In 1989 I enrolled in the Accelerated Freefall (AFF) Program at Skydive New England. The program has 8 training jumps. I failed Level 5....TWICE! But I made it up to Level 4. Out of my 6 jumps, only 3 were videotaped.
Blogging about my journey in rock & ice climbing. And inspiring other women to climb, no matter what age!!
Saturday, April 9, 2022
Sunday, March 20, 2022
Mt. Wachusett - Solo Hike/Scramble
Friday, March 18, 2022
Las Vegas Spring 2022
Our visit out to Las Vegas included hiking in the Zion National Park as well as Red Spring peak rock scrambling. Here's a video collection of other places we visited and sights we saw! (Oops -sorry I forgot to include photos of our golfing in Summerlin!)
Saturday, March 12, 2022
Red Spring Peak - Beginner Scramble
Tuesday, March 8, 2022
Zion National Park, Utah 2022
At the top of the Watchman Trail |
Monday, February 28, 2022
The Railroad Cut - Mixed/Steep Ice Climbing
Met up with some folks for the Mixed/Steep Ice Climbing Clinic put on by the AMC-NH Mountaineering group.
Tuesday, February 15, 2022
The Railroad Cut - Ice Climbing
Checking out the ice for climbing. Photo by @nunofsantos |
It was a cold morning but good for getting some laps in while there's still ice in the area. For the most part, the ice here is still holding up. But some of the routes are baked/delaminated in the areas that get sun and hard and brittle in the shaded areas.
Saturday, February 5, 2022
Purgatory Falls - Ice Climbing
Wednesday, February 2, 2022
Flume Gorge - Ice Climbing
Sunday, January 23, 2022
Sunday, November 14, 2021
Tipsy Taber Trails - Off Roading
More off-roading in CT! Spent the day at the Tipsy Taber Trails in Putnam, CT. This is a 10 acre, private property for weekenders to off-road.
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, October 2, 2021
Intro To Off-Road Driving - NY
Saturday, September 25, 2021
Soapstone Mountain, CT: Off-Roading
From the summit of Soapstone Mountain, CT |
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!
Thursday, April 1, 2021
Turning 60 & Climbing About It!
60 Pitches and Counting!
# of Pitches - Route/Crag - Location - Type - Date
1 - Trestle Slab, Frankenstein Cliffs, Ice Climbing - 1.7.2019
2 - Moss Slab, Stonehouse Pond, Ice Climbing - 1.11.2019
4 - Moss Slab, Stonehouse Pond, Ice Climbing - 1.13.2019
2 - Moss Slab, Stonehouse Pond, Ice Climbing - 1.26.2019
4 - Leprechaun's Lement, Kinsman Notch, Ice Climbing - 2.17.2019
4 - North End Pillars, Cathedral Ledge, Ice Climbing - 2.25.2019
3 - Parking Lot Wall, Rumney, Ice Climbing - 3.2.2019
7 - Moss Slab, Stonehouse Pond, Ice Climbing - 3.3.2019
1 - North End Slab, Cathedral Ledges, Ice Climbing - 3.11.2019
5 - Lost In The Forest, Frankenstein Cliffs, Ice Climbing - 3.17.2019
2 - Parasol Gully, Dixville Notch, Ice Climbing - 4.14.2019
3 - Deer Leap, Rock Climbing, Killington, VT - 5.12.2019
2 - Ship's Prow, Rattlesnake Rocks, MA, Rock Climbing - 5.25.2019
3 - Main Cliff & Meadows, Rumney Rocks, NH - 5.27.2019
5 - Rattlesnake Rocks, MA Rock Climbing, - 6.1.2019
6 - Buffalo Corral, Rumney Rocks, NH - 6.9.2019
4 - Mt. Forist, Rock Climbing, Berlin, NH - 6.22.2019
6 - DLM Memorial - Multi-Pitch Rock Climbing, Mt. Forist, Berlin, NH - 7.4.2019
5 - Buffalo Pit & Buffalo Corral, Rumney Rocks, NH - 7.6.2019
2 - Redrocks, Gloucester, MA - 7.14.2019
4 - Parking Lot Wall, Rumney Rocks, NH - 8.3.2019
1 - Marlow, NH - 8.11.2019
2 - Farley Ledges, MA - 9.28.2019
2 - Thin Air, Cathedral Ledge, NH - 9.29.2019
3 - Ice Cream Parlor, UT - 10.26.2019
4 - Parking Lot Wall & Meadows, Rumney Rocks, NH - 11.1.2019
2 - Leprechaun's Lement, Kinsman Notch, Ice Climbing - 12.22.2019
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 |
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...
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Shaka from the top of Wiessner's Slab Ragged Mountain, Connecticut Spent the Memorial Day weekend with Nicole and climbing in ...
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South Moat Mountain (2,760ft) Trail: Moat Mountain Trail Elevation Gain: 2,200ft Miles: 5.4 miles roundtrip Duration: 3.5 hrs...
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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...