Cinema Gully, East Face Slabs & The Cleft – Multi-pitch Ice Climbing

Cinema Gully (WI2)

East Face Slabs Left (WI3)

The Cleft (WI2+)
Mount Willard

Crawford Notch, NH

I love when Jeff S. takes me ice climbing with him - I get to do some freaking fun climbing on a little alpine playground! Mount Willard is home to some awesome ice and alpine routes. Today I had the opportunity to climb two more of those routes and then finish off on The Cleft.

Cinema Gully(WI2)

It was cool to see a bolt at the belay station of the 1^st pitch. Jeff asked if I wanted to set a belay station there or walk up a bit to a thin sheet of ice. Since it would mean one-and-a-half roped pitches, I choose the latter and Jeff and I walked up to the next belay station where the ice was full of screw holes. It was a gorgeous day…see the sun and blue skies in our photos! :)  After topping off we ascended a bit more to sit and eat our lunches and then traversed over towards the Upper Hitchcock route.

Looking up at Cinema Gully from the train tracks

Jeff and I at the 2nd belay station

Looking up at our last pitch

East Face Slabs Left (WI3)

Our intention was to climb Upper Hitchcock but there were folks already on it. So we climbed the East Face Slabs Left. I thought I was being a good second, all hero and all. I spotted Jeff’s backpack at the base of a tree and thinking we were walking off once at the top, I had the genius idea to haul it up. But when I got to Jeff at the “rap station”, I found out that we were rapping down. I wasn’t paying attention when he mentioned that we were rapping down. 

The base of the East Face Slabs Left

Jeff at the rap station of East Face Slabs Left

It wasn’t easy hauling that backpack up. I hitched one end of a sling to it and the other end to my belay loop on my harness. It was a lot harder than I thought it would be. On the vertical areas of the route that backpack became “really heavy.” It was a good workout pushing up on my feet to get up the vertical sections with that backpack dangling below me! And yes, I also had my own backpack with me! **Thinking back on it, I should've just shoved Jeff's backpack into mine. LOL!

The Cleft (WI2+)

Afterwards we traversed to The Cleft which Jeff led in one pitch. The Cleft is a geological gem-of-a-feature. There was more ice and snow in this slot since the last time Jeff and I had climbed it making for an easier ascent. We topped off, packed our gear away and headed to the Mt. Willard Trail. The last 10 minutes of our hike out was done at dusk. 

Definitely a mellow day of ice climbing Mount Willard! We got 5 pitches and a little over 900 feet of climbing in, hooyah!!

My First Ice Lead – Ice Climbing

Willey’s Slide Center (WI2)

Mt. Willey

Crawford Notch, NH

Super stoked! Did my first lead on ice today! The second pitch of Willey's Slide (center) with Geoff N. Didn't go too far....about 40 meters to set up an anchor on the face of a fat bulge. Placed two pieces of pro (very snowy pitch).

The approach (steep uphill) wasn’t what I was looking forward to. But once at the base of the climb, it was all but forgotten. There were rolls and rolls of ice, most of it on the left side. Geoff decided on the center of the Slide.

There was a group of 3 in front of us and Geoff and I quickly set up to come up about 20 feet to the right of them. In the meantime, a group of half dozen showed up, plus two more teams which set up on either side of us. The entire climb went on without a hitch. It was a bit chilly and few periods of sunshine, but hardly any wind. At the first belay station I stayed focus on belaying Geoff, it made me less nervous not to think about leading the 2^nd pitch. 

Once at the 2^nd belay station Geoff asked me if I wanted to lead the next pitch. There was no pressure to do so. In fact, he told me that I could place a few pieces of protection and lower down if I didn’t want to continue. Or I could continue to a bulge and set up our 3^rd belay station. I decided to go for it. We made sure I had all the necessary gear for my lead. At first I was a bit nervous and slightly anxious. But once I left the belay station and started climbing, I was able to focus and relax. 

My ice screws went in easily - love that color-coded handle that makes it so easy to place/remove. I also made use of a couple of my Yates Screamers. At the belay station I set up 3 ice screws for anchors, clove-hitched myself into them and attached the cordelette for the Direct Belay. I didn’t know it then, but I should’ve been much lower than my belay device. It would’ve made it easier for me to take up rope. Once Geoff got up to the belay station, he gave me feedback. He demonstrated how easy it was to take up rope when well below the belay device and he critiqued my belay/anchor system. It was a good day! :)

Geoff's GoPro vid of my lead up the 2nd pitch. 

We ended up climbing the Slide in 4 pitches. That group of 3 (guide and two students) on our left took the “good tree” for an anchor so Geoff set up anchor just slightly right of the middle of our finish. We finished at the very tip-top of the Slide and that last pitch stretched out the 70m ropes to their very ends.

Back in the parking lot I had forgotten to hand Geoff his orange rope.  When I got home I didn’t empty my pack right away. I left Geoff’s rope and all my gear in my pack and weighed it….33 lbs! Didn’t realize I had hauled that weight up and down Willey’s. 

Overall, this was a fun day, but I do have to admit, however, it was tough. I thought climbing the Slide was tougher than climbing Lake Willoughby the week prior. 

The Tablets Center - Ice Climbing

The Tablets Center (WI3-4)

Lake Willoughby State Park

Westmore, Vermont

From our roadside parking

The Tablets Center approach

Looking back at Geoff

Aaahh!

GoPro

I'm loving my Eddie Bauer First Ascent

The rest of the gang

Geoff & I at the 3rd belay station

Route 5A

Back at the base of the climb and cleaning things up

Beautiful sunset over Mt. Hor

At the Willoughvale Inn & Cottages

Willoughvale Inn & Cottages is just under 5 miles North from the crag. This was my first stay here. It’s a very pretty inn but there were several  issues I found to be an inconvenience; they had lost their chef, so no dinner served at night. Breakfast served at 8:30am but I spoke with the innkeeper and she was able to get me breakfast 30 minutes earlier. If you have Verizon as your service provider, forget about texting, emailing and phone. I did, however, manage to find a spot in the corner of my room where I was able to receive/send calls, texts and emails.  In between the crag and the inn is the Willoughby Lake Store. It’s owned and run by a couple Jim & Sandy and they have a Blue Shar Pei named “Buddy.” There’s one gas pump outside and they serve hot/cold sandwiches, pizza and soup. Not to mention several “Made In Vermont” items. I made sure to purchase some to send home to my mom in Hawaii. 

Ice fishing shantys on Lake Willoughby

Climbing at Lake Willoughby felt like climbing at Cannon.....its that same expanse, that same exposure.....that same gratifying feeling of climbing something so much bigger than yourself. I loved it. Also, the weather was beautiful! Warm temps of mid-20's with periods of sun and hardly any wind, we lucked out!!! I hope to be back again to climb at Lake Willoughby, gotta get my “big ice” stoke on.  So long Mt. Pisgah ice!

Farley Ledges - Trad & Sport Lead

Headed out to Farley Ledges today and did some easy Trad & Sport leading. Thanks to Jeff and Geoff for the lead betas and belays!

Me on a trad lead (3)

Then onto a sport lead

Geoff (3)

Crepes, Lulumahu Falls - Hiking

Lulumahu Falls 
Difficulty: Easy to Moderate
Danger: Low to High (slippery, muddy spots along trail, several water crossings, potential loose rocks/debris at top of waterfall)

My last day of hiking on O’ahu was spent with Neil and my cousin Darrell. Delicious crepes, hiking a beautiful lush valley and great hiking companionship....what more could a girl ask for!

The morning started off with Neil treating us to a pre-hike breakfast at Crepes No Ka Oi in Kailua. I have to admit, I’ve never been to a Creperie and I didn’t know what to expect. But Neil highly recommended this eatery, and I’m sure glad we ate there. We got there 5 minutes before they opened and Neil pointed out the menu that was posted in the window. I was surprised to find out that they also made meat crepes. Neil suggested the Popeye’s Power crepe made with fresh spinach, sautéed onions, melted Jack and Cheddar cheeses, honey ham with a side of Hollandaise sauce. I love fresh spinach so Popeye’s it is! 

It was fun to watch them make the crepes on these special griddles.

Popeye’s Power Crepe - it was a simple, but filling meal. Actually, I couldn’t eat the entire crepe. Just under the orange slice there is a white orchid and its edible – it tastes like lettuce! 

Berry Heavenly Crepe  - a Hawaiian sugar crepe topped with fresh raspberries, blueberries, and strawberries topped with whipped cream and powdered sugar! (sorry for the blurry iPhone photos!)

The place is cozy, but very clean with lots of good light and local paintings on the walls. I really love the crepes here, better than pancakes anytime. Can’t wait to eat here again when I come to visit O’ahu! Afterwards Neil took us to hike to Lulumahu Falls and to Kaniakapupu (the ruins of King Kamehameha’s III summer home), both in Nu’uanu Valley.

The trail leading to the falls is a beautiful walk in the woods! 

Strawberry Guava and Wild Awapuhi grow alongside some portions of the trail.

There were several stream crossings and this hike is easy with slight elevation gain.   

Darrell testing his smartphone underwater

Haiku Stairs & Pu’u Keahi a Kahoe – O’ahu, Hawaii

Haiku Stairs (2,800ft)
aka Stairway To Heaven
Elevation Gain: 2,560ft

Pu’u Keahi a Kahoe (2,820ft)
Elevation Gain: (2,580ft)

Trails: Kamananui Valley Rd, Kulana’ahane Trail
Distance: 8.5 miles
Duration: 6.5 hours (includes stops for breaks along the trail and at summits)
Difficulty: Easy to Very Strenuous
Danger: High (exposed/narrow ridges with steep drop-offs, steep staircase, high winds)

The beauty of lush, tropical ridges and the Haiku Stairs summit in clouds coupled with high winds made this hike both beautiful and amazing! Not only did this hike peak my curiosity, it commanded my respect. A truly unforgettable hike! Shoots, an unforgettable walk from Honolulu to Kaneohe!

My cousin and I joined up with 3 others to hike! Our original plans were to hike all 3 peaks of Olomana but the night before I checked weather reports for rain and it looked like it would be way too slippery for Olomana. We were invited to hike to Haiku Stairs via the Moanalua Middle Ridge from the Moanalua Valley Park. So my cousin and I decided to go for it! 

The Kamananui Valley Road trail is a classic stream hike that took us over several Moanalua Stream crossings. This portion of the hike was easy to navigate as it winds through the lush valley. Shortly before taking the Kulana’ahane trail, we met up with the Hiking Oahu Trailblazers (H.O.T.). My Kahtoola Microspikes got a lot of attention. I didn't realize that I was the only one wearing spikes. Several of the hikers in the HOT group asked me about them. 

From the get-go the Kulana’ahane Trail gains elevation quickly and doesn’t let up. The trail along the lower ridge is overgrown in some spots. Some sections of the trail were board and other sections were narrow with very little or no foliage to offer the hiker a sense of security or grip. As we continued our traverse upwards, there were many long, steep climbs where ropes had been installed. I was so glad for the ropes as the trail got slicker as we gained elevation. I was also glad that I wore my Microspikes!

The higher we hiked the wetter it got and we continued to

slop our way up muddy trails that were just a foot or two wide!
More butt sliding, this time downward (video)

   

 

We finally summited Pu’u Keahi a Kahoe (Kahoe’s fire)! There is a small wooden sign as well as 3 benchmarks to distinguish the summit. We continued on and the winds grew stronger and we were in the clouds more often! :)

Video of the views from the last ascent before reaching the top.

The winds here had to be 25-30 mph!
(Still shots really couldn't capture the magnitude of the winds like a video can!) 

    After 5.5 hours, we reached the CCL (Communications Control Link) building.Now for the fun part, descending Haiku Stairs.....all 3,922 steps!

Haiku Stairs descent (video)

    Warning: Haiku Stairs is officially closed and it is illegal to access the stairs.If you attempt this hike, you do so at your own risk.