North Face of Pitchoff
We decided to try the North Face of Pitchoff Mountain.
There are a couple long but reasonably moderate routes
here in the WI3-4 range that we thought would be great.
But, after trying to get up another hill with terrible tires
and slimy snow, our approach doubled.
An hour and a bit later we reached the base of the climbs,
seen here. It was too late in the day to get on the longer
routes, so we tried a shorter route.
We trudged through very deep snow to the base where a party
passed the route for one in better condition 50 feet right.
I started climbing leaving Laura belaying as the temperature
started to decrease.
01-JAN-2008
Pitchoff approach slog(Laura)
A shot of me after most of the slog.
I think the skiing the day before made it a
little bit harder. I was BEAT by the time we
got in.
Homemade Tools
I thought I'd get a shot of this thing.
Notice how it's burried in the ice. Snow
had fallen here, too, and a crust of thin ice
covered a layer of slush and the ice below.
It was a bit freaky when it got steeper.
01-JAN-2008
Before the fun (Laura)
Me before the actual fun part of the route, seen above,
and much before the not so fun upper part.
Down Moss Ghyll (NEI 3-4)
The amount of snow on the route can be seen here.
Laura, freezing, can also be seen.
Moss Top
After the last steep section and almost out of rope
I decided to grovel through the snow above a tree instead
of head directly to the belay trees. It was an absolutely
stupid idea. The rope came tight a few feet from the trees.
Laura was way too frozen to climb and it was getting dark,
so I threaded the anchor, took the useless heat pack out of
my boot, rubbed some blood back into my toes, and cleaned
the route. We glisaded, fell, and post holed
back to the pond below the routes, and started the walk out.
Laura was frozen, I was cold and sore, and we had a long walk.
We arrived at the car by headlamp and went back to our warm
haven for some tea.
Chapel Pond Climbs
After a good nights sleep we got moving out of
town and home. We had one last view of Chapel
Pond before we actually set off.
It was a wonderful trip. The climbing was excellent
as was the company.
Much thanks to the Keene Valley Hostel, Jake, Robyn,
and Rory, for an amazing and clean place to stay.
I'm glad I could spend the week with Laura in a new
place doing something we both love!
