New Hampshire Ice Climbing

where is the skiing?

     Big mountain skiing is elusive.  There is no other way to look at it.  I recently returned from Alaska where I attempted to ski the South Face of Denali with my friend Dan Corn.  Our attempt was just that, an attempt. 

South Face of Denali

     The beauty of big mountain skiing is that even if you cannot ski your objective you experience skiing in a away that is completely different then simply hitting the slopes at the local resort or the quick backcountry strike.  You wake up with a job to do and your every decision is based on the work at hand and the safety that is required to pull it off.

     The thing about expeditions is that the job starts when you commit to the objective.  You train you body to be fit and resilient, you hone your skiing to be precise, smooth and powerful, and you train your mind to be present in the moment (a critical aspect of expedition life when you have a beautiful family at home). 

     Our expedition started May 11, my 40^th birthday, a fitting gift to myself.   The start was typical Alaskan style, hurry up and wait.  The wind would not allow us to fly but we had to be present at the airstrip in case the wind settled down.   Flying is one of those experiences in life where you have no control, unless you have your own plane, you pay your money and take your chances.  You have to have faith that the pilot is not suicidal and that the plane can handle the load that you squeeze into it.  Crashes happen, in fact earlier in the season there was a Sesna lawn darted into the Kahiltna glacier.  No one was hurt but that is not how you would like to start an expedition.  Our wait was only one day, which gave us a chance to stimulate the local economy, passing the time with burgers and beer and more beer.  Perhaps the flight service gets a kick back from the Fairview.

Megamid Livin

     Like I said before the expedition really starts once you commit and an injury could alter your trip.  Four days before ours was to start Dan was skiing in the Talkeetna mountains doing a first descent.  While skiing back to the car isothermic snow caused an unplanned pole plant right into a buried stump and subsequently a shoulder separation.  Dan, being young and strong, figured by the time we are actually skiing the steeps he would be healed. So once we landed we packed our sleds and started off.

mmmm food!

     Our stradegy was simple, approach up the East Fork of the Kahiltna glacier set a base camp and acclimatize with a few scouting missions then climb the S. Face and ski it.  The problem with big mountain skiing is that the conditions and the weather always trump stradegy.  The weather was perfect, too perfect, it was warm and the S. Face was getting baked.  We needed a storm to coat the face and by us some time to acclimatize.  The forecast was for more sun and increased winds from the north changing to the south. 

     The writing was starting to be on the wall as hints of blue ice started to appear.  We had been on the glacier for only four nights but it was time to try.   We packed up and started out.  Our thoughts were to at least scout the face and if we could go for the summit and ski it we would.  Our base camp was at 11,300 feet and we both felt pretty good there.  We skinned up to the shrund and strapped our skis to Speed 40L packs and started the climbing.  The climbing was good which did not bode well for the skiing.  Packs were heavy with our bivy gear and skis strapped on but the firm snow under foot was secure.  After about twelve pitches we chose a bivy site to put up out Firstlight tent.  When you are climbing steep snow and ice the bivy options are simple, you pick a reasonably protected spot and start to dig snow and chip ice until you can set up a tent.  That is why you chose the smallest foot print tent you can fit into and the Firstlight was just that.  The problem is without x-ray vision you never know when you may encounter rock.  We hit rock, but we had enough of a ledge to call it good.  With the tent over hanging into space we crawled in and brewed up.

Room with a view!

going up!

  I am an alpinist, I say that because when I day dream my mind wanders to far away lands with big mixed faces and blue skies.  Here I was in Alaska and the conditions were perfect for climbing yet I was torn.  The objective was to ski Denali but the conditions were prime for climbing.  Dan and I talked about bailing on the skiing and taking advantage of the prime climbing conditions.  The reality was 60 degree snow was all Dan’s shoulder could handle, terrain any steeper and he would have limited strength.

      By morning we were both feeling the reality set, 60 degree slopes were best skied with softer snow not crust.  Our packs were heavy with our bivy kit and the snow was crust or ice so we decided we needed to change our plan and go around to the West buttress and ski with out a bivy kit and maybe if we were lucky we would get some snow to ripen the conditions. 

     We started down.  The first pitch off our bivy I belayed Dan as he skied but to call it skiing would be to say pond skimming is skiing, yes you have skis on and you are moving but skiing is more then equipment and motion it is rythem and flow.  Dan would hop turn and scrap awhile then hop and scrap again.  When skiing no fall terrain you have three options, first is to ski and not fall the next is to ski with a belay and last is to put your tail between your legs and rappel.  The sound alone curled my tail between my legs.  Over the next 6 rope lengths we rapped.  V-threads and one stubby screw were left as anchors.

     Finally the slope dropped to 56 degrees and that was all it took to put our ropes away and click into our skis.  With forty-five pound packs on and steep firm snow we were not ripping it up like our dreams had envisioned but we were skiing and that put a grin on our faces.

     Our end run around the Kahiltna peaks and up to the 14,200’ camp on the West Buttress route went smooth and we installed.  At first there was a bit of an adjustment time for to get use to people.  Our time up the East Fork was true wilderness now we were in the thick of the climbing season with many aspiring summiteers.  As we let our bodies adjust to the thinner air and prayed for snow all we got was a sun tan and wind burned. 

     Ultimately we had our skis on for about 65 miles and 15,000 vertical feet of up and 15,000’ of down but we only skied 1,000 feet of the South face and we never went to the top.  

     The hardest part of going home is the questions that race through your mind “what if we…” there are no answers but without the questions there would be no insight and learning for the next time.

Base camp on the Root Canal.

Ham and Eggs on the West face of the Mooses Tooth was first climbed thirty years ago but it has only been in the last ten years it has become popular, and for good reason.  I am not the authority on the Alaska range, but I believe it is the most accessible moderate climb to a super cool summit in the range.

The flight into base camp leaves the sleepy town of Talkeetna and carries you over what would take 5-6 days of hiking/swimming/wallowing/climbing/skiing to get to.  You sail past 5,000 foot monolyths like Mt Dickey and cornices blending into smooth granite ridge lines on Mt Johnson and mystifying lines leading to the summit of Mt Bradley.  The half and hour it takes slips by while you wonder if you are there to climb or just site see.

Dale and Dori on the Wisdom Tooth

After the flight you land on the Root Canal glacier and set up camp just below the the West face of the Mooses Tooth.  Ham and Eggs is the most obvious line on the West face.  I was there working for Alaska Mountaineering School (AMS) to guide Dori and Dale Schmidt on the route.  Dale had climbed Ham and Eggs before but Dori had not.   After a warm up day we set out on the route in marginal weather.  Dale turns back at the Bergschrud due to a pulled muscle from snow shoeing.  Dori and I continue into the building storm hopeful that it will end soon.

After six pitches and endless spindrift we decide to turn around and join Dale. Spindrift on Ham & Eggs.

Spindrift on route.

After a few days of tent time and stomping down the runway Dori and I return to Ham and Eggs, while Dale stays in camp with a 400 mm zoom lense to record  our progress.  This time the weather was perfect.  Pitch after pitch of fun climbing fell away from us as we worked our way up the sixteen pitches to the summit ridge.  The climbing on Ham and Eggs is perfect for the winter enthusiast, it has a variety of snow conditions, fun ice climbing and some interesting ice climbing, a little rock climbing and a few scratchy mixed climbing moves and the last ten minutes to the summit follows a corniced ridge looming above the 4,000 foot East face.   The descent is straight down the route, sixteen rappels and a little walking finds you back at camp enjoying an Alaskan Summer Ale.

Half way up Ham and Eggs.

Dori on the summit ridge.

Climbing Ham and Eggs is the best way to finish with winter and hang up your ice tools for the season and move into rock climbing mode.

Sunrise over the Ruth Gorge.

Unexpected bivies are notorious for being cold and uncomfortable that is just part of the deal. I have had only one unexpected bivy in my 18 years of climbing and that was in the front country. However I have had a few planned bivies that were cold and uncomfortable. One was this past fall on Kangtega when we planned to go a little too light.

Have potty and van will travel!

The most recent cold bivy occurred this past weekend when we were on a family camping trip. Family camping trips are always fun and full of surprises. This trip was no different. We were camped out lakeside with my brothers family. The fun was the kids running around playing in the water and collecting pinecones and generally being kids.

Ceili, Annika, and Claire hanging out on the upper deck.

Annika and Ceili and one butterfly net.

The surprise was sleeping cold. The weather had been great but the rains were coming. Our camping trip was a quick strike on the last of the good weather. The night brought a sky full of stars and the moon was bright. The temps dropped down to somewhere in the 20’s. Our family camping system is a VW Westfalia Vanagon. I sleep above with Annika and Claire and Eliza stay below on the lower bed. Annika and I use a double sleeping bag zipped together and Claire and Eliza make the bed up with sheets and blanket. The problem was the on our previous outing our system worked great with temperatures only in the 50’s at night.

The girls and Claire went to bed early while I stayed up with my brother. We did the usual brotherly thing while camping. We drank too much beer and made a huge fire and threw a Khukuri (a Nepali Gurkha knife) at a tree until late at night. When I crawled into bed Annika joined me in the upper deck. I was asleep instantly while Claire felt the heat loss of the of Annika Mahoney furnace being gone settle in. Soon Claire was calling for me to give up one of my two sleeping bags. Any one who has ever bivied along side of me knows how sound I sleep. There was no waking me to retrieve a sleeping bag. Claire’s maternal instinct wrapped herself around Eliza to keep her warm and she shivered the night away. Eliza slept fine, Annika slept fine and I slept fine. Claire did not.

Morning finally came. We had a huge breakfast of pancakes, bacon, eggs, and fruit with lots of coffee. Guess who cooked and did all the dishes.

Hanging out with Eliza over a cup of Coffee.

Mt. Washington: the tale of two days.

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.”

climbing Central Gully.

Over the Easter weekend I went up on Mt Washington for some ski mountaineering with Mike and Chad from the Adirondacks. The objective was to train for their future ski descent of Mt Rainer. Saturday was forecast to have rain yet it never developed and the day turned out to be a perfect spring day with corn snow and a few puffy clouds. Great weather always makes everything seem reasonable. The gullies in Huntington ravine all look inviting whether you were a climber or a skier.

The neighboring Tuckerman ravine was packed with people eager to through them selves at the head wall to complete the annual pilgrimage to the Northeast’s pinnacle backcountry skiing accomplishment. Mean while over in Huntington ravine we were among a hand full of people looking for adventure. The beauty of Huntington Ravine is that it is considered an ice climbers destination, yet it boosts some of the East’s best coulior skiing. Around here they call them gullies not the French term coulior but the experience is the same; tight straight shots with rock on both sides and ice bulges at the exit to navigate. This is ski mountaineering.

The idea behind ski mountaineering is simple, pick a line that is compelling to ski and to it, not despite the hazard or remoteness but simply because it draws you to it. That is the skiing part. The mountaineering part is managing the risk. Risk is a simple thing to embrace, desire to live draw’s you to it and desire to live will bring you home. You can look at risk like an equation: Consequence X Likely hood = Risk. In other words how bad it’s going to hurt multiplied by the chances of it occurring. The great thing about climbing is that you can do what ever you want to do as long as you can get your self there and back home.

Our objective for the day was to ski Central Gully, which is visible from the parking lot. Central gully is a must for any ski enthusiast who wants a little more then a big bowl to ski in. It averages 42 degrees and drops 800 vertical feet from top to bottom. On a good year you can ski the entire gully but most years you have to contend with an ice bulge at the exit.

The conditions were perfect for us. Corn snow down a twenty feet wide coulior with a no falls exit. Since there was the ice bulge exit, which means a no falls exit I belayed Chad and Mike as they skied. The idea behind belayed skiing is two fold, one it is a great way to protect a dangerous spot the other is it is a great way to give people confidence so they don’t fall. Everything went great except the twenty minutes we had to wait as a team of French Canadians climbed through. It was the best of times for spring skiing.

The second day we set our sights on Diagonal gully. This is a hidden coulior cutting 45 degrees across Huntington ravine averaging a 45-degree pitch. It also has a no falls exit with a 30-meter ice flow.

The weather had taken a 180-degree turn. Winter was back! The summit temp was 5 F with 60 MPH wind and it was snowing. The previous days corn snow had frozen solid. It was the worst of times!

Chad finishing the WI 3 ice of Harvard Bulge to enter Diagonal Gully

We climbed the WI 3 flow to enter Diagonal gully with our skis on our back and continued up, belaying each pitch. The climbing was ideal, one-inch penetration into the frozen surface. The wind was howling and the snow kept visibility to 30 meters.

Once we started down belaying was the only option. I would belay both Chad and Mike down then I would down climb. In these conditions skiing with out a belay on a 45 degree frozen surface, in my opinion, was like soloing a slab climb in the rain. We continued like this until we returned to the ice flow and rappelled. Once below the ice we resumed skiing sans rope.

Crampons off skis on!

The interesting part of a weekend like this is the extremes we encountered. It was the best of times, and it was the worst of times. However the end result meant there was no “worst of times”. We had the opportunity to utilize a variety of skills and experienced the polar opposites in conditions. The training opportunity could not have been better. Once again Mt. Washington delivers big mountain experience with easy access.

rappelling the ice bulge in Diagonal gully

top of the Telepherique on the auguille du Midi

The snow gods love to play the game of temptation. When you know you shouldn’t, they make it the most compelling to try.

Perfect weather never lasts

Once you have put all the time into planning, training and juggling a ski trip it is best when the weather cooperates. Well on this past trip to Chamonix there were times with perfect weather and great powder, and there were times when you should not have left the hotel.

First the weather was good but the skiing was poor, a long period of high pressure had sun baked the snow and cold nights froze it into NH pack powder (if you don’t what I mean you have not skied NH and looked at the ski report). Once the Haute route attempt was under way Dave Warfield and myself longed for the sunny skies with icy conditions. What we had was 16 inches of powder being blown from the northwest cross loading slopes and causing a white out. With GPS in hand I broke trail. We pushed it as far as delusion would take us until we realized that we were moving too slow and the slow ahead were dangerous.

glaciers have crevasses you must ski over.

skins off heels locked!

Turning around is a tough thing but when unstable snow pack is the main reason, well there is a little more comfort since it is a safety thing. The next choice is what next? Our options were to taxi around and start anew further down the tour or go back to Chamonix and sort out some day tours. We chose the day tour since Dave had already done the taxi variation.

Once again our tour was cut short by shooting cracks striking out from my ski tips as I broke trail towards the col du Crochues. The consolation was powder skiing in bounds. Not a bad option. Dave and I did not complete the Classic Haute route from Chamonix to Zermatt but we had a good adventure and plenty of GPS travel.

leaving the Midi station

at least we can see a little.

The weather continued to heckle us and Dave headed home to the States. I got a few more days of skiing in and another trip down the Vallee Blanche with some folks from Vermont.

lunch break at the Requin Hut

Next year will find MAA back over in France probably for a longer period of time with more adventures to be had.

Here in Chamonix it seems life would be simple, you are here to ski or climb, you get up in the morning sip your espresso and have a little bread and cheese and off you go. The trouble is that the weather does not always cooperate. I have been here for three perfect days of sun and spring skiing and some ski mountaineering. Tomorrow I leave to do the Haute route with David Warfield and tomorrow the snow is suppose to start to fall for three days. Bummer! The plan may change and that is the reality of being in the mountains.

Today was great and that is all that matters. We will see what the future brings.

Heading for a view of Italy

topping out Red Man Soars

The mellow four wheeling.

Oh Canada! That’s the feeling you get driving down the Ice Fields Parkway or bumping down the four-wheel drive roads of the Ghost in Alberta. I recently spent 8 days ice climbing up there with Eugene Kwan and we had a taste of everything. Our first day in the Ghost we enjoyed some four wheeling to get to climbing on a 50 degree day and our last day we backed off from Curtain Call WI6 half way up in -27F temps.

Sunrise in the GHOST

Whiteman Falls

Canada is the place to go for all types of adventure. Our tick list reads like the must do climbs in the guide book: Wicked Wanda WI4+, Malignant Mushroom WI4, White Man Falls WI6, Red Man Soars M6, Nemesis WI6, Weeping Wall WI5, Weeping Pillar WI6, Swank M7+, Boyd Mysteries M7+, Shagadelic M6, Carlsburg Column WI5, Curtain Call WI6, and The Sorcerer WI5+.

The primary limiting factor for what you can climb on a trip up to Alberta is energy. After several 4:30 am wake ups and 2-3 hour drives and BIG ice routes the idea of sleeping in and going to Hafnir Creek and climb short but hard routes sounds great until you can’t pick you arms up any more and a rest day is needed. It will be an ice climbing trip you are on but it will fill like ice boot camp.

Walking to Wicked Wanda

Tuckerman ravine

Like the bartender said in the Blues Brothers movie “We have both kinds of music here, country and western!”  We here in NH we have both kinds of winter fun ice climbing and back country skiing, and this is a great year for both.  We just keep getting the snow 18 inches here, 12 inches there it all adds up to one thing, A GREAT MARCH.  The skiing up on Mt. Washington is getting great once things settle down after this past storm the opportunities for ski mountaineering are numerous.  Huntington Ravine adds spice to the usual romp up to Tuckerman Ravine.  The gulleys are steep and narrow and require more skill to manage which means the beers at the end of day can be taller.  Tuckerman ravine has a lot of snow so now is the chance to dust off the snow study kit you put together years ago, dig a pit, and poke around a bit.  Last week I was up there with my brother, limited time meant no pits were dug but the Sherburne trail was fun (We dropped off our daughters at 8:30 am at the Waldorf school and had to pick them up at 12:30 pm).

If planks on your feet don’t interest you then the other kind of winter fun should.  The ice climbing is great right now and the snow pack and longer March days will only make it better.   See you in the mountains.

Nico Walsh enjoying another great climb.

Lauren Wilson leads in full conditions

Cold, Rain and Snow. It the past week we have had it all, which has produced interesting conditions. The ice climbing at this point in the season is usually fat and safe everywhere but now it is fat and maybe not so safe. It is these conditions precisely that make ice climbing interesting and uniquely dangerous. In a 48-hour period the ice went from fat plastic climb anything to funky, brittle, delaminated ice that if attacked blindly could result in huge collapse. The good news is that the rain and continued melt freeze that February often brings will sure things up quickly.

There was a lot of talk about “will it be a short season this year?” This cycle is almost as reliable as ice in NH. We often have the melt down then conditions rebound and unique opportunities come up. The remaining weeks of the season are sure to be interesting as the second half of winter always has a few surprises for the waiting ice enthusiast.

I was up on Mt. Washington yesterday (sorry dead battery means no pictures). The conditions were about as good as they get for climbers. Firm neve snow with good ice, strong winds and no people. We climbed North Gulley in Huntington’s Ravine. We choose it primarily because the winds were cleaning it out while depositing snow in some of the southern gulleys. There is less snow in the ravine then last year but the climbing conditions could not be better. We did encounter a few ice dams, but they should firm up with a few more cold days. The other notches seems just as fat but the top outs are the concern. Watch the last body length of climbing as that is the area possibly delaminated that concerns me the most for collapse.

There is plenty of time to have some fun still in winter and MAA is enjoying every day. Today I am off with my three girls to ski and have a picnic.

This past week the ice climbing has been simply put, Great.  The snow pack is building with frequent storms and the temps are staying cold creating a good situation for the ice to continue to build.  I have had the chance to ice climb a little bit of everything this past week.  The highlights are: Welcome to the Machine, Dracula, Clawsicle, Chia, Pegasus, Hard Rain, Repentance, Thresher Pillar, Diedre, Cinema Gulley (x2), Upper east Slabs.  It is a lucky lifestyle to lead.  The conditions have varied from full alpine on Cinema with wind and horizontal snow to sunny skies while enjoying a well climbed Repentance.

The guiding can become routine, but in a good way.  It is a bit like being on a climbing trip where everyday you wake up and sort gear and decide what to climb.  Some days it is hard to get up and do it again but once the crampons are on and I tie into the rope I still get psyched to swing my tools and climb some ice.

The Sign says it all!

5 degrees but in the sun!

Winter is great for the challenges it offers.  Snow can be a problem but it is always better with it than without it.  The cold can get tiring but I will take it over a warm winter day every time.  I look forward to my next day in Crawford Notch, or on Cannon Cliff, or Cathedral ledge.  I hope I get cold hands and find deep snow on the approach.

Cinema Gulley in a storm

Upper East Slabs Mt. Willard