Month: September 2015

Standard Route on Whitehorse, and the dreaded Brown Spot!

David Lottmann Rock Climbing , , , , , , , ,

This past Wednesday Oliver returned for some more preparation before his Yosemite trip next month. We started the day with a full length route up Whitehorse via Standard Route (1080ft, 9 pitches, 5.7).

Lots of options!
Lots of options!

65 degrees, sunny, light breeze… perfect climbing weather… and we had the whole cliff to ourselves all morning! We quickly climbed up to the Crystal Pocket.

Oliver with Cathedral Ledge in the background
Oliver with Cathedral Ledge in the background

After a quick snack on Lunch Ledge I decided to climb the original “Brown Spot” 5.5 variation since I always take the Slabs Direct 5.7 variation. I quickly discovered why I never take this variation. The bolt protecting the move is one of the nastiest old 1/4 inches I’ve ever seen. The climbing itself doesn’t feel any more secure than the 5.7 variation. I stopped a little higher on the next ramp to belay to keep the rope drag down, and while I thought replacing the bolt might be a good community service I think it’s probably better to just stick to the direct finish. It’s MUCH nicer in every possible way.

Oliver cruising the upper slabs
Oliver cruising the upper slabs
Mount Washington clear & crisp in the background
Mount Washington clear & crisp in the background

It was only 12:30 so we ate some lunch and made our way down the hiking trail. Oliver was interested in going over some of the various anchor strategies we used on this climb so we drove over to The North End of Cathedral Ledge. There we spent a half hour or so going over some new and old techniques of constructing anchors. To wrap up our day we took a quick spin on Child’s Play, the fun 5.6 crack climb, then headed back to the shop.

Oliver’s got a couple more days planned with me this Fall before his Yosemite trip and is getting a few training days in at the tres-new Salt Pump Climbing Co. gym that recently opened in Scarborough, ME. If you are Downeast you should definitely check this amazing climbing gym out!

Thanks for reading,

See you in the mountains,

-NEAlpineStart

Once a Climber, Always a Climber

David Lottmann Rock Climbing , , , , , ,

It has been a couple of decades since Oliver has tied into a climbing rope, but to paraphrase a well known military adage; “Once a climber, always a climber”.

I discovered in the first few minutes of meeting Oliver that his list of adventures was long. From a NOLS course in the Cascades back in the 70’s (yes before I was born), to exploits in Yosemite while dirt-bagging at Camp 4 for weeks on end, to sky-diving, to scary leads in his first pair of EB’s, the conversations through-out the day would be as entertaining as the climbing.

While a professional career had put climbing on the back-burner for quite some time that burner stayed lit, and now, for his 65th birthday, his wife is sending him back to Yosemite this Fall for a week of reminiscent adventure. Oliver figured it would be beneficial to get a bit of training in before his trip to Yosemite, so he came to EMS Schools for a bit of refreshing.

After sorting our gear we made our way over to Whitehorse Ledge. The first few pitches of Cormier-Magness provided the perfect “Oh ya I remember how to do this” type terrain as we quickly dispatched 3 pitches.

The famous Whitehorse Ledge Slabs
The famous Whitehorse Ledge Slabs
Second pitch of Cormier-Magness, the classic
Second pitch of Cormier-Magness, the classic “Wheat Thin Arete”
Echo Lake and Cranmore Ski Mountain in the background
Echo Lake and Cranmore Ski Mountain in the background

After the 3rd pitch we practiced descending with 3 double rope rappels back to the shaded ground. A quick drive over to Cathedral had us eating lunch after looking at Whitehorse from a different vantage.

Whitehorse Ledge
Whitehorse Ledge

After lunch we rapped the Barber Wall and headed over to Upper Refuse.

That back-burner flame is fully lit now!
That back-burner flame is fully lit now!
Cruising the first pitch
Cruising the first pitch
And the 3rd pitch
And the 3rd pitch

We topped out right around 3pm, and started making plans for a couple more sessions before the Yosemite trip.

Thanks for the panorama Joe!
Thanks for the panorama Joe!

Every day I work in the mountains is rewarding, but I’d be lying if some didn’t stand out as a bit more rewarding than others. Watching Oliver reconnect to something that has always been a part of his life since his college days was very special, and I’m really looking forward to our next day together, which happens to be next week!

Thanks for reading, and as always if you like to you can follow NEAlpineStart at the top right of the blog. I have a lot of gear reviews coming up this Fall, along with some great foliage climbing!

See you in the mountains!

-NEAlpineStart

Wilderness Navigation Course- AMC Pinkham Notch

David Lottmann Land Navigation, Professional Development

If you are a regular reader you will have noticed my last post indicated a speed ascent of the Northeast Ridge Pinnacle the following day, followed by two weeks of silence. The reason? My beautiful daughter decided to arrive a couple days early! Madalena Ann Lottmann was born at 7:56pm on August 28th. We are adjusting nicely to our new addition. Yesterday I returned to work with a Wilderness Navigation Course in Pinkham Notch.

I arrived a little before 8am to set up the classroom. Once I had the classroom set up I felt the pre-course excitement building up. I’m so grateful I get to share knowledge with outdoor minded students as a career and setting up this classroom has me stoked for this winter’s upcoming avalanche course season!

Woodchuck Classroom
Woodchuck Classroom

Once the 9 participents settled in we began our morning classroom session covering topics from Improvised “Survival” Navigation to solid map & compass work. After a very hearty lunch provided by the AMC we hiked up to Square Ledge to practice some Terrain Association and Single Point Resection/Triangulation.

Field practice
Field practice
Terrain Association Exercises
Terrain Association Exercises

We then set a bearing to bushwhack to a nearby ski trail on Wildcat Mountain.

Following a creek bed while trying to maintain our course
Following a creek bed while trying to maintain our course

We hit the ski trail with in a few meters of our target and set a course back to Square Ledge after gaining a small bit of altitude. We then jumped over to the cross country ski trail and followed fresh moose scat & tracks south to a point up above Lost Pond.

A scenic bit of the winter XC ski trail
A scenic bit of the winter XC ski trail

This bit of trail is not well marked and is probably much simpler to follow in the snowy months when it is in use (which was perfect for our purposes). After some group discussion as to where we were we plotted a descent down to Lost Pond reaching the northern end after scrambling down a moderately steep gully.

ViewRanger App Satellite View
ViewRanger App Satellite View
ViewRanger App USGS 7.5 Minute Topo View
ViewRanger App USGS 7.5 Minute Topo View

Feedback from the course was super positive and it was good fun bushwhacking in a new area. I’m watching the weather (and the day care schedule) closely to find another day to head up to Pinnacle, and planning reviews of both the Five Ten Guide Tennies and the Camp Four’s for this Fall so stay tuned, and thanks for reading!

See you in the mountains,

NEAlpineStart