(all pictures are High res, for low res click here)
During my vacation between jobs, I
decided that it would be cool to visit one of
my buddies in
NYC, and hopefully do some ice climbing up in the hills. Armand had just
returned from summiting
Aconcagua in Argentina, so I knew he'd be in shape. Many people ask me what
type of equipment is needed for a day of ice climbing, so I kept a list of the
items
that
I'd be using. Mind you, I didn't actually use all of the gear listed beHigh, but
I brought it just in case -- just like a good
American climber,
too much gear!
petzl Ergo ice climbing tools two 9.8mm climbing ropes grivel ice climbing screws petzl vasak leverlock crampons powergel koflach double plastic boots petzl helmet julbo glacier glasses clear smith ski goggles tinted smith ski goggles cat crap defog gel mountain hardware balaclava mountain hardware hat helly hansen hat Outdoor Research Pro mountaineering gloves cloudveil schoeller ice climbing gloves black diamond gloves Outdoor Research bottle parka 2 nalgene bottles athletic tape leatherman's knife fleece vest heavyweight thermal shirt heavyweight thermal pants polypro underwear polypro t-shirt polypro undershirt polypro heavyweight socks polypro sock liners Outdoor Research XL Expedition gaiters black diamond mountaineering harness cloudveil schoeller soft shell pants cloudveil schoeller soft shell jacket wildthings parka gregory 3000+ cu in backpack northface 10,000 cu in basecamp bag 2 ATC's 6 carabiners 2 pulleys webbing prussiks
Funny that I kept a list of gear
for this trip, as my gear turned out to screw me in the long run on this trip,
but more about that later. Anyway, after a nice and cold night in
New Paltz, New York, Armand and I
drove to the
EMS climbing school to meet our guide.
Peter. He said the
unusual cold and precipitation have created some great ice climbing
opportunities in the Gunks
, so he
recommended that we go there instead of the
Catskills. So we drove to the
trailhead, packed our gear
and
began the approach
to our
first waterfall.
You
know, I've been looking everywhere to find the names of these routes, but I
haven't discovered them yet. If you know any of the names of these routes,
please let me know.
As we began this route, Armand
belayed
, as
Peter led the route. Once at the top, Peter belayed from the top, and Armand
and I
each took turns climbing up. We both cruised this route with ease. We had great
views at the top
, but
the ledge was a little precarious. After a few minutes of resting, Peter led the
rappels back down.
.
At the bottom of this pitch, we
rested and played a little with this cute dog. Awwwwweeee!
After downing some
outrageously expensive gourmet
food which we brought from Manhattan, I began climbing our second pitch.
Unbeknownst to me, my stupid crampons were not fitted correctly. I discovered
this halfway up the route
, as I
was wondering why my arms were burning and my hands were permanently stuck in a
Hong Kong Phooey
position. Three quarters of the way up the route, I had to have Armand lower me
as I couldn't hold the tools anymore, in fact, I even dropped one. I got
to the bottom and began trying to fix my crampons and my guide gave me the
double whammy. Apparently, not only were they not fitting correctly, but they
were specialized mountaineering crampons, which suck for ice climbing -- the
fangs were curved down. Well, these were brand new crampons, and dummy me
thought regular mountaineering crampons would work, as my last pair served
double time very well.
Continuing on, Armand nailed this
route and made me look stupid. :-) He kicked total butt.
Well on to the third and last pitch
of the day.
Since
my arms were fried, I told Peter that I would do half the pitch and he could
lower me. Well, I got halfway up the pitch, and I felt OK. I thought, hey maybe
I could actually top out on this pitch and that would be a good way to end the
day. Well, as I began the second half of the pitch, my arms froze up again, but
my great guide, Peter, kept encouraging me to climb up. After many periods of
rest, I finished out the pitch. I think it took me about 40 minutes to complete
because I had to climb with only my arms. Ugh.
After topping out, we rappelled back down and hiked back to the car. My arms were tired, but I had a blast. It was fun day of climbing. I hope to go back and do some more very soon.