New Hampshire Ice Climbing

Variety is the spice of life they say. Well I am no expert on life’s seasoning but I do know a little about livin’. In the past two weeks I have had a plethora of variety; roofing on icy mornings, falling off a roof, ski guiding, guiding ice, snow science workshop, cutting down and trimming a Christmas tree with my girls, X-mas brunch in a cabin in the mountains, and X-mas dinner for the Mahoney clan (actually Claire did the last one and many others as well).

John Kim Gulf of Slides

Mark Renson on Lions Head

Test pit

With my new office complete life just got a lot simpler. In the past when I had to switch gear from carpentry to guiding I had to shuffle things around a bit in my shed and dust off the sawdust from my climbing kit. That was okay, but when I switched from ice guiding to ski guiding then to doing overnights in the backcountry I would have to root through six different bins in three different locations and wonder if the transceiver batteries were still good and search for the lost Thermarest pad. Basically I had no system. The thing about climbers and backcountry skiers is they have their system. A system is critical when you live out of a 40 Liter rucksack and you have 50 liters worth of gear you need to bring.

When I worked for NOLS and lived out of a van I had my system dialed. I had everything I needed and each thing had to have multiple uses or it was sent to the thrift store (where it may have been purchased). My system was so dialed that when my girlfriend Claire (now my wife) put dishes away wrong I would correct her (how did I convince her to marry me?). Over the past ten years of being a homeowner and now being a father and running a business my system was absent. Every time I couldn’t find something I would mumble under my breath, with tension in my voice, “I need to get my system together.”

Dick Katzman Hobbit Coulior

Dick Katzman Pegasus rock finish

Now I have a garage and man space/office up stairs. This has been critical to my development of a new system. The goal is to bounce from ice guiding, ski guiding to overnights seamlessly. However the size of the space you have to work with alters the type of system it takes to be organized. When I lived out of my van the space was approximately 60 square feet now I have more than ten times that space with a 640 square foot office and enough gear for nearly ten people to be doing just about anything in the outdoors. My system is not complete but it is getting there and now frustration in looking for gear is replaced with creative solutions for how to make my new system work better.

Man Cave/ Office

Who would have thought that a holiday road trip could be far more challenging and dangerous than alpine climbing!  I barely survived an epic road trip to South Carolina for Thanksgiving. Maybe I wasn’t paying attention as Claire’s uncle said grace, but by God; I am thankful.

It all started with my family reunion in Sunapee, NH.  Always super fun to catch up with extended family.  After a long day of packing we finally arrived at the quaint New England inn. We were up late visiting family and I swear my crazy Uncle Duffy must have been doing caffeine shots with Annika in the kitchen. At 11:30PM Claire was at the end of her rope and Annika was still wired. I found myself sitting on the floor teaching her how to tie Figure 8’s on a byte. Hell, I guess it worked; she finally got bored enough and passed out in my arms around midnight.  Eliza (2yrs) was up at her usual 6:30AM eager for breakfast.

Often the biggest challenge for big alpine routes is the lack of sleep and dehydration.  Family reunions and family road trips simulate this as well.  After a fun day and nice dinner we enjoyed the traditional “Yankee Swap” with gifts, drank too much and played games. Another late night.  This is where the dehydration and sleep deprivation begins.  The next morning it was time to drive south. 

Our strategy was simple: the driver would drive and the passenger would entertain the kids.   However this lasted only about two hours before entertainment was not entertaining.  We pushed on.  The overall effect was a less than relaxing two days on the road to get to Pawleys Island, S.C.  The normal relaxing atmosphere of the Low Country was replaced with the frantic pace of Thanksgiving prep and excited grandchildren wanting attention. 

After the challenge of the drive down, we were on-line booking one-way tickets for Claire and the girls to get home.  Our new plan was for the girls to fly home while I drove solo and would time it perfectly to meet them at the airport in Boston.

I had visions of fast driving with rock & roll and lots of coffee while I set the speed record for the north bound trip.  Feeling like Gilmore and I had had these same thoughts in Alaska a few years back.  The first hint that things were not going to go as planned should have been when the departure was much later than planned.  Next was when I realized that my CD selection ranged from Old MacDonald Had a Farm to the Hokey Pokey. I was trying my hardest to see the humor in this small problem. My mother-in-law had made me a delicious leftover turkey sandwich that instantly created the need for a nap three hours into the drive.  The lack of quality sleep for a week was catching up.  The time crunch was starting to set in when a flat tire threw me yet another curve ball.   At this point, I had given up the speed record and simply wanted to get to the airport on time.  It reminded me of sacrificing the “free ascent” just to make the summit. 

Slightly north of Baltimore during a lane change, all was lost.  An eighteen-wheeler was much faster and much bigger than me and made it to the lane before I even saw him. I was crunched!  It was more of a sideswipe at 75 MPH that wrecked a tire and ripped both driver side doors.  It left me stunned like an avalanche that breaks your skis but leaves you alive.

The hours ticked away as I tried to get towed at midnight during Thanksgiving weekend to get a new tire.  By 11AM the next day I was driving again.  A bit shaken to say the least, I continued north. The airport pick up was out.  Now I just wanted to get home. 

Once on the Jersey Turnpike all remaining optimism was lost.  Stand still traffic slowed my average speed to 25 mph until NYC.   I would have thrown in the towel and bailed if I could.  I have read accounts of alpinist being committed to the point of no return, where going up was the only option.  Barry Blanchard calls this failing upward.  I have often thought there is always a way down.  Now I believe sometimes the only way out is straight ahead even if it is slower than ever imagined.  The epic continued all the way home ending with a near miss with three deer in the road a mile from home where the power was out from a windstorm. 

I was physically, emotionally, and automotively ruined and thankful to be home!

November on Mt Washington can be just about anything.  I just returned from three days staying at Hermit Lake shelter and climbing.  Mt Washington is by far the best mountaineering destination in NH and is really only rivaled by Mt Katadin in Maine in the North East.  The great thing about Mt Washington is one day you can be ice climbing the next you can be rock climbing and you can follow either up with a windy stomp up to the summit to round out the mountaineering experience. 

Early season ice in Tucks

Bryan on pitch 2

This recent trip was with Michael and his son Bryan.  Climbing has been a tradition for them while Bryan was home from the Army where he is in charge of a unit that dismantles bombs (climbing does not scare Bryan).   Their goal was to spend some time in the mountains and have fun.  The plan was to go up and set up camp at Hermit lake shelters and be equipped to climb either ice or rock and let the conditions steer us.

Our first climb was a fun ice route left of center on Tuckerman’s headwall.  The route was thin and mellow with a few steep bulges but a good early season warm up.  Once we topped out we descended back to camp via Lyons head trail to our camp.  November is great for camping since we were the only ones at the shelters that night aside from the fox that befriended Bryan whenever he went for water. 

Michael on one stick ice

Bryan on the east side slabs on Pinnacle Buttress

The next morning was a casual alpine start at 7am and a walk over to Huntington’s Ravine where there was very little ice to be seen.  We had already made the decision to rock climb due to the warm weather.  Our sights were on Pinnacle buttress.  Michael and Bryan had never rock climbed before so we would take variations to the classic line and stay on the crest for much of the route then avoid the crux pitch by skirting to the East.  The route goes for about six pitches the way we climbed it and has difficulties up to 5.5.

Michael topping out.

After topping out we packed up our gear and headed towards the summit.  Mt Washington did not let us down.  Despite the mild temps that allowed us to climb the rock barehanded we were getting blown around as we strolled to the summit.

Heading to the summit.

We hiked down the Lions Head trail, which delivered us to our shelter at Hermit Lake and to a hot supper, and down sleeping bags.  November on Mt. Washington can be just about anything.

Summit shot

Ah…Fall! It is the season to wrap up rock climbing projects finish up the yard projects and batten down the hatches for winter. It is also the season to train. The spring transition from ice climbing season to rock climbing season is always a shock. Your big muscle groups like your quadriceps and latissimus dorsi muscles are strong but your fingers are fairly weak. In the winter the opposite is true. Your body is not accustomed to carrying a pack with the added weight of ice tools, crampons, extra clothing, thermos, and often a wet rope. Not only the extra weight on your back but there is extra weight on your feet with big boots and snow to contend with. Another consideration is the ski season. I am not a resort skier; I think it is a great place for the masses but I prefer to ski backcountry and the quieter the better. But to enjoy the backcountry you have to have the fitness to skin up then ski down. Often the down is in variable conditions that require more fitness and a survival technique that is very demanding.

The Start of the Laura Foundation trail challenge.

With all this in mind training for the winter season is very different than the summer season. For me, it all starts with the legs. The quadriceps will get you there but the calves will get you up the climb. For me there is no better way to work these muscle groups than to trail run. Not only will it increase fitness it also engages your mind and stabilizing small muscles that get worked while front pointing. I am fortunate to live in the mountains and thus I have access to many trails. If finding a trail is hard to do, then save it for the weekend and hit the pavement. The bottom line is you have to do the work to get the results. Other options for the gym enthusiast is aggressive workouts that hit a variety of muscle groups. I am not a gym rat but I spent some time hitting the iron and sand bags at Mountain Athlete in Jackson WY. Rob Shaul is the owner and “coach” as he likes to be called. You can find him on the web at www.mtnathlete.com not only does he list his workouts for free on line, but has work descriptions and great advice. Rob uses the theory of beat your body up in as many ways as possible and the results will follow. His climbing workouts cater to both the rock climber and ice/mixed climber based on the season. I dry tool on my home woody and generally spend time hanging off tools and add my pack to the mix to bump up the fitness. His dry land training for skiers is absolutely brutal. If you can make it through a “leg blaster” routine the first time without cheating then you are all ready for the season.

Whatever you choose to do to prepare for the next season the critical component is to do it!

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.

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