Blogging about my journey in rock & ice climbing. And inspiring other women to climb, no matter what age!!
Thursday, September 1, 2022
YouTube Channel - Hawaii Girl Adventures
Sunday, June 26, 2022
Cormier Magness (5.6) - Multi pitch Rock Climb
It was a short, but brutal hot day for us! But still glad to be able to get out and onto a couple of pitches of the Cormier Magness route on Whitehorse Ledge.
Sunday, October 24, 2021
Cathole Mountain Rock Climb, CT
Cathole Mountain, CT - Lovena, Jeni & Renee |
Another round of climbing in CT, this time on Cathole Mountain! Jeni, Renee, and I got in some laps on Pink Elephants (5.6), Golden Book (5.6), and Pegasus (5.8). It was a fun day filled with climbing, eating, and laughter. So happy to help you out again Jeni! :)
Sunday, October 17, 2021
Pinnacle Rock, CT - Rock Climb
It was good to get back to Connecticut to climb again. 3 years ago I onsighted VeeZee (5.4), a super fun crack! Today Jeni lead VeeZee and we also got in a couple laps on Leap Frog (5.6), Wizard Of Oz (5.7) and Emerald City (5.8). So happy to help you out Jeni! :)
Sunday, October 10, 2021
Indigenous Peoples' Day Weekend Climb - NH
Artist Bluff - Lovena, Jeni & Erika |
Saturday, May 1, 2021
My Decade of Climbing
The Good, The Bad, The Ugly
I wanted to post this last year, but I held off until now with everything going on with Covid. May 2020 marked 10 years of climbing for me. It's not a very long time, but long enough to have some experiences I'd like to share.
The Good - It started as a bucket list. I had only heard of rock climbing after receiving mail from my local YMCA advertising climbing classes. Not knowing what to expect, I signed up for 6 private 1-hour lessons for $99. That was May 2010 and by August, my instructor had brought me to Rumney Rocks in NH where I lead some easy sport routes on the Venus Wall. After my 6-private lessons, my instructor suggested I look into joining some climbing meetup groups and try out MetroRock in Newburyport. I joined 3 climbing meetup groups, two of which were run by women. It was such a good experience climbing in the two meetup groups run by women, I have met some amazing people and have experienced so many fun and challenging climbing sessions I will never forget. But unfortunately, these two women's meetup groups closed down and it was too bad because they were ahead of their time! And after almost 8 years, I left the third climbing meetup group.
The Bad - The third meetup group was run by a guy and most of its members were men. Eventually, I came to realize that if I stayed in this meetup group, there was a good chance I wouldn't gain any leading experience like some of the other men in the group were afforded - especially after the organizer told me that I was only good enough for organizing indoor meetups. I even tried setting up climbing with him several times so I could demonstrate that I could be a safe partner, but I was always turned down. I didn't want to waste any more of my time waiting for the organizer to decide for me when I was going to lead outdoors, so I moved on and found other folks/groups to climb with. Once I moved on, I was able to lead and have been so much happier!
The Ugly - When there is drama from an insecure spouse/significant other/partner of a climbing partner, then it's splitsville for me. I never dreamed this would happen to me and was totally caught off-guard. I had never done any alpine-type ice climbing and TJ was willing to bring me up as his second. I was pretty stoked about getting out on routes I had never climbed. But apparently, his girlfriend wasn't too happy about it. My being happily married didn't matter either, it didn't prevent jealousy from his insecure girlfriend. Since insecurity can't be fixed by anyone else except for the person who is feeling it, I stopped climbing with TJ. I didn't want to have to deal with his girlfriend's drama and I wanted her creepy emails to stop. And it wasn't my job to make his girlfriend feel secure. My guess is that she probably didn't have any problems with his male climbing friends.
As I said, I haven't been climbing for very long, but over the years I've seen that climbing has evolved. I see more women and people of color out climbing. And because of this, it's been easier for me to find other climbers that I can relate to.
Through the years, I've also learned important qualities when choosing my climbing partners. Most importantly, to be a good climbing partner to my partners - and for me, that means being an attentive belayer, prioritizing safety, and being a reliable partner. I've sifted through people and many experiences to get where I now have climbing partners that I feel safe with, am comfortable with, and whose company I genuinely enjoy.
So there it is! Just a few of my experiences since I started climbing in 2010 that I wanted to share! I can't wait to see what the next 10 will bring!
Monday, January 18, 2021
Top 25 Climbing Blogs of 2021
Sunday, October 11, 2020
Evening Blues - Multi Pitch Rock Climbing
Met up with Nuno for some fall climbing at Longstack Precipice in Alton, NH. Nuno lead P1 of Evening Blues (5.7) and I finished up by leading P2. At the top of P2 of Evening Blues I met and spoke with guide Jonathan Fouser.
Onto Coyote Rain, Nuno lead P1. On my turn to climb, I couldn't make it over the roof. When I did this climb 5 years ago with Kevin D. leading, I had no problems getting over that roof. It was fun and easy. But nowadays, I don't care for roofs and overhangs....getting old! LOL! So Nuno lowered me and we called it a day! Such a beautiful day for climbing with amazing fall foliage views. Enjoy some photos of our day.
At 1.5 miles of Rines Road in Alton, drive through the first gate and sign for the Knight’s Pond Conservation Area. Go to the very end and park in the parking lot with a kiosk. Large boulders border the parking lot. Between two boulders is a shortcut path. This is the climber's path to the Longstack area.
Take the half-mile path to the intersection of the dirt logging road. Follow for a few minutes and on your left a “climbers path” is marked with a cairn - there may be some overgrowth near the start of this path but there is def a path here. Follow this well-worn path to the base of the Indigenous Wall.
Great lead by Nuno! P1 of Evening Blues |
Looking up at P2 from the P1 belay of Evening Blues |
Bringing Nuno up P2 of Evening Blues |
Before we left I got a photo of Louisa bringing Dan up P1 of Evening Blues |
Sunday, September 20, 2020
Buffalo Corral - Rock Climbing
Top of Stampede (5.8)
Nuno at the top of Bison Burger (5.7)
Our last leads at the Corral was on the Book Of Sins, 5.5 (below). Fun leading this way-too-short route. And today it wasn't as dirty, wet, and mossy like it was back in July 2019!
Sunday, September 13, 2020
Redrocks Gloucester - Rock Climbing
The Masters Wall |
Spent the morning climbing at Redrocks with Jeni. We had planned to climb at the "Down Under Wall" but couldn't find it, so we headed to the Main Wall. We started by each leading Roll The Bones 5.6, a sport route on the left side of the Main Wall. Since it was Jeni's first time at Redrocks, I wanted to set up a top rope on the center of the Main wall, particularly The Zipper. But a party of 7 was already setup, complete with two hammocks. :) So we climbed Luck Of The Irish 5.8 and The Vatican 5.7 on the Masters Wall. Then finish on The Pink Floyd Wall climbing Meddle 5.6, And I gave the Unnamed Bolted Face 5.10 a try but could only get up to its first bolt.
Jeni on Meddle (5.6) |
Sunday, July 19, 2020
Main Wall, Dorset Street Crag - Rock Climbing
We set up a top rope for a couple of climbs on the left side of the Main Wall. It was so hot and humid, and the rock was super slick. But it sure was fun to get out for a couple of morning laps. It was pretty buggy there as well and although I used bug spray, I still got bit. Got sunburn as well and scraped up my right shin pretty good from jamming the crack of Deception, so next time I'll remember to wear long pants. The top of the crag is just 60 feet or so from North Bennett Street so we exited that way, then walked a bit up the road to our cars. We plan to come back in the fall when the temps are cooler - so I took coordinates of the top of the trail at the North Bennett Street using my iPhone's Compass app. Enjoy a few photos taken of our day at the Dorset Street Crag.
Saturday, June 20, 2020
Middlesex Fells - Rock Climbing
At Crag 3, Nuno and I climbed two routes. It was our first time climbing at Crag 3, it was hot and muggy, but it sure was fun to get back to climbing slabs. And since the slab wasn't under a blanket of trees like Crag 1 Pinnacle, it wasn't as muggy and the rock here wasn't too slick. There were no other climbers there but we did see 3 hikers.
Nuno brought along this Thermacell Patio Sheild Mosquito Repellent and it worked beautifully!
Friday, May 29, 2020
Black & White Rocks - Rock Climbing
Nuno, Iskuhi, and I met up for some climbing at Middlesex Fells. We all live in Massachusetts and when we meet up to climb, we usually head north to places like Rumney, New Hampshire to climb. But with the pandemic, Rumney and many of our favorite climbing crags in New Hampshire are closed. So we met up to do some climbing at Pinnacle Rock, in the Black & White Rocks crag. In the parking lot, we didn't do any hugs, high-5's, or handshakes, but we never did anyways. We hiked to Crag 1 (Pinnacle Rock) maintaining social distancing and there was no one else on the trail. We purposely chose to climb on a weekday because it would be less crowded as the weekends here are mobbed by hikers and climbers.
I'm sure Nuno and Iskuhi came prepared, but in case they didn't, I had extra facemasks, hand wipes, and hand sanitizer - which I also carry in my truck, golf bag, and hiking backpack.
At the crag, we were the only climbers, and the only other people we saw that day was a group of 6 hikers on the main trail. I bought my trad rack with the intention of doing some trad leading but decided not to because the rock felt really slick and I personally don't like the idea of leading in muggy weather - I have a fear of slipping off the rock in muggy weather. After two hours of climbing, we called it quits because it just got way too muggy. Enjoy some photos of our day of climbing.
Monday, September 30, 2019
September Weekend Climbing
Farley Ledge
Met up with Iskuhi, Danica, and Jen at Farley Ledge. A bit crowded (a group of 13 at one area!) and managed to get in a lead and some climbs. Also met a bunch of really nice climbers (and dogs) as well. Super fun day!
Thin Air, Cathedral Ledge
Jackie and I met up in the Cathedral Ledge parking lot. At the base of Thin Air. Jackie lead the first pitch and brought me up. I hemmed and hawed and finally decided to lead the second pitch. Everything was going great until I reached a really sketchy section and realized I didn't have the cam I needed. I knew right off the bat..." that crack was a #2 because that's my hand jam size." The feet at this particular section was sketchy, but I had to make sure. So I tried a #0.75 and #1, but both were too small. And the #3 and it was too big. I came back down to the little ledge and looked back at Jackie at the belay. I had both number 2's already placed. And why the hell did I place that #1 so closely to the second #2.......WTF Lovena? With no #2 to place, I had two choices. Climb through the section that sketched me out or bail. I bailed and back climbed to Jackie at the belay and she finished up leading the traverse. We rapped after the second pitch. Back down on the ground, I had a really good cry to get it out of my system. I don't know why, but I was really off today and crying was out of frustration and to vent. It felt good - time to move on!
Monday, August 12, 2019
Sunny Slab Left - Rock Climbing
Today Nuno and I checked out the climbing crag at the Burns McIntire Forest area in Marlow, NH. There were only two other climbers when we got there and they were super helpful with the local beta. I hadn't climbed here in years but the place pretty much is the same as I remembered it.
I lead the Sunny Slab Left (5.7) first with no problems, then it was Nuno's turn. Everything was fine until he got above the last clip and placed his hand in the small horizontal crack. Long story short - our climbing was cut short by some pretty aggressive locals!!
Thank you, Nuno, for your photos and your help and support for my "Turning 60 and Climbing About It" project! With today’s climbing, I’m at 29 leads of 76 pitches! Enjoy some photos taken of our day.
Sunday, August 4, 2019
Parking Lot Wall - Rock Climbing
Saturday, July 20, 2019
Custer Gallatin National Forest, Montana 2019
YouTube Channel - Hawaii Girl Adventures
Check out my YouTube channel at: Hawaii Girl Adventures I will eventually be phasing out blog posts and be posting videos of my climbing, h...
-
Shaka from the top of Wiessner's Slab Ragged Mountain, Connecticut Spent the Memorial Day weekend with Nicole and climbing in ...
-
South Moat Mountain (2,760ft) Trail: Moat Mountain Trail Elevation Gain: 2,200ft Miles: 5.4 miles roundtrip Duration: 3.5 hrs...
-
Just a few photos of some short hikes on a weekday. Spent the day at some mellow waterfalls and at the top of Cathedral Ledge. The trai...