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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Topic Author's Original Post - Jan 1, 2008 - 09:05pm PT
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Happy New Year All! From Mountain 62 July/August 1978, this definitive bit of northeastern climbing history. Enjoy.
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TrundleBum
Trad climber
Las Vegas
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Wow --
Thanks Steve
I was a kid learning to lead just just a few years before that article came out, your post is awesome memorabilia for me.
The names mentioned were my early Gods:
Jimmy Dunn
Mark Ritchie
Doug Madara
...and on and on
good 'ole Al Rubin, he used to be proud of his nick name:
"Al rubin, America's leading second"
I still have my Paul Ross and Chris Ellms guide book
(the maroon hard cover version)
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Chiloe
Trad climber
Lee, NH
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I still have my Paul Ross and Chris Ellms guide book
(the maroon hard cover version)
Yep, that's on the bookshelf. Also Webster's first edition, which seemed to borrow some ideas of what a guidebook could be from Erickson's excellent Rocky Heights, and improve on them in Ed's own way. I loved those old guidebooks that you could actually read, and form some impression of the personality of each route -- the good, the bad, the obscure.
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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"Mike Peloquin reads the Bagavad Ghita to John Bragg"...
I guess that caption speaks for itself; but at the time I found it rather enigmatic that a leader would recieve support in the form of an erudite and spiritually enriched dispatch from his belayer.
Oh well, coming from the more pedestrian left coast, it went just a bit over my head, but I was intrigued none the less.
This brings to mind some of the comments we get here on the forum concerning the myopic tendencies of the Cali climbers over the years. While I have observed this notion to be in many cases accurate, I will say that during the mid-late 70's, when the international force of Mountain magazine was in full swing, we all were perhaps, by sense of proportion as enabled by Mountain, a little more nationally aware than we became in later years, after the demise of Mountain and perhaps due in part to the reign of the more regionally centered Climbing and Rock & Ice publications. (No particular offense to Michael Kennedy & George Bracksiek).
I surely was aware of Gran, Stannard, Bragg, Wunsch, Barber and knew that places like The Gunks, Cathedral, Whitehorse, Cannon, Looking Glass, even Poko Moonshine were essential stops on the national tour.
In those years Mountain, & if you look back, probably Climbing, yielded appropriate coverage to both coasts and any aspirant was clued in to the big picture well enough to set designs on travel and cast a wider net.
Chiloe’s reference to Webster’s 80’s guidebook:
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Topic Author's Reply - Jan 2, 2008 - 11:02pm PT
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Lots of tasty stone all over our fair land! The quality historical feature articles were the hallmark of Mountain and Climbing in their heyday and helped inform and inspire my whole generation.
How about that classic shot of lean Henry in the knickers on Alpha Corner?
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Topic Author's Reply - Jan 3, 2008 - 10:46pm PT
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And moving forward a few years.....The amazing Hugh Herr on Stage Fright 5.12c X at Cathedral Ledge. Still unrepeated in its original ground up style?
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slobmonster
Trad climber
berkeley, ca
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A set of friends and counterparts were working "Stage Fright" when I was living in No Conway a few years ago; their names may (or may not) be familiar. If I was a betting man, I'd bet that someone has freed it, ground up, no TR or pre-inspection, yadda yadda.
Semi-related note: dragged my brother up Thin Air one afternoon, and then Airation. Hugh and his friend were Horsing around on Stage Fright, and generously offered both a patient belay and beaucoup encouragement. I'm 5'10"+ and man, that route stretched me out like a rack.
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Chiloe
Trad climber
Lee, NH
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Classic New Hampshire climbing on Cathedral's "Barber Wall":
Bev Boynton onsights Nomad Crack (5.10b) with small wires for pro, 1978.
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healyje
Trad climber
Portland, Oregon
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For two years from '85 to '87, I lived in Southern NH about 18 miles NW of Joe English Hill in Francestown. Quite an place, though it was heading into a four-year, near complete cessation of climbing as I had just transferred back to DECs R&D labs in Nashua after two years in Chicago and was getting my ass kicked getting up to speed on things there. I did eventually get a grip and a bit of climbing in late '86 and early '87 before bailing for PDX.
To just get back into the feel of it I soloed regularly at Joe English chasing blueberries. Lovely place, and I never did see another soul the entire time I lived there. Shortly after picking it back up I ran to Ken Nichol's young protege Marco Fedrizzi at the Gunks and was treated to a session or two in CT getting to see some of their more extravagant, and quite impressive, hook escapades. And as another Southern Illinois friend, Clay Erickson, lived right by Crow Hill we'd meet up there regularly, but also made excursions around to the Gunks, Cannon, and Cathedral / White Horse.
Overall I was and am thoroughly impressed by climbing in the NE and have nothing but respect for the whole lot of the old bastards one and all. But, probably because of the time I spent at Crow Hill, I've ever since held Ed Webster in special regard even though I've never met him and only been on a couple of his lines. What I saw of him there and heard of him later in the Black all sounded stout and durable.
Anyway, Steve, thanks for posting that up so I get a chance to read a bit more about the history of the place.
Marco Fedrizzi in '86 about about to turn turtle on an FA attempt of 'The Wizard' (as in help me Mr. Wizard) at Crow Hill...
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Chiloe
Trad climber
Lee, NH
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I've ever since held Ed Webster in special regard even though I've never met him and only been on a couple of his lines. What I saw of him there and heard of him later in the Black all sounded stout and durable.
Ed and other stout NH-based climbers established quite a legacy of 5.10 to hard 5.11 (and sometimes harder) routes in the White Mountains, back in the days of EBs and wired stoppers, that rarely get repeated today.
Back when I used to read rockclimbing.com, I thought it must be only a matter of time before all those old routes got retrobolted so the masses could climb them. Fortunately that hasn't happened yet, and away from the sport crags and trad trade routes you can still have some solitude.
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Topic Author's Reply - Jan 4, 2008 - 11:39am PT
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Just say no to needless retrobolting...........
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Chiloe
Trad climber
Lee, NH
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Just say no to needless retrobolting...........
So far, that seems to be the answer at most Granite State trad crags. Although back on rc.com, I saw so many "it's elitist not to add bolts" and "if you don't like the new bolts, just don't clip them" posts from gymbies that it seemed like sport-ification might be the irresistible wave of the future. Maybe that's still going on over there, I don't know.
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Topic Author's Reply - Jan 4, 2008 - 12:37pm PT
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Add to the list, "if you don't like the runouts, set up a toprope first and then reconsider."
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cowpoke
climber
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A short excerpt exemplifying what I love about Webster's route desciptions (taken from p.85 of the 3rd edition of the "east volume"):
"Sticks & Stones I 5.11b R (5.10a X)
Will break my bones, but names will never hurt me. This is a short, dangerous face climb with groundfall potential, so rig a top-rope -- or bring an alert belayer with running shoes!
1. Hard face climbing leads past an RP placement to a minimal stance (bolt), then move up and left (5.11b R) to easier moves (5.10a X) in the death zone. Run to the trees!
History: Chris Gill, Peter Lewis & Tom Callaghan made the first ascent on September 10, 1984. Earlier, Callaghan injured his ankle and nearly hit the deck after falling off the crux."
Guidebooks that list only routes and ratings just can't compete with bedside reading like that.
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Topic Author's Reply - Jan 5, 2008 - 07:20pm PT
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In 1977, Ed and Bryan nabbed the second and first free ascent of The Humungous Woosey on Baboquivari Peak. A long, bold and remote line, the route was originally climbed by Dave Baker and Mike McEwen in 1973 with one lone pendulum.
The andescite plug features some mighty funky stone but Ed wrote gleefully in the Summit Hut guidebook margins "don't forget to bring the #1 Stopper for the crux!" 5.10+ you say?
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Chiloe
Trad climber
Lee, NH
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Ed's guidebook describes The Burning Bridge (5.11d, 5.9 R) thus:
The route was named for the climb's first 20 feet, the right-facing, crumbly flake which involves some of the worst rock on Cathedral.
The first ascent party broke off so many holds they thought this section might become unclimbable.... Modern rack.
Supertopo exclusive: on the 1988 first ascent, Rich Baker grips a sloper on better rock at the 5.11c crux of pitch one.
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Pennsylenvy
Gym climber
Fannie's Crack
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Am a westerner through and through, but have opportunity in a nice place a little south of Cannon and White horse Ledge. Family ties pull there but oh do I love the west. Have met some hard core climbers from the NH area. Signed Apprehensive.
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Chiloe
Trad climber
Lee, NH
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Signed Apprehensive.
Well if a westerner is going to move east, New Hampshire's not a bad place to end up. Where I live it's about half an hour to the beach, an hour and a half to crags, ski areas & hiking (bouldering is closer)... we're out in the woods, but just an 8 minute commute from my office.
Real winters though, while they last.
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healyje
Trad climber
Portland, Oregon
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And...
Four months from world class black flies
Six months from Alaska class mosquitoes
Eight months from Midwest class deer and horse flies
Then it's beautiful for three weeks before you're ass deep in snow again. But damn, if it still isn't visually about the prettiest place you can live.
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Chiloe
Trad climber
Lee, NH
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Ah yes the bugs, I forgot about the bugs. They are real too.
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Topic Author's Reply - Jan 6, 2008 - 11:54am PT
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Just for grins.....What do you think is the proudest effort in NH by Ed or Henry?
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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...Or Jimmy Dunn?
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TrundleBum
Trad climber
Las Vegas
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toss up between 'The prow' and the 'possesed' for Jimmy
I would guess women in love direct finish for 'Ed photoby'
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TrundleBum
Trad climber
Las Vegas
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"Black flies, little black flies...
always the black flies no matter where yah go,
dying with the black flies picking up the bones....
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pimp daddy wayne
climber
The Bat Caves
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Healyje. Joe English hill is the Bomb! I never saw anybody there either. That place is so misty. I saw a ton of un scrubed boulder problems.....
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healyje
Trad climber
Portland, Oregon
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Yeah, cool place, just had to stay low key for base security. Good blueberrys, too. It was a great place to get a feel for climbing again, you could solo all over the thing with abandon. I believe I read somewhere that's where Potter got started.
I couldn't begin to say what Webster's proudest routes are as I didn't get out that much over those two years. Pretty much everything I saw of his was bold, hard, and required vision for him to put them up. Being a sandstone guy I was just starting to get comfotable on NE rock about the time I left. Never making it to Arcadia was my main regret about the time I spent back there.
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Chiloe
Trad climber
Lee, NH
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Just for grins.....What do you think is the proudest effort in NH by Ed or Henry?
I'd let them pick their best routes, but from a later perspective it's striking how both looked at familiar, well-climbed sections of cliff and saw something new, taking the game up a notch. Early in his career (early 70s), Henry did this for a bunch of previously aided crack climbs on the Barber Wall and elsewhere, including New Hampshire's first 5.11, Lichen Delight (1971). Many of these routes are classics now.
Ed saw some outstanding big lines, later in the 70s, on other sections of cliff -- notably Pendulum Route, 5.11d (1976), or the classic Last Unicorn, 5.10c (1978). His hardest routes still have stout grades for trad lines today, such as Wonder Wall, 5.12a (1981) or, with Henry Barber, Women in Love, 5.12a (1978).
Jimmy Dunn of course made great contributions too, including some very classic lines such as The Prow, 5.11d (1977). My personal favorite among his routes is Camber, 5.11b (1978).
Mixed in with the best-known names in each era are quite a few other climbers who were climbing near the same levels. It takes nothing away from the top guns to note there were others making breakthrough efforts too. According to Ed's guidebook, the second free ascent of Women in Love was done by Mark Hudon and Max Jones, just a few minutes after Henry and Ed made the first!
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Tomcat
Trad climber
Chatham N.H.
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pcousar and I were climbing 11c and b respectively and thought we'd give that striking Shadowline a go.We had small cams and could not get NE where on it.FA Hartrich,who I saw this morning,on passive pro."11d,though most parties,if they get up it,find it harder"
I think we tried toproping it to get our gear and couldn't even do that.
Some pretty burly onsites back then, "11d" on passive gear.
I onsited Vultures the first time at Sundown.....and never managed to again.10d and "hard for the grade"lol.
Webster built good routes.
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Chiloe
Trad climber
Lee, NH
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There are a fair number of them tricky-for-the-grade ancient finger-crack routes, on odd crags around the White Mountains. Especially challenging, as you note, when done without modern cams.
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TrundleBum
Trad climber
Las Vegas
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When I get my Billion...
I will have casts made of the Airation buttress, Barber wall and Ethereal slab and then repro's will be placed all over my 'Back 40'. :)
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TrundleBum
Trad climber
Las Vegas
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Chiloe - BTW:
you remember this little gem from 'the day' ?
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Topic Author's Reply - Jan 7, 2008 - 10:44pm PT
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Rurp and a guidebook for five bucks!!!
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Jello
Social climber
No Ut
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Steve, you keep doing it! Great memories of great places, people, and times. I spent two days in winter (Repentence and Recompense), and one day in summer (The Prow) on Cathedral, but it was enough to get a feel for the place. North Conway is a little hub of thrumming energy and spirit.
-Jello
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TrundleBum
Trad climber
Las Vegas
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Jan 10, 2008 - 03:03pm PT
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Chiloe-
"a fair number of them tricky-for-the-grade ancient finger-crack routes"
From the Ross/Ellms guide:
"THE MISSING LINK III 5.9+
Another one of those nasty five nine pluses..."
#########
Jello-
"spent two days in winter (Repentence and Recompense)..."
Jeff speaking of ice in those days,
I still schlep these around in my archives,
the one on the left look familiar?
img of tools
memorabilia of 'the day',
when I was young, dumb and...
Yes that is a 68' split windshield I had :)
#########
Any body have a copy of the FWA image,
Bragg leading, as I recall with a 'climbaxe'?
########
Speaking of the magic of N.Conway and the mt Washington Valley, remember the Limmers?
In a recent email from a friend back east:
"Also, I find little places where almost nothing has changed. Last week I was in North Conway and drove to the building where the Limmer boot shop used to be. I knew it well as a teen ager, had two pairs of their boots that I loved, and bought most of my climbing gear there. Well, my God! It is still there. And it hasn't changed at all. Walking in, seeing the same workbenches in the same places, smelling the same mixture of glue and leather was like walking into 1965. I had known old Peter a bit and his son Francis with whom I stayed one winter while climbing on Washington. Last week I was talking to young Peter, the third generation to make boots there."
http://www.limmerboot.com/
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Topic Author's Reply - Jan 10, 2008 - 11:40pm PT
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How about a little Double D VMC, Mark Synnott's favorite from Mark Kroese's, must own, Fifty Favorite Climbs, 2001.
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Chiloe
Trad climber
Lee, NH
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Jan 11, 2008 - 01:07pm PT
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Trundlebum, loved the ice tools! Because I used to have all that gear, and they might still be somewhere in my attic.
Here's some classic New Hampshire ice climb (I don't recall which one, or even who took the picture) in 1979. Classic ice gear -- Forest Mjolnir in my right hand, Lowe Hummingbird you can barely see in the left, I think that might even be a black-taped climaxe in the hoster. Leather double boots, Chouinard crampons, old Salewa tube screws, the whole bit.
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Topic Author's Reply - Jan 12, 2008 - 11:49am PT
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Nice old school ice shot TB!
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slobmonster
Trad climber
berkeley, ca
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Jan 12, 2008 - 12:04pm PT
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Vultures, ugh. .10d my ass.
I can very much appreciate the ice photos... though I'm still young-ish, I learned to climb with some Big Birds and crampons scavenged from the AMC rescue room/cache. It was hard, exhausting, and tenuous without interruption. And man did those newfangled tools change everything...
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Topic Author's Reply - Jan 12, 2008 - 02:13pm PT
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Some more old frozen shizzle from the unfortunetely shortlived North American Climber inaugural issue, July 1975. Some of this is outside of New Hampshire.
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TrundleBum
Trad climber
Las Vegas
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Jan 12, 2008 - 07:01pm PT
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Nice stuff, keep it coming !
The Asolo leather doubles,
Dachstien sweaters and mitts,
Woolrich Malone's or knickers and socks
ahh yes
Steve I did not include (in old ice tools photo)...
My old style Chouinard alpine hammer.
It 'was' one of originals, teeth only at tip.
long ago released from ice duty...
I cut off the pick and turned it into a wall hammer.
When I did it I thought:
"Ruining a future collectable?"
rationalized thus:
-I got way more use out of it as a wall hammer
-It was a 1/2 useless ice tool anyway
(I think it's forte was starting in ice screws)
I love it as a hammer,
used it recently smacking some iron for old time sake.
At 70 degress the tool was being pressed for sticking performance.
Beyond 80 degress it was all but useless, the droop was no where near enough.
I will never forget trying and (praying) to make that tool work for me.
Constatly reciting in my mind the article Chouinard wrote about being up in the Mendel Couloir,
clutching upwardly with an 'ice dagger' for a second tool and thinking I had it pretty good at the time.
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Topic Author's Reply - Jan 12, 2008 - 07:27pm PT
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Ahh, the beauty of the full weight head! No fillet please.
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TrundleBum
Trad climber
Las Vegas
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Jan 12, 2008 - 07:31pm PT
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I was about 16, so it was around '77 or so.
It was a lazy, humid July morning and my partner and I decided to go over to Whitenorse and just have fun cruising something on the slabs. When we got to the base of the slabs and there was already a party preparing to climb on the 'rope up ledge. By the time we got to the ledge the leader was already about 30 - 40 feet up the slabs.
They were doing 'Standard' so we started up 'Sliding board'
This was a fascinating couple.
They had (no joke):
Klettershoes
Lederhosen
Goldline
a nut or two
a couple each blades, bugs, arrows, baby and standard angles.
In talking with them I learned that they had lived in Jackson for the past 40 something years.
During conversation the guy was dropping names like 'Stannard', 'Fritz', 'Robert and Merriam' to name a few.
A pitch or so up the route we notice Joe Lentini had shown up guiding a small group of beginners for EMS.
He and his class are all up on the rope up ledge when what do you know ?
'pang, smack, pang, ping, bing, bing, beeeng'...
goes the sound of chromolly being Beaten into service.
Lentini looks up and starts yelling:
"Someone's driving pitons I can hear it, God Damnit"
"who's doing that, stop driving pins damn nit"!
He was looking up at me, belaying my partner and shooting me some serious 'stink eye'.
That afternoon I saw joe at his car on the auto road.
So I walked over and talked to him. As soon as I mentioned the sounds of pins being driven, he went ballastic, spouting expletives of all kinds. Until that is, I told him about the couple that was responsible and the fact that the guy's first time up 'Standard' was way before I and possibly Joe, were ever born.
I don't know who the guy and his wife were.
Sure was cool though,
watching someone cruise 'Standard'
in that style,
at that time.
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Topic Author's Reply - Jan 12, 2008 - 08:03pm PT
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School of hard knots....LOL
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Topic Author's Reply - Jan 27, 2008 - 11:16pm PT
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A couple of classic shots from State Of The Art by Hudon and Jones Mountain 66 & 67. 1979.
Max on The Beast (5.11), a Jimmy Dunn route at Cathedral Ledge. Mark Hudon photo.
Max Jones leading the 3rd ascent, Mark belaying. Ed Webster photo.
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Topic Author's Reply - Nov 24, 2008 - 08:12pm PT
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Bump for crankin' Al Rubin, who got the whole thing started!
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TrundleBum
Trad climber
Las Vegas
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Bump for Al:
"America's leading second" as he often referred to himself.
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jstan
climber
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An here I thought I had said everything I had to say.
TB:
Yeah, the chance to see times from out of the past is fascinating. Makes one realize the thing that makes the present so special is that it is now. What you saw was characteristic on the East coast between about 1965 and 1968. By 1969 the cliffs sounded just like an iron foundry.
I know very well how your friend Joe felt, but I myself was never able to criticize directly anyone using a pin. Suppose I did and they subsequently were injured or killed? People back then were very keen on solving problems. Make a problem known and the answer would come out all on its own.
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Topic Author's Reply - Feb 22, 2009 - 01:11pm PT
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Somewhere it's always summer.....and Ed is always smiling. Here's why....From Climbing #43 July August 1977.
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Topic Author's Reply - Mar 4, 2009 - 10:25pm PT
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Edster Bump!
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dickcilley
Social climber
A cova Dos Nenos
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The best thing about New Hampshire is there are other people named Cilley.
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Topic Author's Reply - Mar 6, 2009 - 11:03am PT
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Cilley new englanders????? Seriously, how many and where is the heart of Cilleyness????
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perswig
climber
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I had forgotten about Bill Aughton (pic above) - taught my 1st WFR course out of SOLO; had some gnarly pics of treating shrapnel injuries and traumatic amputations. Hard to reconcile his soft-spoken demeanor with life as a British commando, but there you go.
Did he not have something to do with the early IME?
Dale
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dickcilley
Social climber
A cova Dos Nenos
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As if you didnt know Steve.The heart of Cilleyness is Cilleyville NH.
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Topic Author's Reply - Mar 9, 2009 - 11:02am PT
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Can anyone live in Cilleyville or is it an enclave?
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dickcilley
Social climber
A cova Dos Nenos
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Mar 11, 2009 - 10:01am PT
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As long as you are willing to Live Free Or Die,anyone can live there.
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Topic Author's Reply - Mar 12, 2009 - 11:31am PT
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Free is when you don't have to do nothin' or pay nothin'. We want to be free.....free as the wind.
There has to be a LFOD route somewhere in the granite state
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Alan Rubin
climber
Amherst,MA.
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Mar 12, 2009 - 11:43am PT
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Steve, Every route in the Granite State is a LFOD route!!!!!
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meclimber
Trad climber
Dover, NH
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Mar 12, 2009 - 01:46pm PT
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Good Question, I've never seen or heard of LFOD route. Maybe this season...
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Topic Author's Reply - Aug 9, 2009 - 01:16pm PT
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History bump!
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Topic Author's Reply - Oct 29, 2009 - 09:38pm PT
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And another, bump!
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Chiloe
Trad climber
Lee, NH
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Oct 29, 2009 - 10:10pm PT
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So Pate, you're back in the Rockies now?
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slobmonster
Trad climber
berkeley, ca
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Oct 29, 2009 - 11:41pm PT
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I'm pretty sure Bill Aughton is still teaching for SOLO.
Nice fellow. He was my boss working for the AMC in 1993(ish). We shared many a whiskey and stumbled through the cold NH winter on many a rescue. I'm pretty sure the two don't overlap.
Somewhat reticent about his former life with the British military, but we pulled a few stories out of 'im.
He's still bald.
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Topic Author's Reply - Oct 30, 2009 - 01:56pm PT
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The northeast has seen some blue ribbon ice conditions in recent years. I hope you get in on some of the action!
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slabbo
Trad climber
fort garland, colo
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Nov 29, 2009 - 07:28pm PT
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Zonked Out 12b 1978- by Jimmy and Ed's Women In Love for sure. I agree with Tomcat on Shadowline- 11 MY ASS ! I say 12a at least.
Trundlebum- You got older gear than me ! I remember Ethereal with original stoppers and EB's AHHHHHHHHHH !!!!!
john
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Seamstress
Trad climber
Yacolt, WA
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I learned to climb in NH. For years, 100% DEET was "my summer perfume". I keep thinking that I would love to move back East to that climbing and skiing paradise. First loves always have a special place. Then I remember the torturous first pitch, endless attack by insects until you are a pitch off the ground. So the West does have its advantages.
I have many versions of guidebooks to NH and find it endlessly entertaining to see the story of the cliffs/routes evolve. The last two journies into the past were marred by constant rain. The next trip will be dry - I'm due a dry week in NH.
And I hope to see the locals in their element again. And all the regular visitors from all over NE converge on NH or the Gunks all summer long.
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Topic Author's Reply - Jan 17, 2010 - 02:39pm PT
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More than enough bumps for a no-hands rest!
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Edge
Trad climber
New Durham, NH
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Jan 17, 2010 - 02:50pm PT
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For years, 100% DEET was "my summer perfume".
Seamstress, for a period of time in the early 80's a certain group of locals routinely ate Elvios cheese pizza with anchovies and extra garlic. It did seem to stave off the bugs.
As for scaring away the non-climbing women downtown, well, it was either due to that or the lycra pants.
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Topic Author's Reply - Jun 30, 2010 - 05:44pm PT
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Bump in the woods!
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 17, 2011 - 10:39am PT
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Annual Noreaster Bump!
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Topic Author's Reply - Jan 21, 2012 - 12:30pm PT
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Still frozen bump...
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Topic Author's Reply - Feb 2, 2013 - 05:14pm PT
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Refrozen Bump
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perswig
climber
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"Offering an attractive combination of poorly protected face climbing plus difficult route finding, this obscure climb has seldom, if ever, been repeated."
This phrase (actually from an adjacent obscurity called Airy Aerie) and Bill Aughton's 1000-yard stare from Steve's OP were burning my frontal lobe this summer when, for some incomprehensible reason, Andrei and I decided to venture onto Hallowed Eve on South Butt.
What a horrorshow. I'm not convinced we were even near the route.
A moss and running water dihedral unroped as the approach pitch.
Following Andrei through overhanging deathblocks on traversing fingercracks with lichen tufts for our feet. Most certainly NOT 5.9.
A right-trending traverse of bulges with marvelous exposure (actually fun in a nauseating kind of way). Crappy gear but moderate climbing.
Third or fourth pitch, I'm launching off one of Andrei's gear belays (never particularly inspiring; we should have brought pins); ahead is a beautiful swath of slab. It's wider than high and capped by a lip of unknown slope and a rooflet. That lip beckons like a siren.
But the lichen. Oh, and the lack of gear.
I managed to find a great nut 15' directly above Andrei. I breathe easier, knowing that one piece is likely better than all the gear at his waist, and we won't plummet to our deaths when I grind off the lichen slab. Maybe.
Straight up is steeper. I traverse 25' left, find a mica-thin flake and shimmy a yellow Alien in, sling with a Screamer. Make it another 8-10 feet up and realize a) I'm not Ed Webster, b)this is why Bill A. looked like he's not having fun, and c) if I can't stick the lip, I'm going for a big swinging ride and it will not end well.
I reverse to the belay, Andrei goes up and after 10 minutes decides the same thing. (Having a guy who on-sights 5.11 back off makes it easier to swallow.) We do very sketchy, barely-protected down-climbing, I stop shaking after about 5 minutes, stop grinding my teeth after 15, and record that day as by far my scariest day out.
Might be talked into poking around there again, though, in the right conditions.
Dale
Edit: You, Slabbo! YOU! I nearly went for it, thinking about those NC stories of your whips on gear, pins, buttonheads, whatever. STRAND would do it ... and I'd reach up and brush some lichen and shift my weight to one foot ... and then I'd do the math to the nut WAYYY to my right, and step down. Wisely. (Hope you're getting fit for spring!)
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slabbo
Trad climber
fort garland, colo
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Very cool Dale... brought back BAD memories... TC and I did "The Horror" BITD and yes, we brought pins and used them.
i think we took 10 hours or so,,, not to bad considering we were both climbing 5.12 at the time.
There wasn't to much lichen back then, but I'm guessing that MAYBE 5 or six ascents ??? EVER ??
strand
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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I've only climbed in NH in the winter, bugs not a problem but i never knew that 20F could feel soooo cold.
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slabbo
Trad climber
fort garland, colo
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A big reason I moved !
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Topic Author's Reply - Dec 25, 2013 - 05:27pm PT
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Bump in case steveA missed this one...
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steveA
Trad climber
Wolfeboro, NH
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Dec 25, 2013 - 06:32pm PT
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Steve,
You have been busy today, bumping all this old stuff and I've enjoyed reading it! I climbed quite a bit up here in N.H. this year.
Have a great New Year!
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Topic Author's Reply - Dec 28, 2013 - 05:42pm PT
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steveA- I saw that you hadn't chimed in on this one and tossed another log into the fire since you had some fun in these parts. Hint Hint...
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steveA
Trad climber
Wolfeboro, NH
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Dec 28, 2013 - 08:04pm PT
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O.K. Steve,
For anyone who had climbed Recompense on Cathedral, in the late 60's, they may remember the wooden wedge, driven in by the legendary John Turner. One day, I noticed it was gone, and I often wondered who snagged it.
Well, a few years ago I was talking with Brian Delaney, and he is the lucky owner of it now. Brian was probably the 1st climber to free solo the route BITD.
When I started climbing on Cathedral Ledge, there were only 7 routes
on the cliff, and 5 of them were put in by Turner. He was a bold climber known for running it out.
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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Dec 28, 2013 - 08:10pm PT
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Turner was pulling down hard when the Robbins, Pratt et al were just beginning to wet their whistles. He climbed in relative obscurity but for a couple of decades he was climbing harder than anyone else in the country.
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Chiloe
Trad climber
Lee, NH
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Dec 28, 2013 - 09:46pm PT
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Perswig's note above about engripment on Hallowed Eve reminded me that I have a couple of photos somewhere from a 1980 ascent of that route with Henry B. My recollections are not so gripped as Perswig's, probably because it was Henry who did all the leading, barefoot in fact. Also I think we climbed a cleaner route, with a top pitch comparable to the big pitch on Lost Souls except without all those distracting bolts.
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Topic Author's Reply - May 25, 2014 - 05:38pm PT
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Northeast climbing bump...
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tradmanclimbs
Ice climber
Pomfert VT
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May 25, 2014 - 08:23pm PT
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Vermont has climbing as well:)
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 4, 2015 - 02:38pm PT
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Northeast Climbing Bump for the 4th!
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Sierra Ledge Rat
Mountain climber
Old and Broken Down in Appalachia
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New Hampsire is where I did my first multi-pitch leads!
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Brandon-
climber
The Granite State.
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Cilleyville is ten or so minutes from my front door. There's a pretty obscure 300' cliff called The Bulkhead in that neck of the woods. Some decent bouldering as well. Paddling the Blackwater River under the covered bridge in Cilleyville and down to the flood plains is a great way to spend an afternoon. If anyone wants a tour, I'll be your guide.
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Topic Author's Reply - Dec 5, 2015 - 12:07pm PT
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I just picked up a beautiful hardback copy of A Rock Climbers Guide to Cannon, Cathedral, Humphrey's and Whitehorse written by the great Paul Ross and Chris Ellms first published in 1978.
Al's superb history as posted in the OP graces this excellent guidebook.
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Topic Author's Reply - Dec 17, 2016 - 11:57am PT
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Seasonal Bump...
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perswig
climber
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Dec 17, 2016 - 03:51pm PT
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For some reason, I always thought Thinner was a John Turner route, but the top of the page made me go back and realize it came later.
Dale
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Topic Author's Reply - Sep 23, 2018 - 08:43am PT
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Fall colors bump...
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| Messages 1 - 92 of total 92 in this topic |
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