Learning to crack climb!

Crack climbing is hard. 😄 I took private lessons from Tino and it was both fun and hard learning how to crack climb on the 5.9 Crack at the Salt Pump Climbing Gym. I love climbing at Salt Pump - thanks to Noreen for the belay and video of my practice climbs.

Hammond Pond - Top Rope Rock Climb

 Mother's Day climbing on puddingstone! Pusherman and Lower Walls of Hammond Pond.

Auschwitz 1, Poland

 

Photos of my April 27, 2019 visit to Auschwitz 1 in Poland.  Viewer's discretion is advised. This video is strictly to educate on the events that occurred during the Holocaust in WWII. WARNING: This video contains photos of the actual camp.

http://www.auschwitz.org/en/

Mt. Monadnock

 

Fun scrambling to the summit of Mount Monadnock! Took the White Dot trail up, and the White Cross trail back down. About 15-20 feet to the right of the last cairn on the White Dot trail, I spotted a cool looking slab to scramble up. Clear skies for some beautiful views!

Skydiving: Learning How To Freefall

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. 

Mt. Wachusett - Solo Hike/Scramble

Scrambled the short section of Harrington Trail to the summit of Mt. Wachusett. The trails were wet and muddy in many places. My new Scarpa Crux II approach shoes were perfect - I really love the grippy soles. Took the Mountain House trail, to the Midstate link trail, to the Harrington trail up to the summit. The short section of the Harrington trail is a super fun, low-angled scramble! The hike was enjoyable and folks are still skiing! The Harrington Trail is listed on the Rock Scramble New England page. Enjoy a short video I put together of my hike.

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!)

Red Spring Peak - Beginner Scramble

Met up with some of the members of the Vegas Hikers Meetup group to participate in their beginner scrambling event to the Red Spring peak. The organizers of this event are very welcoming, knowledgeable, and helpful. I met other members new to scrambling and it was so fun! Afterward, there was a potluck lunch with delicious food! A beautiful day with perfect temps and cool scramblers! Enjoy this YouTube video of our scramble. 

Zion National Park, Utah 2022

At the top of the Watchman Trail

My groom and I visited the beautiful Zion National Park on a weekday but it was still crowded. We drove the almost 3-hour drive from Las Vegas, NV, and got to the park entrance at 10am, local Utah time. Unfortunately, all the parking was full and the Zion Canyon Scenic Drive was closed. Since it was a weekday, the shuttle wasn't running. We were told that we could hike the Canyon Overlook trail but space at its trailhead was very limited. We could also hike any of the trails from the Visitor's Center. We stopped at the Visitor's Center so that I could purchase a Zion NP t-shirt and baseball cap, then headed to the Canyon Overlook trailhead. 

The drive up and through the Zion Mt. Carmel Highway and tunnel was spectacular! Unfortunately, there was no parking available at the Canyon Overlook trailhead as well as along the road. Directly across the trailhead is another parking area but it's for "small vehicles".....which we didn't have (GMC Yukon SLT). There were so many people and cars! We drove past the trailhead and turned around and hoped we'd find parking on our way back, but no such luck. We ended up driving back to the Visitor's Center and hiked The Watchman Trail. The trail is very popular and views along the trail as well at the top of the foothill are amazing, photos don't do it justice! The trail doesn't bring you to the top of the Watchman mountain, just to the top of the foothill. But the views from the foothill of Watchman mountain and the southern area of the park are stunning, nonetheless!

We plan to re-visit Zion, stay overnight in either Springdale or Hurricane. Then get an early start in the morning to make sure we can get to those hikes along the Zion Canyon Scenic Drive that I had originally planned for this trip - Riverside Walk and the Emerald Pools Loop. And the Canyon Overlook Trail along the Zion Mt. Carmel Highway.

Enjoy this YouTube video I put together of our visit to Zion National Park.

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.