Over the years I’ve discovered one of the things I enjoy most about blogging is writing gear reviews. While this blog will still host various trip reports and “how-to” articles in the Skill Zone I’m going to start putting more effort into reviewing quality gear. 21 years in the outdoor gear industry and 11 years as a professional mountain guide have definitely given me the opportunity to form opinions on what works, and what doesn’t. Here’s a quick look at some of the products I’ll be reviewing soon:
Many of these reviews will also have some great product giveaways. Some of the “schwag” I have to give away includes ice screws, climbing knives, and foot powder. So if you are into reading about outdoor gear, and possibly winning some, consider following this blog. I’ll be posting a gear review at least twice a month.
The EMS® Men’s Feather Pack Hooded Jacket was my most anticipated item in last years Fall/Winter line at Eastern Mountain Sports and it returns this year! I was amped to pick it up just in time for a quick alpine climb on Cannon Cliff.
Built on the success of last year’s Icarus jackets (you remember, the ones that after the first production run EMS had low inventory right off the bat because employees snagged them all up?) this jacket falls in to the “light belay jacket” category. A few things set this jacket apart from your more casual winter coat and for me justified the purchase, even when my gear closet has no shortage of technical jackets!
1 fleece, 3 soft-shells, 1 hybrid, 2 hard-shells, 3 synthetic insulated and 2 down… of course I needed one more!
Weight:
The manufacturer states the average weight of a medium size is 15.5 ounces. My own scale measures my size large at 17.5 ounces. The closest insulated hooded jacket I have is my Wild Things Belay Jacket which weighs in at 24 ounces!
Pack-ability:
This jacket when stuffed into its internal pocket only takes up about 240 cubic inches of space, less than a football (pre-Deflategate of course). Dimensions when stuffed are about 8 x 6 x 5 inches with some room to squish smaller.
Stuff size of the EMS® Men’s Feather Pack 800 DownTek™ Hooded Jacket
Insulation:
This ultralight weight and extreme packability is achieved by using 800 fill DownTek. If you want to increase your knowledge of “fill power” in down products you can geek out on Wikipedia here. We’ve known for years that high quality down is the warmest insulation in outerwear, with one big disadvantage. Traditionally, when down gets wet, it looses 100% of its insulating capabilities and takes a decade or two to dry. Then came DownTek. Simply put it is water-resistant environmentally friendly ethically sourced down. You can dig into it deeper if you’re curious at DownTek’s Website. I just like watching videos:
Back to the jacket… and one other important piece of the “insulation equation”. Knowing that a jacket uses 800 fill power down is only useful if you know how much of that awesome fluffy stuff is shoved into your jacket. I had guessed it was 4-6 ounces but I wanted to know for sure and since this important tech spec was not listed on EMS.com I tracked down the Product Manager. The final answer? 5 ounces of 800 fill DownTek. That’s pretty darn good for a jacket in this price range!
Shell fabric:
EMS is using a 100% high denier ripstop nylon treated with a DWR (Durable Water Resistent) treatment:
“Woven with reinforcing threads in a crosshatch pattern, Ripstop Nylon prevents ripping and tearing. It’s one of the strongest forms of nylon around – they make parachutes out of this stuff.”– EMS.com
In hand it is very soft and light to the touch.
Color: As best as I confirm this will only be available in two colors this season. “Jet Black”, which is actually two toned (still boring), and “Warm Olive” which looks like no olive I have ever seen, whether warm or cold. Where do they come up with these color names?
Photos from EMS.com
UPDATE 9/18/16: The new colors are out for this Fall! You can see them here!
Hooded:
Pretty much every technical jacket I own has a hood. Even some of my long underwear has a hood. A hood makes a jacket so much more valuable in the mountains. This hood fits over my climbing helmet perfectly. There is an adjustment in the back to pull the sides back a bit so you don’t loose your peripheral vision and get ambushed by a moose.
Alpine Hoodlum
Pockets:
There’s four. Two hand pockets, not set high since this jacket would go over your harness and not be tucked in (like your awesome soft-shell jacket would be). One external chest pocket (it’s where I keep my phone warm). One internal chest pocket that has a “flipp-able” zipper for when you stuff the jacket into this pocket. One easy design fix here is to add a small zipper pull on the inside pull of this zipper. I like things that are glove friendly. That being said, I would probably only have this jacket stored in the internal pocket for two situations;
Pre-packing for the day to maximize space. Once the jacket gets deployed it’s probably going to be going on and off through-out the climb (that’s why they call it a belay jacket, you wear it while belaying, not climbing, unless it is really cold… but it doesn’t get really cold in NH does it?) Taking the time to stuff it back into its pocket would be silly, just shove it in the top of your pack and get climbing!
Single pitch ice/alpine climbing, to clip to the back of my harness if I’m leaving my climbing pack at the base. There is a small sewn loop here for this reason, but I would be concerned about that loop being the sole attachment between me and my warmth at the top of an ice climb so my solution was to make the added zipper pull a little bigger so it could be clipped with the loop.
Yankee Ingenuity
Fit:
Ah, EMS Sizing. So reliable. So time tested. So never-the-same-two-years-in-a-row.
Here’s the size chart from the website (note it is “universal” and the disclaimer on the bottom):
So will it fit?
Humans are hard creatures to fit. So this is what I’ll do. I’ll give you my measurements, and hopefully you’ll have a good guess at what size you need (since you’ve already decided to buy the jacket if you have read this far).
I’m 5’9″, 180lbs, 42 inch chest, 34 inch waist, broad shouldered, average ape index (nice way of saying normal length arms). I tried the medium on first at the store (over a t-shirt and sweatshirt I was wearing. If felt pretty good, a more athletic fit. A bit too tight in the shoulders when I stretched forward (remember, broad shoulders). When I would lift my arms up (ice climber pose) it got a bit too snug to have full range of motion. I tried the large. The large may be a smidge roomy for me, but it definitely didn’t feel like a boxy house. Plenty of room inside for my skin/mid-layers/softshell (or hardshell).
Summary:
This is an excellent cold weather jacket at a great price suitable for winter backpacking, hiking, ice climbing, or waiting for the bus. You can purchase this jacket in both men’s and women’s, hooded and not hooded, right here.
Yesterday Oliver returned fresh off his 5 day trip to Yosemite where he had bagged the iconic Royal Arches and Cathedral Peak. Next on my tick list for him back east was the Whitney Gilman Ridge, a classic east coast climb that should be on every climbers wish list!
We left Conway at 8:20am and started across the Kancamagus Highway.
About 10 miles later Oliver was telling me a story about forgetting one of the ropes after getting to Royal Arches and it dawned on me I had left our rope right next to my front door.
We left Conway at 9:00am and started across the Kancamagus Highway.
We drove north through the notch and after reversing direction pulled into the climber’s lot and checked the sign in box. No one had signed in for anything on the cliff. We filled out a trip plan for “the WG” and hopped back in the car.
I’m convinced that this climb is best approached from Lafayette Place Campground to the south despite almost every guidebook and website recommending to approach from the north climber lot. Two reasons;
First, at the end of the day when you hit the bike path you are much closer to your car and it is slightly downhill instead of slightly uphill.
Second, it’s a lot easier to be sure you’ve found the right approach trail. Many people trying to find it from the north have passed it then found the descent trail and believed it to be the approach trail. This leads to a lot of wasted time and perhaps some horrendous bushwhacking. When coming from the south you simply locate the first marked trail on the left (the descent trail), then find the next one. It also happens to be exactly .99mi if you are using any type of GPS device.
We left the car at 10:07am.
For us it was a 15 brisk walk to reach the approach trail.
Our track log, red for approach, black for descent. Just under 2.8 miles round-trip.
We made our way up the talus field to the stunning ridge.
The Whitney Gilman Ridge
During our scramble I shared some of the fascinating history of the route. It is simply amazing that Bradley Gilman and Hassler Whitney pulled this route off on August 3, 1929! It has been suggested by the late climbing historian Guy Waterman that at the time of this ascent it was the hardest rock climb in the States!
It took us 52 minutes to reach the route, of which there are a few variations. I always prefer the direct start to the original line.
PITCH 1 & 2
Whitney Gilman Ridge Direct Start
The crux of this pitch is in the 5.6 – 5.7 range but it happens to be right off the ground trying to reach that horizontal on the right. You can get some really solid arm bars in the crack, which is featured if you reach far enough back, and you should be able to get up to that horizontal, get a good left arm bar and foot jam, and calmly place your first piece (SPOILER: .5 BD cam, clipped directly is perfect).
After that it is just really fun cruising to a nice belay ledge (140ft) with some attractive parallel cracks (often a fixed cam or two is in the left hand crack). This is an excellent place to stop to maintain easy communication, but you could push higher up if you are climbing on a 60m rope and feeling strong for the grade. (SPOILER: both cracks are fun but the right one is a little easier). I pushed on to the next ledge, technically the top of pitch 2. The options for a gear anchor on this large ledge are pretty far back from the edge which could make communication challenging as running it to here is about 55 meters. Using a method to extend yourself back to the edge of the ledge will really help with belaying your second.
While belaying Oliver up I could see our shadows being cast further down the cliff. You can easily see me at the top of the second pitch and Oliver reaching the large ledge at the top of the first pitch:
Can you see us?Oliver finishing up the 2nd pitch in good style
PITCH 3
From here I usually take the 5.8 right side variation. This variation brings you up a stellar splitter jam crack to an optional small belay ledge below the slightly overhanging “North Wall”. The moves leaving the anchor here are a bit tricky but the holds are positive and after a few feet the climbing eases up just before merging with the famous Pipe Pitch at the pipe itself. I think next time I head that way I’ll try skipping the small stance and continue up the steep North Wall & Pipe Pitch. I’m pretty sure the rope will make it and drag will be minimal if you run out the easier bits at the beginning before reaching the splitter jam crack.
Today though I decide to take the original line as I hadn’t seen how rockfall from a few years ago had altered this section and I was curious how it may have changed. I also liked the idea of another belay in the sun. The climbing was pretty casual and it was easy to avoid the loose stuff by staying right towards the end of the pitch. A fixed nut & cam in the left hand crack along with some of your own gear makes for a fast anchor, and you can stare at the splitter knee eating crack while you belay thinking about how not to put your knee in it. (Spoiler: Use the right most crack and face holds on the right and never touch the knee eating crack)
Pitch 4
Oliver arrived ready for the infamous “Pipe Pitch”. This is one of my favorite pitches anywhere. You just can not beat the exposure as you pass the historic pipe and the Black Dike drops hundreds of feet below you. I realize as I’m staring down at the damp looking Black Dike that the first ice climb of the season was done 16 days ago! Check out this pic from NEIce:
16 days ago on the neighboring Black Dike! From NEIce.com, Photo by Majka Burhardt. More on their climb in this Julbo article
No signs of ice today as I pull through the crux in a t-shirt and sunglasses.
Oliver has just pulled the exposed moves on the Pipe Pitch and is all smiles
Pitch 5
Sticking with the original line I did a quick pitch up to the small stance below the final corner. The anchor here is a bit tricky. A .75 BD Camalot placed up high in an undercling flake, combined with a knifeblade fixed pin and a small alien to the right make it happen.
Oliver arrives at the start of the last pitch
Pitch 6
The moves off the anchor on this pitch are a bit funky. There’s a bit of “questionable” holds here and there (it is Cannon after all), but with a funky high-step and stretch to reach a pin higher, one move right and it’s all over. Happy cruising from there we reach the top at 2:30pm, 3.5 hours on route.
After un-roping and enjoying the view we head down the descent trail which takes a cool hour to reach the car (I really think that is faster than walking back up the bike path to the climbers lot.
Another fantastic day with Oliver! I’ve climbed a fair bit with Oliver in the last month or so and I was curious to see how much so I totaled up our 5 days of climbing we have had since our first climb on September 19th.
Day 1 Cormier-Magness, Whitehorse, first 4 pitches and Upper Refuse, Cathedral 900ft
4,300 feet of technical climbing in just over a month (plus a trip to Yosemite). Oliver is really getting after it! I can’t wait to get him out on some nice long ice routes this winter!
EMS® Men’s Feather Pack 800 DownTek™ Hooded Jacket- Top of Whitney Gilman Ridge, Cannon Cliff, Franconia Notch State Park, New Hampshire- photo by Oliver
Ever wonder what goes into making your climbing rope? Yesterday I had the opportunity to head over to Sterling Rope in Biddeford, ME with 6 other EMS Guides for a tour of their factory.
It is one thing to read a companies credo in a catalog or on their website. It’s quite another to experience it in person.
We left EMS North Conway around 8 yesterday morning and arrived at the factory at 9:30 where Sterling’s Market Manager, Matt, and head of Research & Development, Josh, greeted us and gave us a quick briefing before passing out safety goggles and leading us out to the factory floor. The first two things you’ll notice when passing through the factory doors are the immense size of the factory and the constant loud drum of dozens of machines producing some of the best ropes in the world.
#sterlingselfie
We started on the far end where huge pallets held tons of spider-silk-thin nylon, dyneema, and polypropylene awaiting various treatments and processing before they would be braided into different styles of core for dynamic and static ropes. We were reminded to keep our hands away from machines since you would not see this thin material being spun at such high RPMs.
Lots of spinning & whizzing
I got to climb up a small ladder and watch as the rope cores were treated with Sterling’s proprietary DryCoat Treatment. Many rope manufacturer’s only treat the sheath of the rope. Sterling’s treatment of both the core and the sheath greatly increase the water resistance of your rope, which effects just about every property of the material from strength to durability.
Next we made our way over to one of the coolest machines, the “braider”. After all the work that goes into making the core of our climbing ropes is finished, these machines artfully braid the protective sheaths over the core at a mesmerizing speed. This machine is off while we are shown the core strands.
Sterling Rope Tour Braider
Then I captured some slow motion video on a nearby machine to see the process. You can see the final product sliding out inch by inch, at probably about an inch every 2 seconds in real time…
We then got to walk though the final product areas. Who needs 700 meters of the amazing Fusion Nano IX 9mm rope?
700 meters of 9mm? It would retail for over $2000 if cut to standard lengths.
After touring the distribution center we made our way over to the highly anticipated Sterling Drop Test tower. This tower allows Sterling ropes to pass rigorous UIAA tests that simulate a really bad fall onto a rope. Most climbers notice when purchasing a rope how many of these “worst case” scenario falls their rope is rated for. Off the top of my head I’d say I have owned and used ropes that passed anywhere from 6-12 of these falls. The fall imitates a fall factor around 1.77 with a 80Kn weight (about 176lbs).
And again in slow motion:
On the 7th drop the rope failed (and I was not ready with the camera). The snap was loud and impressive. It was interesting to feel how flat and warm to the touch the abused rope had become after multiple test falls, especially since we did not let the rope rest between drops.
After that we made our way to the Pull Test machine. This hydraulic beast can exert over 222Kn (50,000 pounds!) of force on ropes & gear in a measurable and controlled environment. We were encouraged to bring old slings and gear to destroy here in the name of science. Well, maybe in the name of pure fun. But science too.
Our school manager, Keith, had a plethora of slings and belay loops to test, with an emphasis on investigating the different rappel extension options we choose to use on such a regular basis while guiding and recreating. We also wanted to see if worn belay devices could pose a threat when pre-rigged on a rope. Ian had brought a damaged fixed quickdraw from the last bolt on the classic hard Predator route at Rumney NH. Jeff had a pine sap infused sling he wanted to test. Over the next hour or so we broke about 20 pieces of gear in the machine.
Snapped Dyneema smells like burning nylonReady to testThat’s science son!
Some video of the tests:
The Results:
The Results
So what were the main take home points?
Most methods of rappel extension are more than strong enough.
The single girth hitched dyneema sling actually broke at a slightly higher force than the nylon. While strength isn’t the biggest issue with this method I will often choose to girth-hitch the enforced tie-in point of the harness rather than the belay loop, namely to increase the life of the harness. While belay loops are incredibly strong one well documented fatality from a belay loop breaking after prolonged wear always lingers in the back of my head. I would also keep in mind the lower melting temperature of dyneema and watch those rappel speeds when the rope is passing close to the loaded dyneema sling.
A well used belay device that has developed a relatively sharper edge on the “outgoing” side significantly reduces the load needed to cause failure
Tthough still under a relatively high load (more than 10Kn). Even so while pre-rigging 3 people on a steep rappel it would be a bit more comforting to know belay devices where in good condition and not heavily worn. No need to be the “first” to draw attention to this potential catastrophic failure. Replace your belay device when it develops an edge on the out-going side.
The frayed quickdraw from Predator failed under 4Kn
This definitely draws attention to the quality of fixed draws that might be hanging on your project. Inspect fixed draws!
Thanks to Jeff Lea I also now know that sap does not weaken my slings. It’s still pretty messy so I’ll continue to avoid it when possible.
This visit to Sterling was highly educational and informative. I’ve been climbing almost exclusively on Sterling ropes for the last 3-4 years. I have regularly used the Sterling Evolution Velocity for cragging and top-roping and reserve my Sterling Fusion Nano for leading waterfall ice. Sterling also happens to be the official supplier of rope for EMS Schools. If you are in the market for a new rope this is a company you should be considering!
Do you own a Sterling rope? Which one and how do you like it? What other brands/models do you like? Let me know in the comments below!
A couple weeks ago I kicked off this seasons weekly gear reviews with Outdoor Apps Review Part 1, where we looked at three of my most used outdoor apps; ViewRanger GPS (USA), MyRadar, and PeakFinder Earth. While those apps covered navigation & weather, for Part 2 of this series I’d like to focus on snow safety apps. Check them out below and if I’m missing a must have app please let me know in the comments below so I can check it out!
“Theodolite is a multi-function augmented reality app that combines a compass, GPS, map, photo/movie camera, rangefinder, and two-axis inclinometer into one indispensable app. Theodolite overlays real time information about position, altitude, bearing, range, and inclination on the iPhone’s live camera image, like an electronic viewfinder.” – developer’s website
I use this app mostly in the winter while teaching avalanche courses and ski touring in the back-country. You can look down a slope or gully and get accurate information on aspect, elevation, and angle, three critical components to terrain selection when managing avalanche risk.
Check out this short video showcasing its features.
I usually suggest to my students on the first day of an avalanche course to download this free App, finally available on Android as well as iOS. It is packed with functionality but I use it most often for its quick and simple clinometer. Check out the other cool features here (and brush up on your German):
There are a few different “observation & recording” snow science type apps out there. This is definitely one of my favorite for its comprehensive scope and intuitive design. It is however an advanced app requiring a strong foundation in snow science and avalanche phenomenon to really be utilized. To put it bluntly, if you have never taken a formal avalanche course or had an amazing mentor this app may be a bit too much. Seek qualified instruction!
Automatic graphing of snow pack observations and instant aspect/angle/incline measurements using iPhone’s camera, GPS, and gyro-meter.
So there are three apps to check out for this upcoming winter season. I’ve used them all on an iPhone 5s but will be switching soon to the iPhone 6s Plus, and I’d be lying if I’m not a bit giddy about all that screen space for navigation focused apps. I’ll also be testing a Thule phone case to protect that beauty from the type of abuse I expect it to take. Who knew Thule makes phone cases?
I have some other snow focused apps I’ll mention in Part 3 of this series. In the meantime let me know what apps you rely on in the winter in the comments below!
It’s definitely still rock climbing season in the Mount Washington Valley! Yesterday regular client Manny joined me for some fun on Cathedral Ledge. We started the chilly morning up at the classroom to review some anchoring strategies but the NW 15-20 mph wind combined with 40 degree temps had us heading down to the Thin Air face to get warmed up by 9:30. A visiting party was about to start and offered to let us jump on the route ahead of them. I was very gracious as I knew we would move fast and stay a lot warmer if we weren’t behind a party on-sighting the route.
Manny on the classic Thin Air Traverse, Cathedral Ledge
The clouds cleared out as we started the 3rd pitch and the sun kept us quite comfy for the rest of the route.
All smiles on the crux 4th pitch of Thin Air
We topped out at 11:15, had a quick snack, then made our way down to The North End for some crack climbing practice. We took a quick lap on Child’s Play (5.6), Kiddy Crack (5.7), and the unknown classic 1st pitch of Raise The Roof (5.8+), and called it a day.
Always a good time hanging with Manny, and I’m looking forward to introducing him to ice climbing in just a few months!
Reminder there are currently two gear giveaway contests running right now!
It would not be a stretch of the imagination to state that I have spent more time in the Five Ten Guide Tennies in the last 10 years than any other shoe! From May to November if I’m heading out with the sole purpose of rock climbing I am wearing these. This staple of my closet has recently undergone some changes and improvements that help guarantee it will continue to be my go-to shoe for all technical climbing. To really point out the changes it would be best to look at the pro’s and con’s of the older version first.
Previous version of the Five Ten Guide Tennie- photo from fiveten.com
Simply put, they climbed better than any other approach shoe option out there, but lacked durability. I can attest to this as I happily replaced mine about every other year. Considering I would guide or climb in them 100+ days a year I was happy to sacrifice some longevity for how well I could climb in them, essentially being equals to dedicated climbing shoes on almost all routes up to 5.7 in difficulty. In many situations I felt I could climb better in these approach shoes than in climbing shoes. Two examples;
Moderate slab climbing. The amount of Stealth rubber surface contact you could get with these on sub 5.7 slab climbing made long run outs seem like semi-technical hikes rather than climbs. They actually felt even more secure as the “dots” on the soles wore down leaving a smooth climbing shoe style sole for maximum friction.
Foot jam territory. No better example than the classic Reppy’s Crack on Cannon Cliff. This crack is notorious for making your dogs bark like crazy when jamming it in snug fitting climbing shoes. Climb it in your wider more protective Guide Tennies and it feels a whole grade easier to me.
Peter Sielicki styles Reppy’s Crack in his Five Ten Guide Tennies
There were two disadvantages to the older version. The first was the well known durability issue. I know some guides who were just not willing to keep replacing them after each season of guiding and looked for alternatives. Some would land on the much more expensive La Sportiva Ganda. Other’s would go for the more affordable Scrapa Crux. The durability issue seems to have been addressed as the new version is noticeably reinforced throughout, but especially in the heel and forefoot of the sole.
More supportive and robust heel cup than previous model- photo from fiveten.comThicker and slightly stiffer outersole made with C4 Stealth Rubber- photo from fiveten.com
I’m expecting these to last a bit longer than the older version. I plan on maximizing their life with two tactics;
Maintenance: Treat them with Nikwax. The uppers of the shoe are made of Nubuck Leather. Nikwax Waterproofing Wax will protect the leather from both drying out over time and from abrasion. I’ve been using this on leather for 2 decades. It darkens the leather a bit, which I like. After trips brush off loose dirt/mud and put them away dry. I’ll reapply the Nikwax at the start of every rock season.
Selective use: I don’t wear these when I’m not going rock climbing. Ever. Walking down sidewalks wears C4 Stealth rubber down. I have another shoe I prefer to use for dedicated (non-technical) hiking and I’ll be posting a review for that updated model soon! If I save these for only technical rock climbing days I’m quite certain I’ll get 100-150 days out of them.
The latest version of the 5.10 Guide Tennie
As with the previous version these shoes can still climb technical rock like no other in their class. The thicker outer sole and heel cup will definitely last longer than its previous incarnation, however it has stiffened the shoe up a bit. The “hand-ground beveled toe” makes this newer shoe edge better than its predecessor with only a small dip in smearing performance. The stiffer sole has another more subtle advantage over the previous sole in regards to foot fatigue. The older version was so soft you could feel every pebble you stepped on during an approach. I once hiked Mount Washington in my older Guide Tennies and could tell the next day it wasn’t the right tool for the job. Every rugged section of the trail massaged the bottom of my feet in a sadistic way. Rugged trail hikes require a bit more support on the bottom of the foot. The new version seems to have found the balance between sensitive-enough-for-technical-rock-climbing, but supportive enough to handle approaches that are a bit rougher than strolling up to Cathedral Ledge.
Another noticeable difference with the new version is the lacing. While the Guide Tennie has always had lacing similar to a climbing shoe Five Ten is using a thin low friction lace that allows the shoe to be snugged up from “Approach Mode” to “I Should Probably Put My Climbing Shoes On But I Kind Of Want To Show Off Mode” with out having to start the snug-fest all the way at the bottom. Subtle, but there.
Tight lacing
At 14.43 oz these pack away small enough in my light alpine rock pack to not be noticed, though if the climbing is moderate I’ll probably just keep them on my feet!
Top of Cannon Cliff after climbing Lakeview, Grade III 5.6
Bottom line, the company that has been designing approach shoes since 1988 has redesigned this time tested model based on 2 decades of feedback. While no shoe will ever be absolutely perfect the Five Ten Guide Tennie does pretty well at trying to obtain that goal.
Friendly Foot Giveaway!
No matter what approach shoes you go with one thing is certain. Climbers feet stink. Luckily there is a company called Friendly Foot that understands this, and sells a product that actually works. You can refer to their website for all the details, but all you really need to know is my wife is adamant I never run out of it.
Works better out of the bottle
So, to enter to win a bottle of this great stuff just comment below on approach shoes, foot stink, the weather, what ever. That’s it. One comment = one entry. One entry per person. Contest ends at 11:59pm on 11/18/15. Drawing held 11/19/15.
Don’t like leaving it to chance? I got you covered. Use Coupon Code “FF14” at checkout on their website to get a 10% discount on your order. Shipping is free on orders of 4 bottles or more! Pro-Tip, these are excellent stock stuffers for all the climbers on your Christmas list!
The Five Ten Guide Tennie- Best technical climbing shoe in its class!
Thanks for reading! See you in the mountains!
-NEAlpineStart
Disclosure: I bought these with my own money. This post contains affiliate links which help to fund this website.
It was 1994 and I was 16 years old. I had been spending every paycheck I earned after school at the Salem, NH EMS on climbing gear. While cooling off one night at the long since closed Mill City Rock Gym I thumbed through a climbing magazine article titled “Ten under 10- Ten Classic Trad Climbs Under 5.10”. Number 6 on this list? Lakeview, Cannon Cliff, New Hampshire, Grade 3 YDS 5.6.
I was intrigued. Moderate multi-pitch climbing in New Hampshire? I had to do this climb. I started obsessing about it that summer. My first attempt was with my Assistant Manager Peg Foss. We drove up 93 in a light drizzle that ended right as we arrived in the iconic Franconia Notch. The cliff looked like it might dry, so we hiked up to the base. I took the first pitch, damp 5.3 climbing, but do-able. Peg started up the 2nd pitch, and at the first over-lap struggled, yelled “watch me” and slipped off.
It was her first leader fall.
It was my first leader fall catch.
She slid past me on the slab with enough time to make eye contact and ask “You got me!?”
Her only piece, an inverted pink tri-cam, kept her from going more than a few feet past the belay. Her ankle was bruised and she had torn through her nylon hiking pants to her underwear, but we somehow decided it would be a good idea to keep going. I volunteered to do all the leading.
2 pitches from the top the description in the guidebook confused me. Up this gully into a left facing book?
“Well this must be it.” I thought.
20 minutes later while sketching out in what I later discovered was off-route 5.8x terrain I finally admitted defeat, lowered off a suspicious horn, and we bushwhacked our way off the route to the north. After 20 years I still remember it as being one of the most heinous bushwhacks of my life.
My junior year of High-school started.
For my 2nd attempt I convinced a school mate to play hookie and “come try rock climbing”. I drove us north up 93 with a borrowed harness and convinced myself he would be fine following in sneakers. At the top of the 2nd pitch he declared he was terrified and didn’t want to continue, so I traversed out right into the shrubbery and embarked on the 2nd worse bushwhack of my life.
On my 3rd attempt I teamed up with “Tom”. We arrived at the base of the route just as another party was starting. I did everything I could to stay on their heels so I would find the correct finish to the climb. Finally, I stood out on the Old Man’s brow and tried to take in the amazing valley that sprawled below me, having just completed my first multi-pitch rock climb. In only 3 attempts. In just under 9 hours.
Top of the first pitch during a subsequent ascent, probably Summer of 1995We decided to take a break under the last pitch. Don’t ask me about my anchoring strategy here.Tom poses out near the top of the Old Man. This stance is still intact.
It’s been 20 years. What has changed? There was the 4 years in the Marines. 18 countries. 5 continents. Getting out and moving back to NH. Going back to work for EMS in Newington, NH. Transfer up to North Conway EMS. Retail. Waiting tables. Bartending. Seeing people die in the mountains. Avalanche courses. Guiding courses. The Old Man falls down! Get hired as a guide. More courses. A couple more deaths. Some… strangers in the mountains doing what they loved, others… much closer.
A girlfriend. A fiancee. A wife! A son! A daughter!
Here I am. 20 years later. Back at the climb that made me a climber. Leading Oliver, who started climbing a decade before I was born, and making his way back into the sport after a 30 year hiatus. Still using the 40 year old backpack he climbed with in Yosemite and the Cascades!
We leave the car at 10:35am, a late start for Cannon in my opinion but Oliver has showed endurance and skill over the last few weeks climbing with me on Cathedral and Whitehorse and I’m confident we can make good time.
Cannon Panorama
We reach the base of the climb in about 35 minutes. I mistakenly took us up the Moby Grape approach trail forgetting that the Lakeview trail requires taking a hard right on the Pemi Trail after crossing the bridge. No matter, this only probably cost us 5-10 minutes. We rope up and off we go.
Oliver climbing up the scenic second pitch
We make fairly good time up the first 4 pitches. The Old Man falling in 2003 has greatly altered the 5th pitch, and I choose to do the “uphill tree thrutching” bypass to the right to gain the traverse over to “Lunch Ledge”. Here, at 12:30, we take a minute to eat and drink.
Oliver at the “Lunch Ledge” 2 pitches from the top
Then up the two iconic last pitches… some of the best 5.5 & 5.6 climbing anywhere.
Oliver on the 2nd to last pitch
All day in the back of my mind I had been thinking about the memorable “Archival” Flake that guards the fun stemming corner at the top. This flake has frustrated quite a few good climbers, and for the leader it is a bit of a “no fall” zone due to the low angle slab below it. I had it mastered 20 years ago, and today muscle memory brought me up it via “monter a cheval”, or “mount the horse”.
Oliver finishing up the last pitch
At 2pm we were on the top. While the flake move had provided a solid challenge for Oliver the reward at the top was obvious.
“This may be the greatest climb I have ever done” says the guy who used to stay in Camp Four and lead friends on climbs in the Cascades in his college years.
It was at this moment I realized I first stood up here 2o years ago, a somewhat reckless teenager getting hooked on something that would steer my life forever.
Taking it all in
After a 30 minute break we make our way down the descent trail reaching the car at 3:15pm. I peak Oliver’s interest in some of the great climbing across the way.
Hounds Hump Ridge and the striking Eaglet, reflected in Profile Lake
Here’s to the next 20 years of adventure, and what life will bring. They’ll be plenty of ups, and a few downs, but I couldn’t be more excited to experience them.
In the spirit of Columbus Day and exploration I’d like to share with my readers some of the outdoor apps I regularly use to assist in my own mountain exploration. These apps have been on my phone for a couple of years. Check them out below and find details on how to enter to win the coolest climbing knife in the world or a bottle of the best foot powder on earth!
1) ViewRanger GPS (USA) – Topo Maps, Trail Navigation and Route Tracker for Hiking, Skiing & Cycling By Augmentra (Free)
I experimented with a couple GPS apps before settling on this app about 3 years ago. I have now logged hundreds of trips with it and barely used all of its features. The main draw to this app is its simplicity to record a track log and how quickly I can switch back and forth from Bing Aerial Imagery (Satellite) to USHS 24k Topo maps (with USA Trails overlay). Here’s a screen shot of both maps:
Satellite or USGS 24k Topo
Track details like duration, average speed, distance, are easily captured along with GPS Altitude Graphs and Speed Graphs showing you where you were really moving and where you were really hurting.
It looks like the publisher, Augmenta, has released a large update, basically a new app, and plans to discontinue support on the original app. The new app can be found on the iTunes store here. I just downloaded it and will update this post once I’ve had a chance to form an opinion on the new version.
ProTip: The big downside of GPS apps is how demanding they are on your cell phones battery. For that I never rely on them as a sole means of navigating (still carry map & compass). I also tend to only record my track on the way back from somewhere. This works great back-country skiing as I save my battery for the descent. If I really want to get a track of a 6+ hour trip I’ll carry the Goal Zero Guide 10 Plus to recharge my phone on the go. You can pre-load map data if you are heading somewhere off grid (No 3G+ service), . If that is the case I would recommend a dedicated GPS like a Garmin Etrex.
2) MyRadar – Weather Radar – Forecast, Storms, and Earthquakes By Aviation Data Systems, Inc (free)
Something wicked this way comes
This is the best weather radar app I have found. I have astonished countless clients by predicting when the rain will start to fall within 10 minutes of accuracy using this app. So many of our cliffs, Cathedral, Whitehorse, Cannon, all face east and this app shows me incoming thunderheads before they hit. If the National Weather Service issues any storm or flood warnings for the area I am in the app alerts me with the classic annoying sound that comes over the radios & TV when alerts are issued ($1.99 in App purchase), even if the app isn’t running.
This is kind of a “fun” app when exploring. It can help you quickly name visible peaks at your viewpoint. One especially cool feature is it can work in reverse, i.e. “I think I should be able to see peak X right now, where is it?” You can select from a list of peaks that should be visible from where you are standing and the phone’s compass and screen will guide you to look at it. Very neat!
This is the view through my office if I had no walls and all the trees and the houses to the north were leveled.
The last couple weeks Oliver has been climbing with me to prepare for his Yosemite trip later this month. Having climbed Whitehorse and Cathedral with me over the last two weeks I wanted to get him on something a bit more committing and thought linking together Lost & the Sun and A Bit Too Short on Mt. Webster would be a great day out, especially considering how the foliage is progressing up in the notches. This plan would give us 13 pitches and about 1,600 feet of climbing.
Unfortunately Friday saw a fair amount of rain but early clearing plus breezy conditions and clear morning skies in the notches had me optimistic enough to make the drive up there. It was obvious from the road that both routes were still soaked; the morning sun glistening off the wet granite from bottom to top. We headed back to North Conway taking West Side Rd to get to Cathedral Ledge by 10:30am.
Oliver hadn’t yet climbed the classic Thin Air route, so we made our way up to the base. I wasn’t surprised to see a few parties on route considering it was a beautiful Saturday morning during a holiday weekend. We decided to take a number and I set up a top-rope to the left of the start to keep us occupied while we let the party of 2 ahead of us get established. Once the leader started the 3rd pitch we finished our lunch and climbed the first pitch right at noon. We followed behind the party of two as Oliver commented on how every pitch seemed classic.
Iconic traverse
It dawned on me that somehow I hadn’t climbed Thin Air once this year. It really is an all star classic route. I prefer the direct 5.8 finish which keeps every pitch of the route high quality, but I couldn’t quite see if that slippery slab had completely dried off yet so I opted for the slick pine-needle strewn gully finish. From there I could see the direct finish was dry, and since I had run the rope up the pitch with out any gear it was easy to walk over to above the direct finish and flick the rope over so Oliver could enjoy the cleaner finish to a great climb.
After chatting a bit with the couple we had followed we made our way down the bike trail to the base. While this is a bit of an un-official bike trail I have yet to come across a mountain biker on it on any of the dozens of times I’ve used it to hike off. It is definitely faster than the climber’s trail down and 1/4 the distance of walking down the auto-road. Obviously give way to any riders you encounter.
Cathedral Ledge Mountain Bike Trail, the quick way down
We had a little bit of time left when we got to the bottom and Oliver was up for one more route so we dropped a quick top-rope on the first pitch of Raising The Roof, 95ft 5.8+. This is my favorite route at The North End. It’s just SO good!
Oliver takes a run on the first pitch of “The Roof”, “The Corner”, or “Raising The Roof” depending on where you get your info 😉
We walked back to the car and started making plans for our last day before the big trip. If the weather holds steady we have our sights set on Cannon for this Thursday. Stay tuned!
