Nonlegit
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- Oct 27, 2003
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Well, I intend on keeping this post succinct, but it should not be too hard because I wont be able to remember everything anyways.
This past week Carter and I were on vacation, and we headed up to Keene Valley to stay in his NON-winterized house and get some winter recreation in.
On the way up I purchased Koflach Verticals, which are my first plastic boot purchase. I did a lot of research, and was very apprehensive because I wanted a boot I could hike in as well as ice climb in without a lot of heel lift. They turned out to be one of the best buys I have ever made (damn expensive though). To make a long story short, they are warm, flexible and perfect for hiking when laced correctly, and perfect for ice climbing when laced properly. I highly suggest the move to plastics, even though I was one of the biggest advocates for leathers. I am a convert
The week-
Arrival on Saturday evening- Attempt to make wood stove work thwarted by a six pack of fat angel and a six pack of hibernator. We sleep in bags and are excited for next day (I had never ice climbed before).
Sunday-I realize that I left my shell pants at home. I am now using Carter's nike basketball warmup pants . I also realize that my gaiters do not fit over my new plastic boots. I put them on anyways and athletic tape them shut. Toprope in Carter's backyard (his property abutts adirondack forest). I find that ice climbing is very hard. Deer walks up to me while I crap near his sleeping place in the woods. We cook one of our four gigantic porterhouse steaks (we brought a propane tank for the grill of course). More beer. Wood stove moved aside, traded for regular fire.
Monday-Snows about 6 inches at the house. We decide to hike noonmark. We help out some stranded motorists at the hill right after the noonmark parking lot. We make it up and down in about 3 hrs. We broke trail the entire way. My plastic boots are performing magnificently.
Tuesday-We ice climb at a floe on rt 6 there in that area (i have no idea where it really is, maybe one of the locals does). When I was lowering carter down after setting up the toprope anchor, i had set up my belay anchor too far away, and i got down to about 10 feet of rope and carter was still about 17 feet off the deck. The wall was too steep for carter to reach and unwieght the rope, so i had to pull him up with one hand to disconnect my belay anchor from my belay biner, then move uphill with carter locked off this whole time, and i just barely get him down with about 3 feet of rope left . Ice is soft and easy to climb, but the floe is very tiring. I get wet because I am wearing warmup athletic pants. I look very dangerous to other climbers around me.
Wednesday-Snows about 3 inches. One of carter's VERY rich friends from NOLS joins us this morning. We hike hurricane, and it turns out to be one of the prettiest days I can ever remember. More steak, the wood stove is now put away. Goldschlager flows freely. Rich friend (hereafter referred to as Rebecca) buys us more grocerys, and some gas station food.
Thursday- Rebecca wanted to snowboard, but Carter and I only had about 30 bucks between the two of us, barely enough to get home. So Rebecca says "What! Money is why you are not going? I have a card. Its no big deal." She drops about 60 some odd dollars on each of our tickets to Whiteface, and she buys us lodge food Conditions were pretty good, and we got a good day in (the slides were closed unfotunately). I look like a bum wearing nylon basketball pants skiing, then wearing busted supergaiters (Carters) that were athletic taped to seal (I was wearing my normal TNF jacket and Da Kine pack and goggles etc). We harass a poser kid who was weaing a bunch of TNF and Arc'Teryx stuff as well as a brand new Da Kine heli-pro pack with 3 Omega Jake Carabiners clipped to his pack (the 20 dollar type basically only used for your belay biner). He pretty much ran away from us. Last steaks gone.
Friday- Rebecca leaves in the morning, and Carter and I ice climb for half a day across from some long lake (not chapel pond). A group of tourists come out and photograph me while i was up on the floe. An EMS guide is taking out these two super rich guys for a class. We head home, tired and smelly.
It was another successful trip. Except that Carter's garbage s-10 truck blew a brake line up in Albany. We made it home safe after hitting around 3 things.
Here is a link to Carter's pictures. In the one with all the trees and the ice, look for carter setting up the toprope anchor (hes small). Also make sure you see my thin ass pants and taped up medium sized gaiters. The scanning job i did was terrible, the tops of almost every picture was blurry. Just try to ignore it, and remember that Carter NEVER takes a bad picture.
Pictures
This past week Carter and I were on vacation, and we headed up to Keene Valley to stay in his NON-winterized house and get some winter recreation in.
On the way up I purchased Koflach Verticals, which are my first plastic boot purchase. I did a lot of research, and was very apprehensive because I wanted a boot I could hike in as well as ice climb in without a lot of heel lift. They turned out to be one of the best buys I have ever made (damn expensive though). To make a long story short, they are warm, flexible and perfect for hiking when laced correctly, and perfect for ice climbing when laced properly. I highly suggest the move to plastics, even though I was one of the biggest advocates for leathers. I am a convert
The week-
Arrival on Saturday evening- Attempt to make wood stove work thwarted by a six pack of fat angel and a six pack of hibernator. We sleep in bags and are excited for next day (I had never ice climbed before).
Sunday-I realize that I left my shell pants at home. I am now using Carter's nike basketball warmup pants . I also realize that my gaiters do not fit over my new plastic boots. I put them on anyways and athletic tape them shut. Toprope in Carter's backyard (his property abutts adirondack forest). I find that ice climbing is very hard. Deer walks up to me while I crap near his sleeping place in the woods. We cook one of our four gigantic porterhouse steaks (we brought a propane tank for the grill of course). More beer. Wood stove moved aside, traded for regular fire.
Monday-Snows about 6 inches at the house. We decide to hike noonmark. We help out some stranded motorists at the hill right after the noonmark parking lot. We make it up and down in about 3 hrs. We broke trail the entire way. My plastic boots are performing magnificently.
Tuesday-We ice climb at a floe on rt 6 there in that area (i have no idea where it really is, maybe one of the locals does). When I was lowering carter down after setting up the toprope anchor, i had set up my belay anchor too far away, and i got down to about 10 feet of rope and carter was still about 17 feet off the deck. The wall was too steep for carter to reach and unwieght the rope, so i had to pull him up with one hand to disconnect my belay anchor from my belay biner, then move uphill with carter locked off this whole time, and i just barely get him down with about 3 feet of rope left
. Ice is soft and easy to climb, but the floe is very tiring. I get wet because I am wearing warmup athletic pants. I look very dangerous to other climbers around me. Wednesday-Snows about 3 inches. One of carter's VERY rich friends from NOLS joins us this morning. We hike hurricane, and it turns out to be one of the prettiest days I can ever remember. More steak, the wood stove is now put away. Goldschlager flows freely. Rich friend (hereafter referred to as Rebecca) buys us more grocerys, and some gas station food.
Thursday- Rebecca wanted to snowboard, but Carter and I only had about 30 bucks between the two of us, barely enough to get home. So Rebecca says "What! Money is why you are not going? I have a card. Its no big deal." She drops about 60 some odd dollars on each of our tickets to Whiteface, and she buys us lodge food
Conditions were pretty good, and we got a good day in (the slides were closed unfotunately). I look like a bum wearing nylon basketball pants skiing, then wearing busted supergaiters (Carters) that were athletic taped to seal (I was wearing my normal TNF jacket and Da Kine pack and goggles etc). We harass a poser kid who was weaing a bunch of TNF and Arc'Teryx stuff as well as a brand new Da Kine heli-pro pack with 3 Omega Jake Carabiners clipped to his pack (the 20 dollar type basically only used for your belay biner). He pretty much ran away from us. Last steaks gone. Friday- Rebecca leaves in the morning, and Carter and I ice climb for half a day across from some long lake (not chapel pond). A group of tourists come out and photograph me while i was up on the floe. An EMS guide is taking out these two super rich guys for a class. We head home, tired and smelly.
It was another successful trip. Except that Carter's garbage s-10 truck blew a brake line up in Albany. We made it home safe after hitting around 3 things.
Here is a link to Carter's pictures. In the one with all the trees and the ice, look for carter setting up the toprope anchor (hes small). Also make sure you see my thin ass pants and taped up medium sized gaiters. The scanning job i did was terrible, the tops of almost every picture was blurry. Just try to ignore it, and remember that Carter NEVER takes a bad picture.
Pictures
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