A couple weeks ago I had Suzanne in my most memorable AIARE 1 Avalanche Course to date. She had just entered the floor of the ravine with my co-instructor Mike when we witnessed a climber triggered avalanche that caught 5 people and injured two. As a doctor she was quick to volunteer to help US Forest Service Snow Rangers evacuate one of the victims.
This incident prevented her, and most of the class, from being able to make snow-pack observations and she was keen to return to the ravine for some more experiential learning. Yesterday she returned and this time she brought her energetic 20 year old son Jabus and friend and long time NH climber David to join her in the experience.
Since ski conditions were quite abysmal we opted for mountaineering boots & crampons and brought a little technical gear along to deal with the hard & fast sliding surfaces that make up most of Tuckerman Ravine right now. After a trip planning session we made our way up into the bowl and headed up into Left Gully to investigate some of the wind slab that was mentioned in the morning’s avalanche bulletin.
Making our way up into Left Gully
The climbing conditions were quite firm, and with caution & focus we reached the base of Left of Left (ice climb). After a short break we traversed right into the gully proper and I moved out onto a moderate sized slab that had formed from cross-loading over the last two days while everyone else spotted me. Hand shear tests along the way broke with moderate force and were not very planar so I moved to where the slab felt a little deeper and dug a quick pit.
Finding about 15cms of Pencil hard slab over 15cms of 1-Finger snow, sitting on top of Knife hard concrete we carried out 3 quick sets of tests.
Two Shovel Tilt Tests, one which was “positive” and one that was “inconclusive” at the 15cm interface. For a quick description of the Shovel Tilt Test check out this video from the Utah Avalanche Center:
Two Compression Tests:
CT11, Q2 RP @ 30cm down (interface of 1F & K concrete)
CT11, Q3 BRK @ 30cm down (interface of 1F & K concrete)
Wanna watch some more YouTube on snow pack tests? Here’s one on the Compression Test:
While these failures were on the eye brow raising end of loading steps, the “shear quality” or “fracture character” was not very alarming. None-the-less we decided to carry out an Extended Column Test to increase our confidence in our findings.
Results: ECTX (No fractures are initiated in the 30 standard loading steps)
Before you ask here’s a pretty good video of the Extended Column Test:
Before descending I grabbed a quick shot looking up the gully…
Theodolite iPhone App
And down the gully…
I love this app
We descended to Hermit Lake and removed our crampons for a faster hike down to Pinkham Notch.
Clearing skies as we get ready to leave
Back at the pack room we debriefed our trip into the alpine and parted ways. It was a pleasure to spend this time in the mountains with Suzanne, Jabus, and David and I’m looking forward to our next trip together.
A quick disclaimer regarding these YouTube videos I’ve posted. These should serve one of two purposes:
Inspire you to take a course to really learn how to perform and interpret these tests.
Refresh what you’ve learned from a formal course
Using YouTube videos to build your base knowledge could lead to… less than ideal results. But they are great for refreshing those skills!
This past Saturday I had the pleasure of taking Alex, Ben, and Eric ice climbing at The North End of Cathedral Ledge for a Winter Climbing 101 Program. We spent much of the day with another EMS Schools group taking the same course led by EMS Guide Cheyenne Chaffee.
Cheyenne explains the differences between various types of traction devices and crampons
After some not-so-fast self arrest practice on the Cathedral Ledge Auto-road we started working on our footwork.
Chaffee demonstrates the differences between “French Technique” “German Technique” and front-pointingBen tackles some steeper ice armed with footwork and sharp toolsA participant shakes outNearby EMS Guide Keith Moon instructs a Private Ice Climbing LessonAlex takes a break halfway up the North End Pillars
While the North End Slab & Pillars were quite mobbed for most the day with the Ice Fest going on there was plenty of ice for us to play on. The ice to the right of Thresher has come in quite well this year, and survived the multiple thaws we have dealt with, providing a great spot to learn the basics without trying to thread the needle with a half dozen ropes on the Pillars. At the end of the day everyone was content with the mileage they had put in and we hope to see some return for the next step, either Mountaineering 201 or Ice Climbing 201.
Second post today as I catch up on a busy week. Following last weekend’s avalanche course I had the pleasure of taking Dominic out for his first day of ice climbing. A recent Geology graduate who hails from Lebanon, NH, Dominic has caught the climbing bug. His analytical mind was very quick at grasping all aspects of ice climbing as they were introduced and we found ourselves covering more and more vertical ground and knowledge throughout our 1 on 1 day.
After some basic crampon & ice axe skills, a quick top-rope climb on The North End Slab, we broke it into two pitches and scurried to the top.
Dominic hangs out on The North End Slab
From there we made our way over to The North End Pillars and Dominic learned how to rappel.
Going over the edge
We took a quick lap on the left hand side of The Pillars.
Starting up something a bit steeperTrying to save energy
After a quick bite to eat we headed over to Thresher. Two pitches up that had us grinning at the top.
That is the face of someone hooked on ice climbing
With time & energy to spare we rappelled back to the ground and returned to The North End Pillars for another lap. As we started to wind down our day we spent a bit of time looking at ice anchors, screw placement, V-threads, natural anchors, etc… Despite the long day Dominic’s desire to learn as much as he could in one day was still apparent.
I’m really looking forward to my next day in the mountains with Dominic. His enthusiasm and motivation is contagious, and what ever we climb together next I know we’ll be having a good time from trail-head to trail-head!
This summer I got to meet 16 year old Harry for a very rainy day of rock climbing. Most of the day was spent indoors covering rope skills, which he was keen to acquire. He would later climb with EMS Guide Ryan and was following 5.9 routes his second day out. Soon after he started leading traditional climbs. This kid is getting good fast! He returned today and was joined by Wildcat Ski Instructor Marissa for an introduction to winter climbing.
We pulled into Frankenstein around 9:30am. The upper parking lot was full and cars on the side of the road almost reached the lower lot. I wondered if Lost In The Forest would be swarmed.
Crossing the trestle at Frankenstein Cliff- sweet pack review coming soon! #hyperlitemountaingear
We saw one party on Chia and later heard parties climbed Smear, Hobbit, Pegasus Rock Finish, The Blobs, and Bob’s Delight… all looking quite good. There was no one in the Trestle Cut or at the Trestle Slab. When we arrived below Lost In The Forest we could easily see a large group, probably 10+, around Walk in The Woods/Lost In The Forest. On we walked…
My back-up plan was the slab to the right of The Hanging Gardens… we got there after passing a very busy Standard Route.
Standard Route, Frankenstein Cliff
We had the slab to ourselves and had lessons in crampon technique, ice axe use, and belaying.
Marissa prepared for her very first ever climbing experience while Harry provides a solid belayMarissa crushing our first route of the dayHarry getting after it
After a couple of laps here we ate some lunch and moved down and over to Standard Route right as a few parties were finishing. We opted for a quick climb up the center to the cave and rappelled.
Harry reaches the cave at the top of the first pitch of Standard Route
On our way out we had a quick lesson in ice screw placement and building V-thread anchors. Marissa seemed to enjoy her first experience in the vertical world of ice climbing and Harry is chomping at the bit to learn more. He’s heading out tomorrow with another EMS guide for some longer multi-pitch type climbing and I’m sure he’ll do well. At this rate I expect to see him climbing up a storm in the next few years. Get after it Harry!
I’m heading out again tomorrow with another group, so stay tuned and see you in the mountains!
A climber triggered an avalanche that caught and carried 4 climbers and 1 skier 800 feet down a 45 degree slope only a few feet a way from our class. I’m sure I’m still processing the day and while some might suggest I decompress a day or two before digging into the events leading up to the incident I feel the sooner I sit down and write about the incident from my perspective the more accurate that assessment will be. So here we go.
On Friday 1/15/16 we started our second AIARE course of the season. Ironically before our students arrived my co-instructor Mike & I debated the fact that the Mount Washington Avalanche Center had not yet started using the 5-scale Danger Rating system, and on a holiday weekend with a Nor’Easter bearing down I was concerned about mountain travelers without any formal avalanche education assuming “General Advisory = No problem”.
To the MWAC defense, the bold “Please remember that avalanche activity may occur before the issuance of a 5-scale danger rating forecast. As always, make your own snow stability assessments when traveling in avalanche terrain.” disclaimer should be sufficient, but my opinion was that a formal rating for specific terrain features and colored slat boards “might” help those with limited knowledge and mountain sense make better choices. I’ll expand on that at the end of this post…
Our first day was a bit heavy in the classroom with some companion rescue practice outside in the afternoon. While we covered some of the basics of the avalanche phenomenon our first real Nor’Easter of the season was getting ready to help our winter snow pack materialize on our 2nd day:
Pretty much missed us
We spent some time on the 2nd day (yesterday) up in Crawford Notch previewing avalanche terrain and learning about making quality weather, snow pack, and avalanche observations:
Mike talks with the group about measuring slope angles and the differences between defined and un-defined avalanche paths.Mike demonstrates a Compression Test
On our 3rd day we met at Pinkham Notch Visitor Center. Storm totals didn’t quite reach the 6-14 inches forecasted, and we only received 5.2″ at the summit from this system. Regardless of the less than expected snow totals we observed active wind loading on our drive to the trail-head:
White smoke above the north rim of Huntington Ravine visible from the parking lot
During our trip planning session we identified The Chute & Left Gully as potential field locations, and areas that might also offer a few good turns.
AM Trip Planning Session
The USFS Snow Rangers had posted a General Bulletin. Two snippets I’ll highlight here for some foreshadowing:
“Many of you may be searching for these handful of locations to pursue your sport rather than the brush and rock that dominate the Ravines. If this is you, expect instability until proven otherwise by your stability assessments… recognize this holiday weekend will have many others out and about that could be potential triggers above you.”
We split into two tour groups of 7 each and made our way up the Tuckerman Ravine Trail. My group arrived at Hermit Lake at 1050, a bit before our 2nd group. We made a quick weather observation then continued up to the floor of the ravine arriving below Lunch rocks at 1150.
Before our arrival USFS Snow Rangers had made some observations in the ravine and posted an update in “The Pit” that I wouldn’t see until later. A pic from their blog post:
Early morning wind loading in the ravine- pic from USFS
In their update they reported a small skier triggered avalanche to the right of our intended destination:
“a report of another small avalanche triggered by a skier. This was in the area we call “Chicken Rock Gully,”…The party triggered the slide near the rocks at the top of this slope. They reported that it was about 4-6″ deep, 40′ wide x 50′ long, and ran down to the bottom of Lunch Rocks.”
This was prior to our arrival at 1150 and we were not aware of it until much later in the day. We observed a few snowboarders ascending and descending the snowfield in The Sluice in the vicinity of the Summer Hiking Trail. Seeing debris below The Chute (and no one in the area) we decided to set a skin track up towards that area.
Spread out as we work out way up to The Chute
Our climbers traveled on consolidated surfaces and got to see some of the intact blocks of wind slab from yesterdays natural avalanche cycle:
Large intact blocks of wind slab
Our estimated skin track:
Photo from earlier in the AM during active loading- by MWAC
Right before we took our skis off to kick steps up the final stretch to our destination a student asked if it was ok we had 3 of our group in the direct line of the obvious avalanche path with a pilllow of wind slab just above us. We discussed how the lack of a natural or human trigger made our position a reasonable choice. No one was above us and we could see all active loading had ceased.
After a hand shear at the yellow dot I committed us to the small 43 degree slope to climbers left of the choke on The Chute (pink line below small crown line). A 2 person Canadian party (represented in orange) punched through. A party of 3, represented in green, held back a minute before two started climbing up through the choke point.
An estimation of position. Pink was our class. Green was the party of 3 (one, Ben, was a former student), Orange was the 2 person Canadian team.
The two Canadians pushed through the choke. Two of the three party team fell in behind them. I had just finished measuring the slope angle at our intended pit location:
A climber from the 3 person team is almost out of sight heading into “the choke”- photo by D. Tower
A minute or two later I heard a rumble and glanced up to the choke to see a size-able amount of snow come flying by. I yelled “Avalanche” multiple times as I tried to keep a visual on the 2 climbers I was able to make out in the fast moving slide. I had two students to my right, who were still 10-15 feet from the mass of snow that had just came blasting down the gully. As much as I’ve practiced this over the last 14 years I can say there is a lot of truth in the statement “practice never ends”.
My class was safe, positioned outside the fall line of this avalanche, but having just noted a solo skier approaching from below, I was sure at least 4 people had taken a ride, and as the powder cloud settled my biggest fear was someone had been buried with no beacon on (not wearing beacons in avalanche terrain on Mount Washington is an issue I won’t get into here, but needs addressing).
I radioed Mike who had just passed Connection Cache. After conveying some of my first impressions he continued up with his portion of the class to provide assistance. Ben, a former student and the only person not caught from the party of 3, indicated he would respond with us, and we all switched to “search mode” on our beacons. A visual search quickly located 4 people on the surface, and a 5th moments later as we made our descent. Uncertain if only 5 were caught we carried out a quick signal search on the debris field, which I estimated was 40 meters wide by 100 meters long.
As we reached the toe of the debris it was only slightly comforting that we hadn’t picked up any signals. None of the 5 people carried by the avalanche had beacons on. The two climbers from the party of 3 had ended up high in the debris and not taken the full ride. While they reported fruitless attempts at self-arrest and escape they were lucky to be pushed off to the skier’s right of the main slide. The other three ended up very low in the debris, carried pretty far down into the bushes that hadn’t been reached yet by the avalanche cycle yesterday.
The first two we reached was one of the French Canadians and Androscroggin Search and Rescue Member Corey Swartz (who was caught & carried but uninjured). Corey was providing first aid and my student Joe contributed some first aid supplies.
Joe provides one of the victims with some gauze while ASVAR member Corey, who was one of the climbers caught in the avalanche, provides first aid.
I made contact with the far left victim, the solo skier who was hit far down in the run out by the avalanche, who was being assisted by the other Canadian. He had an obvious leg injury but with the help of a partner was trying to exit the debris field. We advised that stabilization would be best as USFS Rangers were in route, and they elected to crawl/drag down to flatter terrain.
The injured skier being attended to by the other Canadian climber.
I sent Joe to the floor of the ravine to communicate with the rest of our class and assist with the initial packaging of the injured climber then returned back to my group who had been standing by with shovels & probes in case an extrication was required.
Looking back up the debris where my students were waiting
We returned to our high point to collect our skis and I grabbed a shot of the crown from the right side of “the choke”.
The crown was about 3 feet deep on the left and tapered quite far to looker’s right. The climber who triggered it thought it broke just above him but later analysis makes it seem much higher, perhaps 50-100 feet above.
The Canadians had climbed through the fresh crown line from yesterday’s cycle and had climbed about 15 feet higher on the “hang fire” from the wind slab before the remaining slab released and dragged them down, catching the 2 climbers from the 3 person team that had just entered the choke point.
We descended to the floor just as the more seriously injured patient was littered down the Tuck’s trail with two of my students and my co-instructor Mike, eventually to be evacuated by USFS Snow Ranger Jeff Lane by snowmobile.
After a bit of discussion at the floor of the ravine we descended to Hermit Lake to regroup with the two who assisted with the patient transfer to Hermit Lake and we descend the Sherburne ski trail together.
We then debriefed the course and incident before parting ways. And then I got to spend some solo time thinking about our day.
So what happened? Well, the first thing is recognizing we have the advantage of hind-sight. We could Monday morning quarter-back the Patriots close win last night as well as this incident. Knowing almost nothing about football, and a bit about snow, I’ll take a stab at what happened here based on everything I heard, saw, and assumed, today (corrections from witnesses welcome).
Ben reported talking to the Canadians earlier in the day and that they said their intention was to summit Mount Washington via the Tuckerman Ravine Trail. This is disturbing, as this was clear in the bulletin that had been posted yesterday:
“There may also be a small number of you that plan on trying to follow the Tuckerman and Huntington summer trails through each Ravine. This is not a good idea as they both run through some snowfields that harbor potential hazards. Save the summer trails for summer.” -MWAC
I would like to say that everyone knows that the Summer/Winter Lionshead Trail is the preferred method of ascending Mount Washington from the east in the Winter.
I would like to say that.
Human Factors…
“Blue Sky Syndrome”
It was absolutely bluebird up there today. While temps in the ravine were around -9c (16F) there was almost no wind, so it was a really enjoyable place to be…
“Herd-Mentality”
At this point I am convinced the two who triggered the avalanche, who had stated they had planned to climb up the ravine via the “trail” decided to follow my group, and the group of three, because;
A) It looked like we knew what we were doing
B) It looked like a fun ascent line
I can’t think of any other reason why they would have deviated from their previously stated intention.
“Familiarity” and “Experienced”
Ben’s group, having talked with USFS Snow Rangers, had decided they would investigate the crown from yesterdays natural avalanche but not travel above it. They recognized the risk, to an extent. Members of that party had stated earlier in the AM that avalanche gear would not be needed as it was “early season/general bulletin”.
This did not sit well, rightfully so, with Ben, who was the only member wearing a beacon and carrying rescue gear when his two partners were swept past him in a size-able avalanche.
I estimated the avalanche to be R3 (40-60% of path) and D2.5 (easily bury or kill a person). It’s remarkable to me that out of 5 people carried only 1 was partially buried and only two received notable injuries. Had anyone been buried under the snow without a beacon on it would have been likely for this to have been an avalanche fatality, and not an “incident”.
This incident, as most “first of the season” incidents usually are, should serve as a wake up call to both those with considerable snow sense, and those who know they need to gain some. Winter came a bit late, but avalanche season has arrived.
A rare combination of a day off, day care, and no pressing household matters to attend to let me escape up to Crawford Notch this morning for a quick solo ice climb. I figured I’d grab some pics and try to get a sense of how this past weekends 1-2 inches of rain had impacted our late starting ice season. I was pretty happy with how well things held in there.
Driving by Frankenstein I noted Chia looked climb-able, along with Pegasus Rock Finish, but Pegasus proper was still a raging waterfall. I didn’t stop for pics here as Al Hospers of NEClimbs got some good shots yesterday:
I wanted to focus on Mount Willard and pulled over to get a shot of the south face:
Mount Willard South Face, Crawford Notch State Park
Gully #1 looked like it had survived, and while not “in” it looked climbable. Cauliflower Gully looked similar. Cinema looked scary thin. Climbable? Yes. Protect-able?…. ehhhh…
Higher up the notch both Silver Cascade & The Flume still had high volume open water on the main flows, with climbable ice to the sides. I saw one party of two when I was leaving working their way up the far right side of Silver Cascade:
Zoom into the top right to see the two climbers. Silver Cascade, Crawford Notch
Elephant’s Head looked good to go, the thin section getting into the upper right finish had really filed in and to me it looked better than last week. Great plastic growing ice at the start…
Elephant’s Head, Crawford Notch
I parked at the top of the notch and quickly threw my pack on. That has to be one of the coldest parking lots in the Northeast. I briskly followed a set of fresh tracks to the base of Hitchcock Gully, first grabbing a quick pic of the growing “Snotsickle”. That right hand start came in great last year and looks like it might be returning this year.
Snotsickle… not yet
I reached the base of Hitchcock Gully as two climbers where setting off and followed them up the washed out approach gully of Hitchcock. Quite a bit of frozen rock climbing but things were locked up enough to make the going quick.
Start of the washed out Hitchcock Gully
Jamie (from Boston) and his partner were heading up Lower Hitchcock so at the cutoff to Left Hand Monkey Wrench (LHMW) we chatted briefly and parted ways. I headed north and cut over to the base of LHMW. It was fat & plastic looking on the bottom half:
Left Hand Monkey Wrench
Side note… I’ve done the direct uphill tree swim to reach this route a half dozen times, as well as the Hitchcock Gully approach. Using Hitchcock Gully is without a doubt easier & faster than the uphill tree swim approach IMO. Just sayin’…
The climbing was plastic ice for the start, then drier and a tad brittle at the moderate “crux” of this route. A stem here and a stem there and I was hooking nice looking roots to the great frozen turf shots at the top. I realized at the top this was my first solo of this climb. Meh, it’s just ice climbing, no need to celebrate. Up I went to the base of East Face Slabs Right, which looked quite fat:
East Face Slabs Right
A quick walk over to check out fat & plastic Upper Hitchcock:
Hitchcock Gully
I decided to look down Lower Hitchcock and see if I could spot Jamie and partner, who were starting the last bit of technical climbing of the lower route. The route was pretty washed out but Jamie reported climbable ice to the sides and made quick work of the rock moves to finish that half:
Fun mixed climbing finishing Lower Hitchcock
After another social chat I headed up to my exit, The Cleft. The very bottom was washed out but thick ice came soon.
The Cleft
The climbing in here was actually slightly un-nerving. First off, the ice was very dry & brittle in comparison to LHMV. No speed soloing happening here. Second, the winds were being funneled up The Cleft in a way I’d never seen before. It’s usually dead quiet and serene in here but the wind chill was pushing me to keep moving in my light soft shell. I reached the classic chockstone crux I’d seen mentioned and pictured in FB posts over the last couple weeks and for a second wondered if it would go well. It is awkward… no question about that. I did get a spark off a pick trying for something I knew wasn’t there. I also managed one nice knuckle bash before relaxing, getting a solid 4mm stick in some fresh verglas, then stemming the right leg on that little rock edge, and pulling the move right before my leg would have cramped.
Most epic Grade 2 move ever. If only I had a film crew to capture it for Reel Rock 11. Oh well. The rest of the route was easy cheezy.
I spent a little time at the summit. I realized I hadn’t stood on a winter summit alone in over a decade. All my winter summits are shared with clients or friends. It was kind of nice to be up there for a bit alone. A feeling I almost had forgotten. I don’t intend to delve into this deeper now in a general conditions report but I might come back to it at some point…
Anyways, the descent trail, the Mount Willard Trail… looks like this:
Extreme micro-spike terrain!
I hiked all the way out in my Black Diamond Cyborg crampons as I did not bring micro-spikes. No regrets. Car to car in 2.5 hours. Ok, no more bragging. Summary of ice conditions:
We survived the rain. Things are pretty good in many places. Long range forecast is quite promising:
Snow. High near 16. Southeast wind around 10 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. Total daytime snow accumulation of 1 to 2 inches possible.
Tonight
Snow, mainly before 10pm, then a chance of snow showers after 10pm. Low around 12. Wind chill values as low as -3. Blustery, with a southeast wind 10 to 20 mph becoming northwest after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New snow accumulation of 2 to 4 inches possible.
Wednesday
A 50 percent chance of snow showers before 4pm. Mostly cloudy, with a temperature falling to around 7 by 5pm. Wind chill values as low as -15. Windy, with a northwest wind 25 to 30 mph.
Wednesday Night
Partly cloudy, with a low around -2. Wind chill values as low as -23. Blustery, with a northwest wind 15 to 25 mph.
Thursday
Partly sunny, with a high near 15. West wind around 15 mph.
Thursday Night
Mostly cloudy, with a low around 9.
Friday
Partly sunny, with a high near 25.
Friday Night
A 40 percent chance of snow. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 19.
Saturday
Snow likely. Cloudy, with a high near 29. Chance of precipitation is 70%.
Saturday Night
Snow likely. Cloudy, with a low around 18. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
Sunday
A 40 percent chance of snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 25.
Sunday Night
A 30 percent chance of snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 10.
M.L.King Day
A 30 percent chance of snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 16.
Monday Night
A 30 percent chance of snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 6.
Tuesday
Partly sunny, with a high near 14.
Final thoughts: Otterbox Defender case is trapping moisture in my iPhone6+ making pics “foggy”, didn’t notice that with my older 5s. I’m researching a solid point & click dedicated camera. I miss my old Olympus 1030sw and want something comparable. Suggestions?
Windchills were kicking my phones butt today. Will be making some revisions to previous smartphone navigation post. Don’t worry, I still think it’s an option… but probably better to stick with dedicated GPS for anything below 20F.
That’s it. Thanks for reading. See you in the mountains,
This weekend kicks off the start of my winter guiding season. Yesterday I had the pleasure of leading a motivated father & son team from Connecticut up Mount Washington in some of the thinnest conditions I have ever seen this late in December. Despite the absence of snow we had a pretty enjoyable climb with comfortable weather and some great views.
Connor and his father, ThomasCrossing the Cutler River for the second timeClimbing through the clouds Boot Spur Ridge appears behind usSummer Lion’s Head TrailJust Below Lion’s HeadA group ahead of us climbing up to Lion’s HeadReaching Lion’s HeadTuckerman Ravine looking pretty bony for mid-DecemberNearing Split Rock with Lion’s Head below in the fog
We made it all the way to the lower summit parking lot before needing to don our micro-spikes for the final 100 yards (that parking lot is an ice skating rink).
Clear skis as we reach the lower parking lot and for the first time need tractionObligatory summit shotOur route
Today I had 3 guests for a Winter Climbing 101 Course. It’s no secret Mother Nature has dealt us a sub-par hand in terms of “winter” conditions, but John, Mitzy, and Tom were still enthusastic about what we could accomplish and with a little thinking “outside the box” we put together a pretty productive day. We started the morning off in our new conference room where I shared some of the online resources for trip planning in the White Mountains. Namely, HikeSafe, the Mount Washington Observatory Higher Summits Forecast and Regional Mesonet, and CalTopo.
We then had a gear shakedown looking at differences in ice axes & crampons before packing up and heading north to Crawford Notch. I knew Willey’s Slide & other usual early season standby’s would still be questionable but we had a backup plan in place. Our drive through the Notch confirmed my suspicions regarding “climb-able” ice and we parked at the Mt. Willard Trail parking lot. After shaving the technical gear from our packs we hit the 1.6 mile trail up to Mt. Willard. While non-technical in nature we were able to go into detailed conversations regarding mountaineering concerns. Heat loss, cold weather injuries, altitude illness, navigation, avalanche awareness, mountain weather, layering strategies, were all discussed in detail. About an hour later we arrived at a socked in summit, just in time for a clearing while we enjoyed our lunch.
John & Mitzy on the summit of Mt. WillardTom on Mt. Willard with Mt. Webster behindLove that view
We opted to wear micro-spikes for the descent and headed back down to the car. With a couple hours to spare, and wanting a bit more “technical” end to our day, we made our way over to Elephant’s Head. This .3 mile trail brought us up to the top of this 120 foot bluff where we all rappelled during intermittent snow squalls.
Tom rappelling the Elephant HeadOur route
While we seem to be off to a rough start this year I want to put a little perspective on the situation. It’s true we had a great start last year with freak powder skiing on Halloween and a personal 11/20 ascent of Pinnacle in great conditions. But then we had a big December thaw with 3 days of rain towards the end of December which essential pushed the reset button on our winter. We then went on to have one of the best winter & ski seasons I have experienced since moving here in 2001. El Nino or not, I’m holding out hope that just like last winter our season is simply going to begin a bit later, but still be quite epic. The two new pairs of skis sitting in my closet sure do hope so!
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!
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!
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!
