An absolutely glorious day was had climbing in New Hampshire with Mia and Jay. The weather was perfect with sunny skies and mild temps. Jay and Mia were two adventurous travelers wanting to try the fun of ice climbing. Neither had climbed ice before but their enthusiasm spurred the day on. They quickly learned the [...]
Day One Cathedral Cliff 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 [...]
This ice season has been slim, with the warm weather and rain. However, last weekend was a good opportunity to take advantage of the available conditions. Sunday I was fortunate enough to go climbing with Michael and his son MJ. Conditions allowed for us to attempt Sam’s Knob. The hike in was with a fresh [...]
I had a great day climbing with David. You can see great photos on the Citizen Times website. We enjoyed some great ice condition. It was not thick ice but super technical. Thin ice is more about precise placements and delicate axe swings or “pecking”. Hooks and foot switches also make up the type of [...]
Rope Types Dynamic Rope Kernmantle ropes have two components that work together to create the desired performance. Some kernmantle ropes are static, meaning there is limited stretch. These ropes work best for jugging, hauling, rappelling and anchor construction. Climbers need a different type of kernmantle rope, dynamic. A dynamic kernmantle rope is designed to absorb [...]
Ice climbing with Michael Day two Today Jim joined us for some more ice climbing with the Michael duo. Jim loves working with kids and was excited to take MJ up Chia. We met at Peaches for breakfast and then headed to the amphitheater for some fine ice climbing. Michael and I warmed up on [...]
Snow, Snow and more Snow. Climbing in NH with Craig and David. David and Craig wanted to experience alpine style routes while in New Hampshire. The conditions were ideal in that since as there was 18” to 24” inches of fresh powder covering the area. We had planned on climbing Willy’s slide as a warm [...]
January 22nd was blessed by great ice climbing conditions, great help, and a group of 18 individuals who enjoyed climbing ice for the first time. This event was a fund raiser for the Carolina Climbers’ Coalition. The event was sponsored by Appalachian Mountain Institute, Black Dome Mountain Sports, Looking Glass Outfitters, E-Climbs Ice Axes, Bracken [...]
E-Climbs: The Hardware Revolution A few years ago, I got to try an ice axe that I had not heard of before. It was an E-Climbs. I was very impressed with it at the time. Recently, I have been privileged to work in closer with E-climbs. Appalachian Mountain Institute is now the Eastern US representative [...]
Ice climbing Saturday Today I was fortunate enough to get to climb with Michael Egues and his family. His son was able to quickly get the hang of it and soon was climbing well. The ice conditions were in great shape on 215. There were several routes in and most has a rope hung on [...]
