Rock Climbing Instruction

Thin Air & Fall Colors with Manny

David Lottmann Rock Climbing, Trip Reports , , , , , ,

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
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.

Thin Air Cathedral Ledge
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!

For chance to win the coolest climbing knife in the world or a bottle of the best foot powder on earth check out this post. Contest ends 11:59pm EST on 11/12/15

For a chance to win a bottle of the best foot powder on earth check out my latest gear review here! Contest ends at 11:59pm on 11/18/15.

See you in the mountains,

-NEAlpineStart

http://nealpinestart.com/2015/10/13/outdoor-app-reviews-part-1-and-product-giveaway-contest/

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

AMC Rock Climbing 7/14/14

David Lottmann Rock Climbing , , , , , ,

Yesterday I enjoyed another day on the rocks with an AMC Camp Group. This group in particular loved the teamwork involved with belaying and back-up belays. From carrying ropes to the cliff to helping each other with belays and support this was a really great group to work with. And the weather! We are really having a great climbing season this year, knock on wood!

Camp Robindel Rock Climbing 7/11/14

David Lottmann Rock Climbing , , , , , ,

Last Friday I had a blast with the amazing girls from Camp Robindel. This is the 2nd year this camp has sent a group of campers to us for some rock climbing instruction and I’ve been lucky to guide them both times. These 11 year old girls spend 7 weeks at this camp, and despite having only been there for about a week I could tell how quickly camp builds friendships and bonds. They were super supportive of each other while climbing, belaying, and rappelling. I look forward to seeing the next group they send us!

 

AMC Rock Climbing 7/7/14

David Lottmann Rock Climbing , , , ,

Last week I got to spend the day with an AMC camp group at Cathedral Ledge. We started over on the Thin Air face with a few top-ropes, then had a scenic lunch at the top of the cliff, followed by a rappel from “the classroom”. The kids liked rappelling so much they wanted more, so we headed down to the Barber Wall for an airy rappel before wrapping up the day.

Great kids, great weather, great times!

Private Rock Climbing 7/6/14

David Lottmann Rock Climbing , ,

Recent Concord NH transplant and former soldier David joined us for a day of 1v1 Private Rock Climbing instruction. The luxury of a 1:1 ratio allowed us to get in over 900 feet of climbing and 600 feet of rappelling.  David was a sponge taking in the info and I am really looking forward to our next day on the cliff together… this guy is hooked!

Check out the rest of the pics here:

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