Enjoyed a great day fly fishing with some wonderful people.  Fortunately, I was able to catch this large brown trout.  Thanks for a great day.

Testimonials

The top rope instruction and climbing opportunities at Pilot Mountain was what I needed to strengthen my climbing and my technical skills and put theory into practice. The group came together easily and worked in teams under Danny’s lead and we made the most of a beautiful day outdoors.

Christina

Danny was a great guide – patient, knowledgeable, and very thorough.

Don

Danny provided excellent training in the setting of top ropes. He struck an effective balance between discussion, observation and practice. I highly recommend both this course and Danny as its instructor.

Joe

Hey folks, hope you are all doing well. I wanted to let you know that my wife and I had a great time climbing with Chris on wed. I only wish that we hadn’t got so tired that we had to call it a day. We do have a interest in doing it again and look forward to it. Chris was the best. He made both the time climbing and not, interesting. If it tells you anything, the day flew by.

Thanks for a good life experience.

Michael

I am an engineer, business owner, and have been climbing for nearly 20 years. I have a very analytical mind and figured this would be a good “brush up” course where I’d learn a few things and maybe just get a “refresher” on other things. Patrick’s course exceeded my expectations. He was very organized, responded to “weather conditions” in a manner that maximized learning/training, he kept the right balance of encouraging discussion while keeping the discussion “focused and relevant” on the topic at hand, had consistently realistic, relevant “case studies”, and frankly somehow was able to teach/conduct a 3 day course that covered a lot of information without ever losing anyone’s interest or getting bogged down in “minutia”. He knew the material, knew how to teach the material, and knew how to stay on schedule. I am glad I took the course through Patrick and AMI.

Clay Sykes

AMI is the most professional service I have had the chance to work with. Patrick’s ability to teach and cater to every learning style is priceless! I would recommend AMI for any professional learning experience.

Clark Dunn

Testimonials from two recent AMI SPI courses

It was exciting to see both of them climb together and reach the summit together on a 2 pitch route.  Although it was a new experience for both, together we reached the summit on a challenging route.  Good work Mia and Jay.  Thanks for the fun day and allowing me to share it with you.

This was a fantastic experience! My boyfriend and I had so much fun ice climbing for the first time. The guides Patrick and Brad were very sincere and knowledgable. They also took the time to make us feel comfortable and made the experience one we won’t forget! We will definitely climb again with AMI and we can’t wait!!

Mia Andresen

Craig and David experience two days of alpine climbing last season and wanted to climb steeper ice this year.  I thought that would be great idea.  The weather was perfect for our first day.  Sunny skies and mid thirty temps made for high spirits.  We went to the North side of Cathedral Ledge to work on steep ice climbing techniques.

Steep ice techniques are different from lower angle snow, you need to use the front points more and adjust your body mechanics.   David and Craig practiced centering over their crampons after placing the front points.  The cliff was a little crowded so we tried to climb a two-pitch route.  David was able to make it to the summit, but unfortunate Craig fell right at the top.

We moved over to some steep columns after a group moved out.  David and Craig worked on climbing movement on steeper ground.  Each focused on placing the crampons level with axes split, one high and one low.  This technique reduces the number of axe swings and maximizes stability.

The day ended with dinner at the Moat.  Great food and good times.

Day Two Frankenstein Cliff and Standard Route

Today was about having a good time and we did.  We climbed the Standard Route with several WI4 options.  I led out the window from the cave belay.  The ice hole was small but proved to be big enough to get out with a pack.  This led to a steep step before the top out.  It was a good pitch.  I set up an anchor and brought up Craig.  Craig belayed David while I was restacking ropes and organizing the belay.  David was coming up when Craig decided he wanted to take the hardest line up the final pitch.  It was a steep WI4.  I would have to wait for Brad and some more ice screw before I led this.

The last pitch was steep column variation.  There was a left side and right side variation.  Always loving a challenge Craig opted for the steepest hardest line.  I led up the lower steps to the steep section and place a couple of screws along the way for a directional.  I made the first couple of axe placements a quickly realized that this was going to be harder than it looked.  There were very few pick holes and old placements.  If there are just a few ascents, there aren’t any hook moves or edges for crampons.  I worked up and place a screw.  I moved on and placed a second.  I clipped an axe for protection while I placed the screw.

I topped out on an excellent climb with great people.  Craig shows no fear when it comes to challenges; he followed the line I climbed.  Although he fell, Craig was trooper on the climb.  David climbed the left variation and made it look easy using small steps and great axe swings.  Afterwards we all headed into town for dinner recounted the day.   Thanks for a great time.

Warm up:  10 minutes of rowing

Bench Press

4x 15 reps with 60lb

Pull ups

1. 8 reps with body weight
2. 6 reps with 5lbs
3. 4 reps with 10lbs
4. 4 reps with 15lbs
5. 4 reps with 20lbs
6. 4 reps with 25lbs

Snatch

1. 8 reps with 40lbs
2. 6 reps with 50lbs
3. 4 reps with 60lbs
4. 4 reps with 70lbs
5. 4 reps with 75lbs
6. 4 reps with 80lbs

Arm curls

4x 10 reps with 40lbs

50 crunches with Medicine Ball

This is the second week of three for the strength-building phase.  The rest between set was about two minutes.   The workout felt good.  I may start the pull ups and snatch with heavier weights but smaller increases next week.  The last sets felt appropriately difficult.  The heart rate is much lower than when I was doing the endurance phase, but the higher resistance is increase is improving my overall strength.

PM: Bouldering at Brevard Rock Gym

Climbed at the gym for one hour.   I did 5 hold comp with several Brevard College students.  I completed 7 problems on the 15 degree overhanging wall.  Dan, Hyde and Elena was there to climb with.  There were a lot of climbers there and we had a great time climbing.

Rode 1:30 on bicycle today.  My pace was 90-100 rpm in low gear 39×17 with 70% heart rate.  The workout felt good today.  Should be ready for weights tomorrow.

Hogan on Looking Glass Rock

Despite the rain and unusual weather Hogan and I had a great time climbing on the South Face of Looking Glass Rock.  Most of the rock was wet, however Second Coming was dry.  We had climbed multipitch before, but this was Hogan first time with double ropes.  It took a while to get use to the technique but he managed to get the hang of it.

The climb was great to get out on.  I had not been on the climb since last fall and had a great time with Hogan.  He managed the first crux easily.  Higher up at the second crux he fell after pulling the move, oops.  He flashed it second go.

Later in the day Hogan wanted to do some mock leading.  I led a 5.8 face route and put up an anchor for a backup top rope.  Hogan then proceeded to lead two routes on the face.  Nice work.  We packed up and headed out of the woods.

Thanks for the great day.