Ouray 2014 – Elite Mixed Climbing Competition

The annual Elite Mixed Climbing Competition was held Saturday, January 11 at the Ouray Ice Festival in front of a record crowd of enthusiastic spectators.
Only three competitors completed the challenging route to the top!

Results of the 2014 Ouray Ice Festival Elite Mixed Climbing Comp:

Top 5 Men:
1 Jeff Mercier
2 Mauro Dorigatti
3 Will Mayo
4 Sam Elias
5 Kyle Dempster

Top 5 Women:
1 Stephanie Maureau
2 Jen Olson
3 Dawn Glanc
4 Emily Harrington
5 Kendra Stritch

Video created by Barry Stevenson, OutsideAdventiureMedia.com.
Music, “Running”, composed and performed by Moby, courtesy MobyGratus.com.

Don't Frachia New York

Some cool mixed climbing.

Source: Jason Hurwitz – Facebook  /  clammchrush – Youtube

Ouray Ice Festival – 2014

The Biggest Ice Festival in North America is happening this weekend, January 9th – 12th, 2014! Start making your plans now for the 19th annual Ouray Ice Festival!

Schedule of Events

The Ouray Ice Park is one of the premier ice climbing destinations in the world. But the amazing walls of ice are not just the work of Mother Nature. The Park is a non-profit organization that relies solely on memberships, sponsorships, and donations to exist. It is home to more than 200 man-made ice and mixed climbs and, despite the high cost of operation, remains free and open for public use. Join the Ice Park team by visiting the Membership page at ourayicepark.com/about/membership.

Thank you for supporting the Ouray Ice Park.

 

Ouray Ice Park: Behind the Ice

Ouray Ice Park: Behind the Ice from Outside Adventure Media on Vimeo.Video created by Barry Stevenson, OutsideAdventureMedia.com.

“Ice”, presented by the Ouray Ice Park

Video produced, directed, photographed and edited by Barry Stevenson, Outside Adventure Media. Visit Outside Adventure Media  for more information, or contact him at bsvideo@gmx.com.

The UP Footage: First Takes

It all started one night just this past October over a couple of beers. We looked at the ‘Mammut 150 Years Peak Project: Trango Towers’ video which used radio control helicopters to capture amazing aerial climbing footage. After the two-minute video was over, Doug looked at me and said, “Hey, we can do that!” If it had been anyone else, I wouldn’t have believed a word of it. But it was Doug Millen, and a short two months later, we were taking his first custom built helicopter out for its first test flight.

It has been nothing short of a journey getting to where we are right now. It started off by learning how to build them and then to fly them. If that wasn’t enough challenge, we ran into seemingly endless electronic issues, big crashes and the subsequent repairs and re-builds. Eventually we faced the inevitable video problems, worked through how to get good footage and then learning the video editing software. And we are still at the beginning of this journey because there is so much more to learn and troubleshoot. I wish there was a camera constantly rolling during these past months to film all that has happened up to this point. It has been an intense labor of love for Doug and it’s been an incredible experience being able to work with him and seeing our shared passion and vision turn into a reality.

I’d like to present the film we showed at the Adirondack Mountainfest and the Vermont Smugglers Ice Bash in a new edited format to everyone who is a part of NEice. I hope you enjoy a collection of the very First Takes!

Thank you to everyone who has been a part of making the UP Project such a fun experience so far and to Luke Cushman, Chuck Drew, Adam E. and all the climbers that let us buzz by.

-Courtney Ley

 

NEice takes to the air in Huntington Ravine

It was Easter weekend and what better way to spend it than with our friends at Harvard Cabin!  Packed in a sizable sled, the latest and greatest flying machine and it’s components were headed up the trail Friday night, ready (or not!) for the job ahead.  The weather and snow conditions were superb for climbing and skiing in the ravines, but NEice pilot, Doug Millen, had his eyes on another type of weather forecast.

After a few weeks of rebuilding the new Woo Kong, version 3.0, we were ready to give it the ultimate test. With its lighter, smaller frame and only 4 props, it earned it’s nickname Pocket Kong.  Saturday morning was a little breezy as we hiked up the trail into Huntington Ravine.  We could have estimated the wind speeds, come up with theories about thermals, debate morning versus afternoon wind directions, time in between gusts, where to fly and when.. or.. we could just Send It UP!  And we did just that.

A few of our aerial photos, courtesy of WooKong 2.5

(click on images to enlarge)

[nggallery id=33]

 

Taking frame grabs makes flying look so beautiful and smooth.  For those of you in the ravine that day, admittedly, it may not have looked so in control.  The winds were high and Pocket went for the ride of its life!   Even though we did get a good few seconds of stable footage (a few seconds is considered a successful flight).. I thought you all might enjoy the best of the worst footage from this weekend.

Here it is, the Out-Take Reel!

The Out-Takes Reel from NEice.com on Vimeo.

 

Submitted by Courtney Ley

Athlete Profile: Erik Eisele

[iframe width=”560″ height=”315″ src=”http://www.youtube.com/embed/aP61U-gse7s” frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen]

A day out with local Bartlett resident Erik Eisele. On this day he and Scott Bubnis climbed Diagnol on Cathedral Ledge, North Conway NH. We previously showed the time lapse of this great winter climb. Here is a look at the climber himself and great footage of the climb. Look for more of Eriks climbing on his blog Shades of Granite

Video by Dustin Marshall

http://dmarshallphoto.com/

Source: Youtube.com

Wolverine – The first WI 11 in ice climbing

Read more here…

Video by Wiktor Skupinski / Latitude Films

Source: Black Diamond Equipment / Vimeo

Diagonal – Erik Eisele and Scott Bubnis

A time-lapse video of Diagonal, Cathedral Ledge NH

Jan. 5, 2013

 

Video by Dustin Marshall Photography

Sources: Youtube / shadesofgranite.blogspot.com / Erik Eisele

Time Lapse Photography in the White Mountains

Time lapse photography has quickly become an obsession of mine. I want to timelapse everything. I thought at first that anything in time lapse would be interesting, but I’m learning what makes for a dramatic scene and likewise, finding out the lack of certain elements can make for a dull scene. This time of year I feel can be somewhat drab for most photographic pursuits unless one has a keen eye for photography.  I strive to be that type of photographer.

This is the first year of a multi-year time lapse project in the White Mountains. So with things being in it’s infancy, I’m dreaming big, learning alot and having too much fun in the process. Ultimately, this view of Cannon Cliff will be shot several times throughout the year and integrated together. I figure if I can make this grey, snowless December a little interesting to view, then the other seasons may be visually pleasing.  You’ll be viewing the entire sequence in which only certain clips will be used. But I don’t want to give away too much just yet!

Photography, specifically the hunt to capture unique shots has been a passion of mine alongside climbing.  The two blend very well together.  It leaves me thrilled to be apart of the NEice team, where that exact passion has a good home.

(Choose 1080p from the drop down menu on the lower righthand side for ‘best’ quality.)

-Submitted by Courtney Ley / leaf

Tug-of-War

AAC – Northeast Region Craggin’ Classic – Games

Tug-of-War at Echo Lake, North Conway NH

The American Alpine Club

Cathedral Fest: Northeast Region Craggin’ Classic: North Conway, NH
September 21-23

Video by Doug Millen / NEice.com