Near Trapps from top of AMC Slab

The real plan was to climb some ice in the Catskills for two days with Susan.  She really wanted to learn how to climb ice while on vacation in New York.  The warm weather had other plans for us.  I even thought about driving to the Adirondacks to climb ice.  The weather sometimes dictates what you do and were you go in the Northeast.  Saturday we climbed 7 pitches and had a good amount of fun doing it.  Sunday saw the big warm up and all the snow on top of the cliff started to thaw and head in a different direction(down the cliff).  Susan and I had decided on working on anchor building skills, placing gear and rappelling with a backup so the wet rock didn’t spoil our plans for the day.  I learned once again that with a open mind and a good sense of humor you can have a great time no matter what you originally wanted to do.

We had a group up climbing ice today in Stoney Clove.  John and I had checked out our options the day before by driving up into the cloves and sniffing around with our eyes, ears ,and tools.  East Crag Corner, Castle Grey Skull, and the East Crag Pillar were all a lot of fun.  Close to two feet of standing powder on the ground and unplowed parking areas makes the day take a little more time.  Bring a shovel for maybe the next week or so.  The ice is slowly making a come back.  It’s thin in most spots with snice on top of it.   Lots of moving water behind the ice and tinsel for the curtains forming.  Moving around on the tops of the climbs is easier and the approach is much more enjoyable with all the snow.  Enjoy it while you can.

Crystal Ice Tower NEI 4-

Brendan wading threw deep snow on pitch 3 of White Line Fever NEI 3

Doug Ferguson on Pitchoff Left NEI 3-4

Brendan Mealia and I hit the Adirondacks on Thursday with the brief intermission between winter storms.  I’ve been waiting for the Catskills to patch itself up a little from the last rain we got.  Either way neither of us could pass up the chance for good weather and some great climbing in the Adirondacks.  I have been waiting to climb White Line Fever II NEI 3  in the Chapel Pond area for sometime now.  Coupled with Crystal Ice Tower NEI 4- this makes for a really fun day of climbing.  Brendan lead  Crystal Ice Towersince he had never been on it before and I got the first pitch of White Line Fever.  We did this route in three pitches, the last two pitches are real rope stretchers with a 70 meter rope.  I have to say we really had a lot of fun on this route.  Good exposure, easy run out sections for spice, and great tree belays.  We hit Cascade Pass after our Chapel Pond romp and finished the Day with Pitchoff Left NEI 3-4.

Ice on Pine Trees

View of Devils Path from Kaaterskill High Peak 3,655

On Friday John Mackey and I went up to check out the condition of the ice after the storm.  Things didn’t seem as bad as they could have considering it rained for two days.  We both decided Sunday would be the better day to slay some ice in the cloves.  Saturday Roger Ennis and I decided to hike Kaaterskill High Peak 3,655.  The icestorm made it amazing for hiking.  All of the trees had a thick coating of ice and the ground had just enough snow to make it easy for hiking.  The trails have a lot of blow down on them from the storm so if you head up be prepared to step over or walk around down trees.  Kaaterskill High Peak has some amazing views once on top.  The prize of being able to view the Devils Path is totally worth it.  We are headed back up to climb some ice today with the colder temps.  Have fun out side.

Deep Notch 12-06-08

Little Black Dike 12-05-08

I got up to Stoney Clove on Friday and Deep Notch on Saturday.  The ice was better in Stoney Clove on Friday.  I figured with the typical busy Saturday we should head up to Deep Notch to avoid the crowds.  Not bad just not as good for the screws.  Things are coming along well in both areas for this time of year.  Add some snow and more cold temps we should be having a grand ole time this winter.