An Ice Climbers Guide To Northern New England

When routes are too thin for Super Stubbies, he relies on fishing small cams and nuts into cracks and he clips bolts from summer rock routes. He can often see these bolts sticking through the ice. But when the ice is too thick or cloudy, finding the bolts can be next to impossible. On several occasions, he’s relied on one of his long-time climbing partners, Mark Meshinelli, to direct him toward likely bolt locations. Osteyee has even carried a small metal detector on his harness. Osteyee is also a master craftsman of the tools he needs for his cutting-edge climbing.

Wilcox has summited dozens of 7,000-meter peaks — 21,000 feet or higher — with five of them over 8,000 meters . He’s guided more than 60 expeditions to some of the most storied mountains in the world from Alaska and Africa to Nepal and Chile. He led the first American team made up of only New England-based climbers to the summit of Mount Everest. And the first ascents of countless rock and ice climbing routes in New England have his name on them.

Coming in from the north side of the amphitheater exposes you both to falling ice from the Widow’s Walk area and to potentially hazardous avalanches that, though small, could drag you into some nasty tree terrain. The comprehensive guide to ice climbing at Smugglers Notch, Lake Willoughby, Frankenstein, Cathedral, and much more. When you go climbing, you do so of your own free will. Everything on this site is to be taken with a grain of salt. Don’t blame us if you get up some totally heinous route, in over your head and fall and hurt yourself.

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Select will have limited ice routes considering it covers a large area and multiple disciplines. This guidebook covers a broad geographical area loosely centered on the town of North Conway on the eastern side of the White Mountains in New Hampshire. International Mountain Equipment is the Northeast’s legendary climbing, alpine touring & telemark skiing, and expedition retail shop. Cutting Edge Podcast The monthly Cutting Edge podcast features in-depth interviews with the climbers who will be writing next year’s AAJ stories, just back from great new climbs. Bolton is nestled in Northwest Vermont, just 25 minutes from Burlington.

These were the days of chopping steps and poor to non-existent protection . I learned of two colossal falls that occurred in gullies in Huntington. But for some amazing luck, both events should have ended very badly.

Chunks of ice break free from about 70 feet above, clacking off lower bulges before landing in heavy, dull thuds on the snow-buried slope only feet away. He’s a sponsored athlete who is supported by Blue Water, Rab and CAMP/Cassin. Since 2009, Osteyee has worked closely with CAMP and helped them design the X-All Mountain and X Dream tools and the Blade Runner crampons.

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We update this list occasionally to reflect excellent new books, and waning interest in some older books. The guide includes all of Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island . The northern boundary for New Hampshire is roughly the Kancamagus Highway and for Maine, generally Route 302.

Also, because Bob’s Delight faces south, the top layer of ice is frequently sun-baked s’nice and the top can be delaminated. During or immediately after big thaws, be aware that huge masses of ice can calve off the upper pitch of Pegasus Left and crash all the way to the base of the climb. If you are on a personal connection, like at home, you can run an anti-virus scan on your device to make sure it is not infected with malware. Completing the CAPTCHA proves you are a human and gives you temporary access to the web property. Get full access to Outside Learn, our online education hub featuring in-depth fitness, nutrition, and adventure courses and more than 2,000 instructional videos when you sign up for Outside+ Sign up for Outside+ today. Join Outside+ to get Climbing magazine, access to exclusive content, thousands of training plans, and more.

I visited roughly 50 of the 200 areas contained in the guide. As mentioned above, it was never my intent to visit every area or do every climb. Thankfully, the book binding limited the number of pages, otherwise this could have been An Ice Climbers Guide to East of the Mississippi. A Q&A with Todd Swain, author of the recently released An Ice Climber’s Guide to Southern New England and Eastern New York. Get access to more than 30 brands, premium video, exclusive content, events, mapping, and more. The list was compiled as a popularity contest and by asking several well-read customers for their favorites.

There are always other horizons in front of you, other horizons to go beyond and that’s what I like about climbing. I look at climbing not so much as standing on the top as seeing the other side. The book’s convenient pocket size (6¼” × 4¾? × ½?) and durable construction are certainly assets.

This pillar is frequently quite wet, especially on the left. Bring your shell on the climb unless you’re certain the top is totally frozen—often hard to tell from the base. Topping out, you’ll find a variety of suitable tree anchors. Beginner to Advanced options, ice snow, and rock, with team rope travel and intermediate belays.

The reader should also be aware that in order for some of the descriptions of mixed rock-and-ice routes to be complete, one must occasionally turn to the earlier works of Cote, Ross or Webster to fill in gaps. The combination of low-lying peaks and heavy moisture in the ADK means that ice routes here form with a frozen glaze that is so clear, at times, it’s possible to see the rock through it. These smears are what Osteyee learned to ice climb on and why today he excels at it. To keep from shattering frozen daggers or ripping transparent scabs from the wall, he’s developed a gentle swinging style.

Where others whack the ice with their picks, his swing ends with a push from the elbow. The trail begins to ramp down and right, eventually switching back over The Blob and then to the base of Chia. The final part is slightly exposed but climbers comfortable with leading WI3 climbing should feel quite at ease. This is the large flow smack dab in the middle of the amphitheater seen from the trestle. It’s often a good idea to put your crampons on while still by the rails, as the path typically becomes slicker up high and the places for donning crampons aren’t as plush.

That said, you may find our growing collection of area routes useful. In our humble opinion, these are some of the more entertaining climbs in the area. If you have any new routes , please email us so they can be included here, and possibly in a forthcoming guidebook.