Crack Climbing - Instruction #2

Another great lesson with Tino! For today's lesson I climbed the vertical crack using both hand and foot jams! Warmed up by climbing a couple of easy routes and practicing "locking off" on each hold and climbing squarely. At first it was awkward but once I got onto the crack, it made sense. As for my feet, it felt insecure. I want to trust my feet like I do ice/rock climbing. But I'm such a newbie crack climber that I'm still trying to figure out the feel of a correct foot jam. Today's lesson reminded me of what it felt like when I first started learning to rock/ice climb. I guess with more time and practice I'll get the hang of it! :) Woot! Woot! Love crack climbing!

Sore but happy feet

RR Cut Keene - Ice Climbing

Usually, I would have been out on the ice climbing by this time of the season. But this winter season I've been busy traveling and yesterday finally got out onto some ice. It felt good! I joined the AMC-NH Mountaineering group today for some top rope climbing. It also felt good to get back to "The Cut" and reconnect with old friends as well as make new ones. Ice conditions were perfect! Enjoy some photos of our day.

Top row left to right: Jenifer, Jennifer
Bottom row left to right: Darrell, Finn

Ben Greene

Left: Tom Sintros
Right: George Adams on Solo

With Tom Sintros

With Jen

What's ice climbing without Hawaiian chocolate?

Crack Climbing Skills Seminar

Salt Pump Climbing Gym in Scarborough, Maine has several climbing seminars that are held each month. I signed up for their crack climbing seminar which is limited to 6 climbers. Janet Wilkerson taught the seminar and we learned hand jamming and finger locking. We met upstairs and introduced ourselves, then climbed and down-climbed 5 bouldering routes for warm up. There are 3 floor-to-ceiling crack routes and each is a different size, offering practice for jams, from fingers to fist, depending on hand size. We moved downstairs to the crack routes and broke up into two groups. Janet offered beta to everyone and we got to practice hand, foot and finger locking jamming techniques. In addition to the instruction, I really enjoyed the opportunity to practice techniques with other climbers who are motivated to climb crack! If you want to give crack climbing a try, sign up for the 2-hour seminar. You'll learn essential techniques to get you started, and have fun climbing crack routes! 

**Janet Wilkerson is the Marketing Director of Salt Pump Climbing. She is also an AMGA guide with Cathedral Mountain Guides.

Janet Wilkerson teaching us how to tape up

Lone Mountain - Solo Hike

Shaka from Lone Mountain, Las Vegas, Nevada

Lone Mountain 
Elevation 3,342 ft
Trail: Regular Route
Elevation Gain: 542 ft
Distance: 1.3 miles

Billed as the "locals hike" I finally got to hike Lone Mountain. We had a view of this hill from our room when my husband and I were here in Las Vegas last month. You can read about our visit here. Today I had a bit of time to check it out. It's super fun and if you don't have a whole lotta time, you can get this hike in. The views are phenomenal, well worth the burn on the steep ascent. To access the Regular Route, I parked at the trailhead on Vegas Vista Trail. The parking lot isn't paved and it's across the street from the entrance of a gated community. 

Lone Mountain is a hill that is detached from the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. It's an isolated, rocky butte just northwest of central Las Vegas. The unincorporated community surrounding the hill, is named after it. The Perimeter Loop trail can also be accessed from the East Trailhead at the Lone Mountain Discovery Park on Jensen Street. 

Enjoy some photos taken of my hike!

Along the trail

Summit Marker

Summit Pano

Las Vegas in the distance

Looking down the South Ridge Trail

Sterling Hollow Block - Rappel Backup

So thankful that Alexa told me about the Sterling Hollow Block (shown below) during my private ice lead lesson in 2016. After my lesson at Cathedral Ledge I went straight over to IME and bought one. It's just $12 but this "$12 piece of gear" saved my ass when rappelling off the Eaglet Spire in Franconia Notch, NH! 

When going over the edge both my feet slipped out from under me and I let go of my brake. It was instant and I didn't even realize that I had let go until I was stopped by the face of the cliff. I looked down and there was my Sterling Hollow Block - it had caught me like it was supposed to! I sent Sterling an email explaining how their Hollow Block saved my life and they in turn sent me a bunch of cool swag. 

I personally set this up with the Sterling Hollow Block tied in an autoblock to my belay loop via locking biner, and with my rappel extended on a sling. The Sterling Hollow Block is always on my harness. Always back up your rappels! Sterling Rope of Biddeford, Maine, USA.