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Chiloe
Trad climber
Lee, NH
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Topic Author's Original Post - Sep 4, 2007 - 08:53am PT
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Northeastern weather could not have been finer over the weekend, and I know a lot of right-coasters got outdoors.
Who's got some stories or pictures to show for it and share?
Leslie and I hiked the railroad tracks out to Mt Willard, above Crawford Notch.
About 23 years ago I had climbed Across the Universe and vaguely remembered it as cool.
Something I ought to revisit one day. That day finally came around this last weekend.
Across the Universe has a new direct start I didn't remember, leading into some 5.9 friction that just helps you wake up.
What handholds?
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Aya K
Trad climber
New York
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I didn't climb this past weekend, but I did spend a few days down in Seneca the week before. Unfortunately, my camera got sent home with my gear to my boyfriend's, and I won't be up there until Friday. I'll post a TR with photos after I get back next week. Basic summar is though: Lots of drinking with family. Drive to Seneca. Complain it's too hot. Climb only 6 pitches in 2.5 days. Leave early because of the humidity, climb 5 pitches at the gunks in one, start at 10 end at 4:30 day and vow enver to go south in August again. Or ask my family to change the date of our annual reunion.
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Chiloe
Trad climber
Lee, NH
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Topic Author's Reply - Sep 4, 2007 - 09:48am PT
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I'll post a TR with photos after I get back next week.
Excellent, we'll watch for it.
Meanwhile back on Across the Universe ...
A short headwall on pitch 2 provides the technical crux (5.10-). From the belay I thought Hah, that looks easy.
Then I climbed up to it and thought, Impossible! These crystals aren't holds!
Had to study it to find a sequence that worked, and reach through to better stuff.
Pitch 3 gave us 60m of cruising, not much interrupted by pro. It finishes with this big easy traverse.
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Chiloe
Trad climber
Lee, NH
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Topic Author's Reply - Sep 4, 2007 - 10:54am PT
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All the pitches are good, but pitch 4 has its own name: the Milky Way, 160' of steep smearing up an immaculate path of white rock.
As the last bolt gets farther below and the next is still a long way above, you just go with the flow (5.9).
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Chiloe
Trad climber
Lee, NH
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Topic Author's Reply - Sep 4, 2007 - 11:16am PT
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Fine views out over the notch, with its scenic railway line. A hint of fall color in the trees.
We soaked up the scenery and sunshine for a while.
Then our dog called us from below. We'd been up there for hours, he was bored. Three long raps down to earth.
Day's end.
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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That's good livin!
So the colors go off in another few weeks?
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tradchick
Trad climber
White Mountains
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Nice TR and pics from Across the Universe!
Tomcat and I climbed in 3 notches this weekend. We went to Square Ledge in Pinkham on Saturday. Sunday was a great day on Cannon and my first time on Vertigo. The pendulum pitch is a hoot!! Yesterday we climbed the 7 pitch Lost in the Sun on Webster, right across from Across the Universe.
We'll try to post up some pics tonight.
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Chiloe
Trad climber
Lee, NH
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Topic Author's Reply - Sep 4, 2007 - 11:42am PT
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That's good livin!
So the colors go off in another few weeks?
Yeah, watch for increasingly bright colors in the backgrounds of northeastern TRs over the weeks ahead. Tends to peak in the first half of October, 'round here.
In good years, valleys can look like a bowl of Trix.
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Chiloe
Trad climber
Lee, NH
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Topic Author's Reply - Sep 4, 2007 - 11:48am PT
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Tradchick, I'll be interested to see your Lost in the Sun notes. I'd never heard of that route until you mentioned it.
On Square Ledge, didja do Thriller Arete? I want to go back there just for the photos.
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Aya K
Trad climber
New York
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Definitely starting to change. I'll be taking lots of pictures the next few weeks. Cold weather back in June screwed up a lot of my little planties though - a lot of them had their foliage change color as if it were autumn back when the temps were in the low 30's at the end of June!
That crux looks slippery Chiloe. Happy looking pup. Bring him up to the Dacks to frolic with my two sometime!
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tradcragrat
Trad climber
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Yay for northeast climbing!
Saturday I went up to Cannon and led Reppy's crack, which was phenomenal (despite bringing doubles on #3 camalots I still had to run out the last 30 ft of the crack). We were going to do Moby grape but the top pitches were too wet. The rest of the day was spent cragging at echo.
Sunday was North Conway; I'd never been to whitehorse and hadn't done much real friction climbing, so I thought Sea of Holes might be fun. I got the second pitch, rated a modest 5.5. Even though my partner warned me that Whitehorse was waaay different, I arrogantly said "it's 5.5, how hard could it be?" Well, I ran it out for 50ft before I got a tiny cam in and inspected the next section; it looked pretty blank. Guess I'm not much of a slab climber, as I found out the hard way. Fortunately a party was rapping the route and I used their ropes to bail off. It gave me a new respect for the 5.5 grade; I've followed 5.11 cracks in better style. Ugh.
Then I followed my partner up the classic Seventh Seal (5.10a).
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tradchick
Trad climber
White Mountains
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Chiloe: Lost in the Sun is a new route, 1100 ft., that a few guys just put up. neclimbs has a great route description plus a bunch of pics. It's 5.5 slab climbing but more interesting than what you find on Whitehorse, great views and no crowds. Was the ticket for us after the workout on Vertigo Sunday.
We didn't do Thriller Arete either. Ran out of time and I had to snag Tom away for his bd dinner.
Aya: We headed home from Cannon over the Kanc and the maples are purple up high. The ice is coming!!
Tradcragrat: We did Reppy's a few weeks ago. Tom slid the cams along while leading which worked out really well for him. Did you try Ethereal too? (The finger crack left of 7th seal)
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handsome B
Gym climber
SL,UT
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great looking old granite, thanks for the photo TR!
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GOclimb
Trad climber
Boston, MA
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Nice pics, Larry!
Wish I had a bionic hip so I could do this:
Me and some friends climbed all weekend in the Gunks. Glorious weather. I think I shat myself on Le Teton (5.9 - expoooooooosed), but unlike my underwear, the ascent was clean!
Good thing I don't have pics! ;)
GO
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girasol
Trad climber
Colorado Springs, CO
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Tar -
If I recall correctly, usually the Northeastern colors are at their peak in about mid-October. Estes Park's peak (and first snow) is usually around the first weekend of October, no?
Girasol
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Chiloe
Trad climber
Lee, NH
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Topic Author's Reply - Sep 4, 2007 - 03:20pm PT
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GOclimb:
Wish I had a bionic hip so I could do this:
In a better world, I would sell the photo to a medical hardware company and finance another trip to Iceland.
But in this world, I suspect they'd look at the photo and think "Oh no no, we don't recommend that!"
So how was Le Teton? It's on my list although the stars haven't lined up right or something.
Lucander and I were out that way a week ago, but Mr P seemed stout enough for me at the time.
BTW props to Allison for Madame G, which IMO is a bigger, funner lead than High E.
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mack
Trad climber
vermont
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It was a fabulous w/e in Vermont. I stayed local and worked some old favorites that alternately stymie me and sometimes go just fine - this w/e went just fine. Lower West Bolton, a small crag just North of Waterbury. The big roof of Tea in the Sahara and the awkward slippery roof of The gates of Eden both 5.9d (we have a very funny rating system around here). Sorry no pics.
Mack
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GOclimb
Trad climber
Boston, MA
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Chiloe wrote: So how was Le Teton? It's on my list although the stars haven't lined up right or something.
Two pitches of mediocre climbing (that can easily be combined into one pitch) leave you at a very spooky ledge in a corner, covered with enormous loose flakes and blocks... and a semi-hanging belay. This gets the adrenaline flowing. And the actual pitch, traversing, overhanging, delicate and balancy, while powerful, and powerfully puckering, pays off!
No pics of it, as I was too sketched to have Allison take pics. Sorry.
But as a consolation prize, here's pics of me on Bonnie's Roof from a couple weeks ago:
GO
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tradchick
Trad climber
White Mountains
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3 days of climbing and 1 decent photo...guess we need a new camera or something. Anyways this is the fingercrack from the 3rd pitch of Vertigo on Cannon.
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Chiloe
Trad climber
Lee, NH
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Topic Author's Reply - Sep 5, 2007 - 02:17pm PT
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GOclimb:
And the actual pitch, traversing, overhanging, delicate and balancy, while powerful, and powerfully puckering, pays off!
Did you like the gear?
Plenty of Gunks atmosphere in Allison's Bonnie shots.
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