Mount Willard NH - Little Big Mountain

Three days on Mt. Willard in March reminded me why it is one of the best little mountains around.

Kevin Mahoney - Mahoney Alpine Adventures

Earth Day 2008

Below are a few links to get you thinking on this Earth Day.

http://www.google.com/earthday08/

Leave No Trace

TreeHugger Interview with Y.C.

Source: The Cleanest Line.com

NEice Ranks 4th among some popular climbing sites

Source: Alexa.com - April 21, 2008

Used Pick Contest

The Votes have been Cast

The winners are Sleeve, for the Hoe and Mike R for his Sconces. Great job and both were very creative. Thanks to all who participated.

The winners will receive a pair of new picks for their ice tools.

View the photos – The vote

5 Minutes with Rob Cordery-Cotter

Rob tells us what he thinks about Mixed Climbing.

View the PDF File

New Grigri Technique Video

There is a new Grigri technique video that reviews both the classic technique for paying out slack and a “new technique” (which internally the Petzl team sometimes refers to as the "Swiss" or the "Canadian technique"). Please take a moment to familiarize yourself with the video and the techniques. The new technique will be in the Grigri's Instructions for use shortly. There is also a new Grigri technique poster in the works. 

Source: Dave Karl

Québec Ice Trip 2007

View the video

"Goddamn, that was good!" - Mike R

"Wow didn't expect that. High production quality of routes in the north east. The China Shop segment was cool." - Smike

"The best video I have seen on Northeast ice climbing. Great to see climbs and people I know in such a well done video." - Doug

Source: Petzl / Dailymotion / Ridgerunner

Canadians Pluck Plum Lines in Icefall Brook

New House-Anderson Line on Wintry Mt. Alberta

Source: Alpinist.com

Quebec Ice - Guidebook updates

Guide des cascades de glace et voies mixtes du Québec

French

Source: Mountain Equipment CO-OP / fertilious

"Kout fuh that fallin ice!"

The Wicked Good Guide to Mainah English

Some Mainah vocabulary so you can have a wicked good time in Maine. Enjoy!

Source: LoriLady - http://mainahglossary.blogspot.com/

Spectacular ice formations; inaccurate descriptions

Photos of a “frozen wave” have been circulating around the web with erroneous descriptions. The real truth is, the formations are amazing and would be spectacular to climb. Just pack your bags for Antarctica. More Photos

Sources
NEice forum – Wormly81, Crag
NWhikers.net
Snopes.com

No falls, no fixed gear, no leashes, no pins, no brains

Ian Austin and Josh Hurst go wild at Goback Mt. NH

Josh Hurst

Cast your Vote for the Used Pick Contest

The photos are in. Tell us who should win

Review the photos – Cast your vote

A pair of picks will be awarded to the winner and runner-up. The deadline for voting is April 4, 2008. 

Dream Within A Dream

The long sought after 2nd ascent of Dream Within a Dream Avalanche Pass, Adirondacks Ny

Matt Horner, Nick Wakeman and Lori Crowningshield

It's in fantastic shape, the main column forms.

Forum discussion on “Dream Within A Dream”

Photos

Photos by Lori Crowningshield

Tee Shirt Contest

View the Contest
Deadline extended: New deadline May 31, 2008. Why think about tee shirts when you can climb ice.

Rain + Cold = Fun

New variation of Omega "The Line of Fire".

Report by Will Mayo

3/11/08 - Cannon Cliff, Franconia Notch NH

Grab Your Bug Spray and Get Out There

A review of the new Adirondack rock climbing guidebook
By Aya Alt

Trip Report

"The Black Dike" - A day with my Dad

Photos & Story by Ryan Corry

Environmentalism

The Wolverine Way

Douglas H. Chadwick

Patagonia.com

Trip Report

Wallface, Adirondacks, NY. - Case Route and Diagonal

Report by Mr. Rogers

Snake Mt. VT

Josh Worley sending the ex "Golden Project"

Photo by Dave Vuono

Blogs

This is a new section on NEice. With so much information listed on blogs these days it is only right that we have a list of ice climbing blog's. I have started a list with some interesting blogs.

The blog page link can be found on the top left of the cover page under NEice TV. Submit your suggestions for ice climbing blogs to Doug

New Englanders Complete Huge Traverse in Patagonia - Climbing.com

Smuggs Ice Bash 2008 BLOG

Check out the page at http://smuggsicebash.blogspot.com/ You can also navigate to the page from the NEice front page. Click Blogs on the left under NEice TV.

Up Coming Ice Festivals

Vermont
February 15-17
The Smuggler's Notch Ice Bash is back for another year. Clinics, gear demos, warming hut, and more. http://www.sunriseclimbing.com/icebash.html

Wyoming
February 15-18
The 10th annual Water Fall Ice Festival in the canyons near Cody. Friendliest little ice festival in the Northern Rockies! http://southforkice.com/event.cfm

Ontario
February 15-18
The 8th annual Batchawana Bay Icefest. Contact info@northofsuperiorclimbing.com.

February 29-March 2
The Nipigon Ice Fest, at the top of Lake Superior. Slide show and great climbing at Orient Bay, Kama Bay, Ice Station Superior, and Paradice. www.nipigonicefest.com

March 6-10 10th Agawa Icefest: After the Icebreaker party on Thursday night, ride a train to the ice at Mile 112 for three days of climbing and camping. Contact info@northofsuperiorclimbing.com

Alaska
February 16-18
The Valdez Ice Climbing Festival: one of the original ice fests, and still some of the best ice. http://alaskagold.com/ice/

Source: AAC E-News

Extreme Ice Survey

Art Meets Science

Two years. 26 cameras. 300,000 images. Greenland - Iceland – Alaska - The Rockies - The Alps. A world of glacial change in time-lapse photography and video. - www .extremeicesurvey.org

Check out the forces in your belay system with the Petzl Fall Simulator

"La Muse" M8 - grade 6 - 120m - Stéphane Husson & Daniel Dulac on a beautifull unclimbed ice fall : "La Muse"

Peter Doucette and Freddie Wilkinson Climb New Route on Cannon

"Firing Line" NEI5+ M6

FA: Peter Doucette and Freddie Wilkinson 1/4/08

On January 4th Freddie Wilkinson and I did three new pitches left of Omega. Our route, Firing Line, began when we exited Omega from the left edge of the large belay ledge below its crux curtain..... - IMCS Guides Blog

NEice TV
Mixed Climbing at Echo Crag Franconia Notch NH - 02/03/08

REPENTENCE "PARTY" of FIVE - Cathedral Ledge, North Conway NH - 02/09/08

15th ANNUAL
MOUNT WASHINGTON VALLEY
I C E F E S T I V A L - 2008

FEBRUARY 7, 8, 9 & 10

1000m Ice Trilogy

Ice Climbing in the Bernese Oberland, Switzerland -- Robert Jasper & Bernd Rathmayr - Photos from Mountain Hardwear on Flickr. The Story on Alpinist.com

Blind Man Climbs Losar

Losar
VI WI5 700M
Khumbu Region of the Himalaya

Erik Weihenmayer, the first blind man to climb Everest and the Seven Summits, has now climbed "Losar."

By Ian Osteyee Adirondack Mountain Guides, Keene, NY

MountainFest 2008

The weather was warm, and so was the company.

Photo report by Doug Millen

The Children's Island

a film by Sam Beaugey and the Planet Big Wall team.

Martial, Blutch, Mimouse, Jean-No, David and Sam went to Gibb's fjord and Sam Ford's fjord last spring, with all the toys to climb, ski, paraglide, jump and kite. They felt like "kids in a Candy store playing with other kids in Clyde River and talking with some Polar bears..."

Sam's Blog http://en.petzl.com/petzl/SportNews?News=198

Climber Killed in an Avalanche

Peter Roux, a 39-year-old from Bartlett, Tennessee lost his life in Huntington Ravine on Mount Washington, NH

At 9:20 pm on January 18 the USFS Snow Rangers were informed that a solo climber was overdue from his climb in Huntington Ravine. The overdue climber had signed into the winter climbers register at Pinkham Notch with the plan of climbing Central Gully in Huntington Ravine. According to his friends who reported him overdue, he had experience in many of the gullies in Huntington Ravine and had talked about Odell Gully as another option for his day. His body was found Saturday morning at the base of Odell Gully by members of the Forest Service.

We wish his family and friends the best.

more at tuckerman.org

LP back in Action!

Note: This posting was updated after LP Menard notified NEice that the routes had previously been climbed by Joe Terravecchia, Casey Shaw and Jim Shimberg.

Just back from Newfoundland, nothing like squeezing a small adventure between the holiday turkey and the new year!! It was a parad’ice discovery!!

Traveling over there with no particular expectation other than exploring and trying to find some wicked, remote big wall with virgin ice lines. We found what we were looking for!! I thought we could have taken a small plane ride to fly over the several fjords of the region to spot and plan our access but with no such transportation available (helicopter ride was 1500$/h, maybe when I win the loto the pilot said to me…) we explored and traveled by skis with sleds, going to areas which appeared steepest on our topographic maps.

We did not have it easy, over 4ft of fresh snow fell while we were there, making the difficult access to the walls even more difficult But it was all worthwhile.

I was psyched with my ankle, this was the first time I climbed since my injury in Pakistan and what a climb, it felt soooo great! I’m actually pretty sure all the skiing helped as a recovering therapy!

Louis-Philippe Ménard

Yan Mongrain approching "Baby Beaver", left, and "Tundering Lard", right, on the Cholesterol Wall, Gros Morne National Park, Newfoundland.

Photo by Louis-Philippe Menard

More Photos

Sir Edmund Hillary Dies at 88

"The revered Sir Edmund Hillary, icon of mountaineering, world explorer, environmentalist, humanitarian, beekeeper, writer and mentor to the climbing community, has passed. He was 88" - More at Alpinist.com

Source - Alpinist.com

Jim Surette and Dan Corn ski Whitehorse Ledge in North Conway NH

The other day I received a phone call from my friend Jim Surette. "Hey I think Dan Corn and I are going to try and ski Whitehorse tomorrow if you want to check it out." - Ann Skidmore

Photos and more at http://www.anneskidmore.blogspot.com/

Northeast local Will Mayo placed 8th overall at the Ouray competition.

"Perhaps the greatest acclamation was not for the top-finishers but for Will Mayo then Rich Marshall, who each dropped a tool while climbing the "tuna rolls." Unwilling to relent they each continued to climb with a single tool, encouraged by the crowd. When the announcer asked Marshall if he was trying to outdo Mayo, Marshall responded: "It looked like [the route] would be easier to climb with one tool. It's a strategy I developed last night." - Alpinist.com - 2008 Ouray Ice Festival Results

See the Trip Report from KZKlimber

Thunder Bay Section - 6th occasional invitational ice climbing weekend - February 1, 2, & 3 2008

ACC members, particularly those from more "vertically-challenged" areas are invited to Thunder Bay for a fun packed weekend of socializing, eating, drinking, spraying and (oh yeah) ICE CLIMBING! All you have to do is get yourself and your gear to Thunder Bay for February 1, 2 and 3, and let us know when/how/where you're arriving, and we'll take care of the rest. We'll arrange transportation to and from various climbing venues depending on conditions and numbers/interests of participants, as well as a place for you to sleep (billets at TBay section members' houses - bring a sleeping bag and pad - you may be on a floor or couch). For more information, go to http://www.acctbay.ca/show_news.php#36

Freedom to Roam

Freedom to Roam, a long-term initiative, is dedicated to establishing migration wild ways for animals between protected areas. Patagonia’s partners in Freedom to Roam include other companies, conservation organizations and recreation groups.

American Alpine Club

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR ICE FESTS

With the ice festival season in full swing, the AAC is looking for volunteers for the Ouray Ice Festival (January 9-13) and the Michigan Ice Fest (February 1-3). Volunteers will man the AAC booth, offer information to guests, and monitor AAC materials. Please contact Dana Richardson if you are able to help.

Recycle Your Rope

AAC Industry Partner Sterling Rope has launched a program to help climbers recycle those old ropes that are cluttering up the closet. Dynamic ropes returned to Sterling’s headquarters in Maine will be melted down and remade into a nylon raw material for carpet fibers, telephones, and children’s toys. To participate, simply send your old ropes to Sterling Rope Company c/o Rope Redemption Program, 26 Morin St., Biddeford, ME 04005-4413. You’ll sleep easier knowing that you’ve finally gotten rid of that useless old cord—without dumping it in a landfill.

Alpinist.com

Inspirations, Part I: Vince Anderson

We asked fellow alpinists to reflect on literature that most inspires their climbing. Vince Anderson and Mark Twight share the darkness in this first installment.

The MountainWorld™ Blog

Picture Perfect: 10 Tips to Take Better Expedition Photos

Tee Shirt Contest

Proposed Design by Meeg

Well there seems to be a lot of interest in having a new NEice Tee Shirt. I have not had time to design one so I thought I would make it a contest. The winning design will go into production. Entries should be posted to the photo section under “Tee Shirt Contest”. The deadline will be May 31, 2008. A poll will be taken in the Community area to select the winner. Prize to be announced at a latter date.

Picks, what to do with used picks?

Win a new pair of Picks

Entries to Date

If you climb a lot, you use a lot of picks. The question is what to do with them. I am looking for practical and humorous uses. Submit your photo and explanation to the Photo section under "Picks" before February 29, 2008 and you could win a new pair of picks for your ice tools. There will be a poll taken in the Community area to select the winners. Rules subject to change with out notice.