagnal right on ice blobs to the center of the overhanging rock. Take the weakness up and right to more ice blobs on the mid-cliff ledge. Belay on left in the ice. It is possible to take ice blobs directly up to the rock in some years.
P2: M8 Start up the flake system to a small roof. Trend right, crux, to a shallow corner system. Once behind the icicles take the line of least resistance to the top.
Rack: 5-8 ice screws, standard rack to 2″, no pins needed, 12 quickdraws
Photo’s by Ryan Brooks.
13th Annual Catskill Ice Festival
January 21, 22, 23 & 24
Last year was great fun! This year again 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.
Slide shows on Friday & Saturday evening featuring ice climbing in the Catskills, and a special show by Freddie Wilkinson on Friday. Slide shows will be held at Rock and Snow at 8pm. – Marty Molitoris / Alpine Endeavors
North East Ice
Your ice climbing connection for New England, the Northeast and Beyond!