Crack Climbing Instruction #6

Fantastic crack climbing lesson with Tino today!! After warmup worked on “Pressure Garden” the green route (right) to practice, what else, cross-body tension - and it was so fun!! The route is a dihedral and is supposed to mimic the 5.11, 5th pitch of The Prow on Cathedral Ledge - "Stemming" used to ascend. Climbing on vertical cracks is super strenuous but I have to admit, it makes the low-angle cracks outdoors easy. #crackclimbinggoals

Rock Garden - Rock Climbing

Rock Garden (5.4)
Lost Horizon, Sundown Ledges
Albany, NH

Got to onsight Rock Garden (5.4) this morning. The chimney was damp and dark and smelled a bit of urine. Got to hand jam, foot jam, face climb, friction and stem on this climb. But I didn't need to do any liebacking as listed on the MP description for this climb. It was a fun climb and hope to get back there to climb again! Lost Horizon is a super nice crag with clean rocks and the base is well shaded. We were the only ones climbing at Lost Horizon and it made for a mellow day of climbing.

Thermacell Backpacker Mosquito Repeller

Eric brought this cool mosquito repeller to the crag and I was impressed! It's very lightweight and kept the bugs and mosquitoes at bay while we climbed. You can order one online here at Thermacell.com

The Main Cliff

A couple of years ago I had hiked the Boulder Loop Trail at Sundown area off the Kancamagus. At the time I didn't realize it was a rock climbing area. Today, Eric showed me the Lost Horizon and Main Cliff area. 

Betty - Multi Pitch Rock Climb

Day at the Gunks

Right to left: Lovena, Richard, Alisa & Nicole

Betty (5.3)
Trad, 150 ft, 2 pitches
Jackie and Friends, The Trapps, The Gunks

Such a stellar day for my first trad lead in the Gunks! I've second several routes at the Gunks many times, but this was my first time leading at the Gunks and it was a most memorable day for me! I lead the 1st pitch of Betty and Nicole lead the 2nd pitch. For the second pitch we took the variation up instead of the chimney. At the finish there were a lot of horizontal cracks which makes the rock look like its stacked - these made for lots of good hand jams! A route doesn't have to be a 'crack climb' in order to utilize its crack(s) as a hold. If you know how to jam, it can make a lot of the climbs easier.

Richard and Alisa paired up to climb Belly Roll and Easy Overhang. Afterwards the four of us checked out Rock and Snow as well as the Rock and Snow Annex. Then sat down for drinks and dinner at the Schazti's Pub & Bier Garden of New Paltz. 

Bringing Nicole up P1 of Betty

Connecticut Rock Climbing

Shaka from the top of Wiessner's Slab

Ragged Mountain, Connecticut

Spent the Memorial Day weekend with Nicole and climbing in her neck of the woods. It was amazing an amazing day!

On the first day Nicole and I went to Ragged Mountain. I wanted to lead a slab so Nicole showed me the Wiessner's Slab. I quickly learned their slabs aren't the same as the slabs I'm accustomed to in NH. 

Nicole didn't want me to miss an opportunity for an on-sight - so I lead Wiessner's Slab and it sure was fun. There were a couple of hand and finger jams as well as a couple of foot jams to satisfy my crack fix! LOL!

Right: bringing Nicole up!

Rain the second day so we shopped at REI. It was cool to see Wilson hanging out!

Afterwards we headed over to Prime Climb climbing gym to do some indoor climbing. There are two crack climbs (in the wall) and I got on both. They're both narrower than the crack I get my lessons on, but I was able to climb both several times. Still fun and it satisfied my urge to climb crack!

The last day we climbed at Pinnacle Rock. I followed Nicole up Double Crutch.  

Nicole at the belay up top!!
Trad is Rad!

Vee Zee (5.4)
FA: 1988 Claude Mallegol & Nunzio Marino

Then I saw this crack that I just had to lead. It's located immediately right of the Emerald City Slab. The start was tough and a reachy for me. It was wide in the beginning and my small hands and feet weren't jamming. But there were good foot places at the back of the crack and the crack was wide enough for me to fit up to my calf. However, as I got higher the crack narrowed and I was able to get a few (shallow) hand jams and a 4-finger slot. Near the top and at the end of the crack I was able to get a couple bomber foot jams in as well. It was an amazing weekend!

Bringing up Nicole on Vee Zee.

Pano from the top of Pinnacle Rock, Connecticut

North Pack Monadnock - Hiking

North Pack Monadnock summit
Summit Shaka!

North Pack Monadnock (2,276ft)
Elevation Gain: 1,350 feet
Trails: Ted's, Cliff and Carolyn's
Distance: 5.6 miles roundrtrip

So much fun rock scrambling in the rain! Gray skies couldn't keep us away from hiking. Got together with 4 others of the Metrowest Retirees (or not yet) Ready For Adventure meetup group for a rainy day hike to the summit of North Pack Monadnock.  Great hiking company, peaceful woods, wildlife surprises and fantastic lookout views near the top more than made up for the challenge of the brutal mosquitoes. We hiked in the clockwise direction taking Ted's trail to the Cliff trail to the summit, then descended via Carolyn's trail. Enjoy some photos of our fun, rainy day hike!

This is my favorite photo of our group as we ascended. Although foggy, I really love the background. A marvelous hike! 

Fun rock scrambling in the rain

Waterfall at mile 1

So many gorgeous views from the lookouts! (3)

Quabbin Reservoir - Hiking

A mellow 5.5 mile hike through peaceful, beautiful woods and sights! Joined the Metrowest Retirees (or not yet) Ready for Adventure meetup group for a hike in the Ware, MA area. The Quabbin Reservoir, Ware River, Wachusetts Reservoir and their contributing watersheds supply drinking water to many communities in the metro Boston area as well as the Chicopee Valley area. The reservation is accessible to the public via more than 50 marked gates from around the perimeter of the reservoir. Our hike took us from the Observation Tower, to the Enfield Lookout, and finally to Hank's Meadow. Enjoy some photos taken of our hike.

Quabbin Observation Tower

Views from the Tower

Along the trail

A fine specimen with hair and bones!

(Coyote scat)

Fiddleheads

Many water crossings

The view from Enfield Look Out

Read here about the underwater ghost town

Pano of Quabbin Reservoir

Reflections

Along the trail

Pinnacle Rock - Rock Climbing

Met up with Nicole to do some climbing in her backyard. We headed out to the Pinnacle Rock crag in the Central Valley of CT. This is the first time I've ever climbed on Traprock and it reminded me of Granite, but more smoother. One of the climbs we did (First Crack) was interesting. I climbed it trying to use as many hand and foot jams as I could, and I was able to get a few good hand and foot jams. One thing I learned while climbing that route - I actually felt more secure using of foot jams to get me through a couple of sections - so fun! Thanks for a great day Nicole! Enjoy a few photos of our day.

Pinnacle Rock in the background

Tadpoles in a puddle at the trailhead

First Crack (5.4)

From the top of Cracked Wall

Bumped into Matt Shove

Here he is leading Second Crack (5.7)

Also got to chat with Bob "Bob-O" Clark

Central Rock Gym - Climbing

Got to introduce several folks of the Metrowest Retirees (or not yet) Ready For Adventure meetup group to some indoor climbing. I organized a meetup at Central Rock Gym in Worcester, MA. and we had a good group to climb. The staff at CRG was fantastic with rental gear and overall gym orientation. It was evident that everyone had a great time. Not only did they learn to climb, but they also improved with every climb - they catch on fast! #borntoclimb #thestokeishigh

Crack Climbing - Instruction #3

Tired, sore and bruised

Sore and bruised finger knuckles - but happy to have a crack climbing lesson with Tino this morning! Worked on getting my thumbs rotated into my palms and then twisting my hand in the crack. Made for a solid hold but I have to remember to keep that all locked as I have a habit of loosening as I move up. As for my foot jam technique, I experienced only one good foot jam today. It was solid as I moved up and there was pressure on my foot but absolutely no pain. Learning on vertical cracks is definitely more challenging than learning on low-angle cracks. But I get so much out of learning to crack climb! It's difficult, but helps me focus and brings me great joy, especially the learning aspect. The rewards far outweigh the pain! 2i - Ice and Ibuprofen!

Women's Climbing Festival - Salt Pump Climbing Gym

Although I didn't get to stay for the film like I had originally planned to, I did get to take the Crack Climbing clinic. The class was limited to 6 and taught by Kaili Throp. I met some other badass women who love crack climbing! Other clinics included Anchor Building, Rappelling 101, Climbing Movement, Training Off The Wall, Intro to Climbing, Kids Intro to Bouldering, Anatomy of a Rope, Project & Route Building Facing the Fear of Falling on Lead, Injury Prevention and Yoga/climbing workshops.