27-DEC-2007
Pre Sheik of the Burning Sands (WI 4-)
Our warmup for the trip and, due to the lack of cold weather in Hamilton one of
Laura and my first ice climbs of the season, turned out to be the hardest grade
we climbed the whole trip! We mistook this for another route, which was easier
but VERY thin at the time. Oh well!
I was eager to try the new tools I made (background) and get climbing, so I racked
up and started. It felt a bit stout for the grade that I thought it was, but it
was early in the season so I shrugged it off!
27-DEC-2007
Up Sheik (by Laura)
Laura followed the pitch to the belay tree testing her new tools
and finishing her first ice climb of the year! She took this while
rapping the route.
We walked down the horrendously snow laden slope back to the car
and continued looking for a place to stay, which landed us at the
Ark Hotel. Jim and Gabby, the owners, were extremely accomodating and
friendly; a trend that seems to occor frequently in Keene Valley!
Chapel Pond Slab
The next morning we woke to a nice breakfast provided by Jim.
These people are honestly so nice! It's like Keene Valley attracts
goodness!
Anyhow, we didn't know what we should get on, but the book said that
Chapel Pond Slab was long and relatively moderate, so we parked there
and headed for the base of the route.
Here is Laura at the base. 700 feet above is the end of the last pitch
with thin or none existent ice over snow and some plump ice up top.
I passed a miniscule belay tree that was supposed to be the end of pitch 1
and Laura simulclimbed below me until I found a stout tree to make a belay.
28-DEC-2007
P1 CPS
Here I'm moving up the first pitch! Thin but not steep!
Laura finishing P1
Here is Laura moving towards the tree belay at the end of a long
pitch 1.
28-DEC-2007
P2 on Chapel Pond Slabs
I set off again on the second pitch. The ice was starting to thicken up and
take some gear, which was nice. This route is well regarded in the book for
good reason. A look over your shoulder exposes you to a great view of the mountains!
Laura climbing
I just about ran out of rope after a few more vertical steps, and
found a logical spot to make a belay. A few screws later and Laura
was sinking picks into ice instead of rock (both her and my picks
were blunt).
Close to the Belay
She arrived at the belay smiling but getting tired, as was I!
We tend to not put too much emphasis on doing tonnes of stuff
when we get away climbing, but put weight on having a tonne of
fun! So, we ended up getting on this climb at about 11 o clock.
After Laura arrived I sorted the rack out and started towars the crux
of the route. About 15 feet of steepish ice led to 60 feet of mushy new ice
and snow where a belay could be made to end pitch 3.
P3 CPS
I couldn't really see or hear Laura until she came over the lip
seen here. This picture doesn't really do justice to the exposure.
It's not the gnawing kind of exposure you get on vertical routes but
a vastness that kind of sucks you away. It's really beautiful.
P4 CPS - snow slog
The last pitch of the route would be fun to ski if it was
a few thousand feet longer. A bit of ice (I don't remember
how much) led to a nice snow slope that apparently likes to
avalanche on occasion. It was a gearless pitch and was over
quickly but ended a great route!
A comfy belay!
Laura followed quickly as I sat comfortably on my pack
attached to a 6 inch cedar.
Chapel pond summit
Here we are at the top but not finished with the roped climbing yet.
The light was fading and there was still a half rope length of snow to
traverse over a long drop and a long descent.
Rap anchor
Just as it was getting dark we started walking towards the large
descent gully to the car. When I couldn't see past the beam of my
headlamp and had no idea what was ahead out the rope came! We
wrapped a tree and started rappeling. Further along was this
station, and others.
Laura coming down
We rappeled into the dark and into unknown, which I had yet to
really do under these circumstances. One rap below here was
a 20 foot vertical ice step that I was thankful we decided
to get the rope out. One more unneccesary rappel and the
rope went back in the pack. Laura was really keen to see
a bear. I was really keen to push her in the snow.
Back in the Car!
No idea what time this was, but we were back after a
fantastic route!
Drying Rack
Back in the hotel we tried to dry everything out.
I hear petzl ropes don't freeze...? Maybe they don't
freeze for the people that are sponsored by them?
The Beal's that are here are great, but they still
like sopping up water. Anyway....
Our first outing to the Ausable Inn was this night, I
think. We discovered that 24 dollars can still get you
2 HUGE burgers and 2 pints of beer!
30-DEC-2007
Chapel pond and Chouinard's!!!
This day we somehow managed to get out of bed at 5:30.
I think it was because bed consisted of a thermarest on the
floor of the Ark's Hotel restaurant.
We arrived at Chapel Pond at 7am, just as it was getting light.
There was a solitary car in the pullout with a presumably cold man
asleep in the back seat. We wanted to get on Choiunard's Gully
first this day, and it looked like we were going to!
30-DEC-2007
Racking for Chouinard's gully (WI3)
I racked up under the legendary climb and put my pack on.
Soon there would be a line up at the base and someones rope
endlessly running over the climb.
P1 Chouinard's
Traffic on this route knocks the status from "classic"
to "absolutely picked out." I'm certain that when it has
virgin ice on it it would be a stellar climb, and the view
of Chapel Pond and the surroundings is excellent. The right
variation is quite fun, though! Laura followed with ease.
Laura following P2
The top pitch has a lot of potential for variations.
Gear was good here, too, if I remember! There is even a
cool mixed variation up the rock where the rope disappears!
Laura again cruised to the top.
Topout
Not 2 minutes after Laura (not tired at all) arrived
at the top, another climber came up and slung the trees.
There was another party at the base waiting patiently for
less ice to be flung on their heads.
Chouinard's summitshot
I would conclude that Chouinard's is a great route if
done at the right time. It was fun, without a doubt, but I
must have had a lot higher expectations. Perhaps it was from
the anticipation. 2 or so years ago when I had come to the Dacks
in February (comimg home with numb toes lasting a month) I spotted
the gully on our way out of town. We had arrived in the dark
and didn't get a good view of the Chapel Pond climbs until we
left. That day I said I would do this route. I guess 2 years
had bigged it up a bit! I hear Dogleg, to the left of Chouinard's,
is quite a good route, too.
White Line Fever redirect (WI4- thin and fun)
The day was still young due to the early start, so we
decided that a link of Chouinard's and the top pitch of
White Line Fever was the thing to do as the descent from
the former intersects the latter.
So I started up not knowing that some surfer gumbies were
going to rap on my head. I hid from their debris after clipping
a manky pin. Yes, it was my fault to climb under them.
The route was quite thin for how steep it was and also a
lot of fun!
Laura down WLF
Here is Laura moving up the gentler bottom quarter of the
pitch. Above the ice thins and so did the gear.
the tiny cedar
the tiny cedar and a 12cm Grivel was the only gear I could
get. Not that you can fall on ice anyway, but knowing that
the tree you slung is going to break and hit you in the head
on the way down always makes thin climbing more fun! In all
honesty it was more committing than I had expected. Laura had
a bit of a rough time seconding the thin stuff with another 7 lbs
of rope on her back, but she pulled all the moves! here she is
placing a tool in a thicker spot.
almost there
Close to the belay with most of the fun over with
for this route!
File required
I'm glad I brought one. I think we have to work
on being a bit more delicate on thinner ice.
Sometimes I can't help it.
Summitshot
Right above my helmet is the end of the drip leading to
a WI hard finish to this route. It was too thin and
steep for me to dare it.
The top pitch of WLF follows a perfect little gully.
a belay in the trees at the bottom should be off to one side, though.
CG backdrop
yet another party on Chouinard's. Laura for scale.
Power Play area
Power Play in fairly fat conditions. I was tempted to
try the right variation (WI4+) but we didn't have time and
I didn't have the guts.
Pick follies
Somehow Laura managed to not only trip over her
clumsy feet, but also managed to get one of the picks
from the tools on her harness to go through her trousers
and put a small hole in her right bum cheek. She had a
great bruise.
all is well on the pond
We managed to pick her up and get the pack off her
back so I could eat some lunch. We had one more route
in us. We were looking at a long gully far right of
the Power Play area that was apparently long and easy.
Our ambition to try it faultered in the boulderfield
below the route, and we continued walking into the
Canyon.
winter wonderplace
The big snowy boulders are amazing to walk through.
If there was no climbing here it would still be a
great place to be!
Quinn The Eskimo! (NEI2)
This route was in the same condition as the first time
I climbed it, 2 years earlier. This time Laura took the lead
and climbed a short pitch to a tree belay on the left. It was
Laura's first ice lead and she did well!
Above her belay I made an anchor on the trees. Snow had fallen
and ice had formed over top, just as before, making for a wierd,
thin crust over powder with more solid ice underneath. It made
the climbing feel a little harder than WI2, but it was fine!
Quinn Topout
The last route after a good long day of climbing!
31-DEC-2007
Ski Break!!!!
A few days before this we had driven through
Wilmington Notch on yet another search for a place
to stay and came upon Whiteface Mountain. Laura
had to get some ski time in. The hills in Onterrible
tend to be short so a few thousand feet of skiing
and lots of runs were desirable! It was a lot of fun!!
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!
