Climberism Magazine Issue #5

March | April 2011

Issue 5

climberism THE NORTHEAST CLIMBING M AG A Z I N E

A CLIMBER’S BEST FRIEND SOMETIMES A DIRTY DOG IS A GOOD

DOG

PALENVILLE CORONARY THE MEN BEHIND THE MADNESS

THE NOT SO PERFECT GENTLEMAN

CLIMBING AGAINST COAL RICE AND BEANS

inside the mag

CONTENTS

ANDREA CHAREST TAKING FIRST PLACE IN THE FIRST ANNUAL VERMONT DRY TOOLING COMP

5

FEATURED ROUTE

26

CLIMBING AGAINST COAL

8

CLIMBER PROFILE

31

FOOD FOR CLIMBERS

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A CLIMBER’S BEST FRIEND

COVER: KEVIN RYAN Sticking the crux move on “Who’s Your Daddy” (5.12c) Carcass Crag Vermont Photo by: Dave Vuono - http://www.davevuono.com

PALENVILLE CORONARY MARCH | APRIL 2011

climberism THE NORTHEAST CLIMBING

MAGAZINE

March & April Issue Editor David Crothers Assistant Editor Julian Rodier Copy Editor Jarred Cobb Technical Director James Thompson Graphic Design Ray Kania & Dick Ritchie ADVERTISE advertise@climberism.com CONTRIBUTE submissions@climberism.com SUBSCRIBE climberism.com/new-subscribers/ HEADQUARTERS Climberism Magazine 26 1/2 North Avenue Burlington, VT 05401 Most of the activities depicted in this magazine carry significant amounts of risk with the potential for serious injury or death. We do not recommend you try or participate in any of the activities depicted within this publication. Seek professional guidance or help from someone of expertise.

You assume all risks associated with your decision.

Contact Us info@climberism.com

contributors

Olof Dallner Olof Dallner is originally from Sweden, but currently lives and works in New York City. During the winter you can assume Olof will likely be out of Metropolitan Babylon and climbing hard ice routes. He has been picking away at ice for almost 15 years and has climbed all over the world. Everyone around him always seems to have a smile on their face.

Julian Rodier Julian is contemplating changing the name on his birth certificate to “The Muffin Man” for one reason: he deserves the credit. Since leaving “the Shire,” his life has become a quest to breathe thin air and travel to remote corners of the globe. You may find Julian hovering over a skillet full of bacon or maybe in your local library.

He hopes to someday learn how to burp.

Jarred Cobb Jarred grew up in New Hampshire climbing the slabs of Whitehorse and Cathedral. Now he is a hippy plastic puller, soup cooker, and sometimes works for Greenpeace during their insane environmental protests.

He also supports a mustache.

Copyright Climberism. All Rights Reserved. No material in this publication may be reproduced without prior written consent.

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MARCH | APRIL 2011

CANNON CLIFF

FEATURED ROUTE

A

FTER successfully establishing Vertigo, Mike Peloquin, John Bragg, and Paul Ross headed back into town in order to straighten out their gear and freshen up. Paul had stumbled upon Cannon while looking for Cathedral Ledge. Ross says, “I picked these lines out from the road with binoculars, we didn’t have a guidebook, or magazines, we were bound to make mistakes. It was part of the adventure.”

Returning to Cannon Cliff the following day the climbers started up The Ghost, a IV 5.7 A3 route up the “Big Wall” section of the cliff. They contrived the name from a series of white streaks high up on the cliff.

Recently, Kevin Mahoney and Elliot Gaddy freed the line, climbing the route entirely on quickly melting ice. (NEI 6-)

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The Ghost (IV 5.7 A3) // FA: John Bragg, Mike Peloquin, and Paul Ross

ROUTE BETA Looking at the “Big Wall” section of Cannon Cliff, spy for The Ghost, big dripping streaks under the overlaps. Jon Sykes, in his guidebook, “Secrets of the Notch” considers this a good route for training.

P1. Start your climb on the Triple S Buttress and belay at the base of a diagonal crack.

P2. Aid the crack to the bolt ladder and make your way up to the roof for a hanging belay.

P3. Traverse left under the roof until you reach a corner and find a bolt. Belay from above.

P4. Climb to a bolted belay ledge below the Ghost Roof. For the final two or three pitches continue climbing up Sam’s Swan Song or you can aid through The Ghost Roof. Both will bring you to the upper slabs and class three climbing until you reach the descent trail on the top of the cliff.

Cannon is full of loose rock and climbers should be weary about following behind other parties. For a true big wall experience, you can’t get any closer than Cannon in the Northeast. For a full route description of The Ghost, pick up Jon Sykes’ Secrets of the Notch - A Guide to Cannon Cliff and the Crags of Franconia Notch.

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editor’s note

O

ne of the great-

est things about the Northeast is that there is a lot of history here. At times, it feels a bit overwhelming for my meager brain. I ask myself regularly, “What can I contribute to this richly historic region?”

A V17? A 5.15d? WI7? (you fall you die.) Seriously though, whatever it is I contribute, it will never compare to what has already been established. How can one compete with taking two days to climb something like The Ghost on Cannon Cliff in New Hampshire. No bivy gear, just sucking it up and hanging from a harness hoping to keep warm during our cool summer nights? No guidebooks, no magazines, just the will for adventure.

Recently, Kevin Mahoney and Elliot Gaddy visited The Ghost after a day of rain and a

freeze over night. The duo climbed the route from bottom to top on ice, completely freeing the route and giving it a rating of NEI 6-. What took the first ascentionist’s a day and a half, Mahoney and Gaddy climbed in three and a half hours.

It has been a very humbling experience talking with climbers young and old about new routes vs. old routes; ancient ethics vs. new ethics, and so on. My contributions to the community are miniature parcels of which will amount to a microcosms of sand in the larger realm of this climbing history. However, as I continue on the quest to solidify the presence of this magazine in the Northeast, I realize that me, contributing a new hard line, isn’t going to go very far.

Perhaps bringing the community together and connecting history from around the region, new and old, might be a significant enough contribution to get people psyched on Northeast climbing.

-- David Crothers

PHOTO BY: TONY NGUYEN Western Brook Pond, Gros Morne Park | NEWFOUNDLAND

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Cheers...

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR I recently started getting into your magazine/website. Love the videos and hope to see more in the future. Love local articles on the site too, really nice to see some local coverage.

Darryl Revis North Conway, NH

Hey Darryl, thanks for the encouragement. We are definitely working hard.

Glad you dig the mag!

I’ve been reading since the first issue, I was psyched to see you guys at the Dark Horse comp! If there is anything I can do to help, let me know!

Dan Harrow Boston, MA

Hey Dan, yeah the Dark Horse was pretty crazy. It was our biggest event yet, we got close to one hundred new subscribers there alone! Help spread the word, tell your friends and tell them to tell their friends!

have five friends, I only have my friend Jake, who likes to play stupid computer games. Will you: A, be my friend, or B, take pity on me and send me a t-shirt?

Randy From Vermont Burlington, VT

I bet this is Ryan, I know who you are and where you work. Free shirt? I’ll give you something for free alright! Stick to facebook at work and hiding from me when I come into the gym.

Dudes and dudettes I love the “chicks on crag” articles, but you need to update the s&!#!!

Katie Berts Boston, MA

Cool Katie, your the first gal to write us! We are doing our best to update the “Chicks on Crag” section. We are exploring some ideas to help keep it up-to-date.

Keep checking in!

Keep it up guys, you are doing a great job!

I take it from the website you guys are only digital? I was kind of confused, could I get a copy if you have any prints?

Your Grammy New Haven, CT

Grammy, thanks for writing. Didn’t know you moved to Connecticut...

Matt Bogar Amherst, MA

Matt, we are only digital right now. Hopefully next year we will have some print editions to pass out to our readers. We are working pretty hard to make this happen.

Grassroots all the way!

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Climberism, I would like a free Climberism t-shirt, but I don’t

Send your letters to: climberismmagazine@climberism.com

MARCH | APRIL 2011 MARCH | 2011 APRIL

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Projecting Bully Wall Halifax, Nova Scotia

FEATURED CLIMBER // BEN BLAKNEY

BEN BLAKNEY is one of

those climbers quietly ticking off hard boulder problems and sport climbs all over the world, without stirring up much attention. Hailing from New Brunswick and now studying in Nova Scotia, he’s been seriously crushing the last few years; Propeller Head (V10) in Switzerland, The Predator (5.13b) in Rumney, you can be sure to find Ben throwing down everywhere he goes.

In January, Halifax’s Gun Control (V13) became his latest victim. Ben grew up climbing with his father on weekend trips to New Hampshire, and has been crushing ever since.

He came close to throwing in the towel a few years ago because of a serious wrist injury, but he is feeling strong and healthy now.

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Written By: David Crothers // Photos By: Krissy Lunney

You recently went down to Horse Pens 40 in Alabama. How does the rock there compare to Dover Island, Nova Scotia and the granite you guys have up there?

DAVID:

Quality wise, it’s definitely up there. I think the selection of harder problems at Horse Pens 40 is lacking, but the strength of the moderate problems, say 5-8 or 9, they’re some of the best problems I’ve climbed of that grade anywhere.

BEN:

What brought you into the world of climbing?

DAVID:

My dad is from New Brunswick and was into climbing. He and a friend used to climb when I was real young and getting into it. As I was growing up we would go out once, maybe twice a year top-roping.

And I can remember as a kid, maybe five BEN:

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or six, climbing White Horse slabs in North Conway. We would go down on camping trips and always pick a day or two and go play around over there. I’d say I seriously got into climbing with a friend back in 1999 or so. That’s when I started climbing all the time basically.

You’ve established yourself as a really strong climber and you can hold your own, I think, with some of the well-known climbers in the media today.

Why did you did you start taking it more seriously?

DAVID:

I think at the time I was heavily into cycling, and so was my friend. But for some reason though, in the fall, when we weren’t racing bikes like in the summer, we went out climbing with my father a couple times. He showed us how you lead, and a bunch of basic stuff that BEN:

MARCH | APRIL 2011

we had never really done before up until that point. I don’t know, it seemed like a good way to stay in shape and travel the world. It seemed to fit into the kind of life I wanted to have I guess. It wasn’t so structured; you didn’t have to be in such and such place on a weekend to race. You can go whenever you want and wherever you want.

Propeller Head V10 // Sustenpass Switzerland

How did you get strong? Just by climbing all the time?

DAVID:

Just by climbing. I trained a little bit with Krissy, my fiance. My friend John Bowles, another strong climber, and I started together and went outside to Welsford in New Brunswick; it was kind of the local area. It was our first day out really leading anything. We had no guidebook or anything and got out on anything we could find. We went back to the gym the next week and people asked how things went and what we got on, and told them. No one really believed what we had climbed our first time out. Not that it was that hard, maybe only 5.11’s, but we had no concept of what a new climber should be getting on or what was hard and what wasn’t. I guess I’ve always had that mentality.

BEN:

NEVER ENDING STORY (V11) // Magic Wood, Switzerland

DAVID: What

drew you toward Gun Control in Halifax, Nova Scotia?

I tried it way back when, with Nick Saga, maybe 2001 or 2002. It was one of the last really hard things in the area that hadn’t been climbed. I remember looking out and thinking the holds were so small, and I didn’t understand how someone could climb that. Then, he ended up doing it, and it’s been tried by a few strong guys over the last few years, but it’s not really aesthetically appealing I would say.

The lack of holds on it kind of makes it interesting and getting the second accent was kind of appealing, it was something I could go out and try on my own without pads or spotters. It was relatively safe in that way.

BEN:

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THE NOT SO PERFECT GENTLEMAN

75 FOOT FALL OFF THE PROMENADE

Olof Dallner - Black Chasm Catskills, NY

story by Olof Dallner

photos by David Crothers and Olof Dllaner

The weather could not have been better on my first visit to Lake Willoughby.

The sun was out all weekend and the temperature was cold and perfect. I heard great things, which made it even more exciting to spend a weekend climbing the northeast’s best ice.

My first day climbing at “the lake,” my partner and I climbed in The Last Gentleman Amphitheater, an ascetic and classic area that towers over the lake. The ice was in nice shape, even after the freeze/that we had the previous Friday.

The following day we decided to climb the Promenade, another classic and beautiful line to the right of The Last Gentleman.

The weather on the previous Friday reached the high 50’s, and then rapidly dropped to about 10°F while climbing on Saturday.

Sunday the temperatures stabled out between 10-20°F. The first pitch, we climbed nice ice to the belay cave, and built our belay station. Initially, the belay was built and attached to the pillar, but was moved to an ice bulge in the cave before starting the second pitch. My first inspection of the curtain revealed no major signs of fractures; it was touching down but thin, with small fractures at the bottom. It seemed to be solid ice without air pockets or snow mixed in, I had no reason to suspect otherwise.

Olof Dellnar in good spirits from the hospotal bed.

Double checking the anchor and one final inspection of the pillar, I climbed away. I intentionally ran the pitch out until I felt safe placing screws, however, before I could place anything and once I was above the thinner part of the curtain, it suddenly collapsed and sent me on a 75 foot fall. Luckily, my partner caught me on the ice anchor, and after a couple minutes of confusion, I was lowered to the base of the climb. Climbers who were in the amphitheater rapidly joined to help. I appeared to have

only cuts and bruises, and no broken bones. Subsequently, I was able to walk out, accompanied by other climbers, and was taken to the ER in St. Johnsbury by car.

Be safe out there and be aware of your environment.

Olof’s helmet after impact

The accident was likely caused by the weather pattern that preceded our climb in combination with being frequently climbed and beaten out by other climbers. Warm weather followed by a cold spell, likely weakened the curtain and it was possibly cracked at the top before I started climbing.

Although there were no clear indications to the impaired quality of the pillar while inspecting it, rapid temperature changes should be carefully considered before attempting a climb, especially a freestanding pillar/curtain. The temperature fluctuations can cause fractures in the ice that are often not easily detected. Be careful when committing to such climbs during or after fluctuating temperatures. There can also be major local variations in conditions. If possible, consult local climbers about the climb as they may be more experienced in the specific conditions that may apply.

I was lucky and was able to walk out with only minor injuries. Be safe out there and be aware of your environment.

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GEAR | TALK GEAR TALK

“it ’s not just gossip”

La Sportiva Python // Climbing Shoe Dubbed as a “must have for climbing competitions,” the Python is a tight-fitting slipper with a rigid toe box, accompanied by a sensitive and sticky rubber heel, for killer plastic attacks. The elastic strap allows you to crank the velcro nice and tight to avoid that awkward “shoeless climber moment.” The extra rubber around the toe gives you no excuses for not sending that V10 once the snow melts. I’ll be sleeping with these slippers on until Vermont’s 6-month winter ends. After that, the venom will be pouring from my feet!

what we’ve been using

^ ^

^ ^

Black Diamond Gridlock // Carabiner Climbing gear is meant to eliminate any possibility that we climbers face an untimely meeting with a one way ticket into the ground. While The Black Diamond Gridlock carabiner doesn’t guarantee anything, it makes that fate even more unlikely. Meant to serve as your belay carabiner, the Gridlock’s unique design has an extended gate, which eliminates the dangers of crossloading. You clip your belay loop into the lower part of the “figure 8” and the carabiner is unable to turn around in your harness, simple as that. Weighing in at 2.7 oz., the Gridlock is a bit heavier than the typical carabiner, but it’s a solid piece of gear that will make your climbing partner leading that overhanging sport route at Rumney feel a lot safer. Moms everywhere are already thanking me for this spray review...

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Matt Bristol 2orking the Highgrade - Marshfield, Vermont

ADVERTISE | info@climberism.com

2011 MARCH | APRIL

GEAR TALK

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ANNIKA FRODI-LUNDGREN Sending “Who’s Your Daddy” (5.12c) in Carcass Crag, Vermont Photo by: Dave Vuono - http://www.davevuono.com

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A CLIMBER’S

BEST FRIEND A LOST DOG TURNS INTO A CARCASS, IN A GOOD WAY. story by Julian Rodier

A LOST DOG: One could assume a lost dog would likely lead you to your neighbor’s trash, to your local park, to a field of tall grass, or even to the backside of a silk haired golden retriever that lives around the corner. For Vermonter Derek Doucet, quite the opposite. His lost dog begged him to find Bolton Valley’s, if not Vermont’s, most influential sport climbing crag to date. With a little help from his canine, some bushwacking, and the determination of four close friends the Carcass Crag was born and would help send the Green Mountain State’s climbing down a new road for years to come.

Photos by: Paul Hansen - http://www.ecopixel.com Travis Peckham, Dave Furman and Derek Doucet on Whos Your Daddy (5.12c)

IT

all began in the winter of 1998 when Doucet was ice climbing in the Bolton Quarry, a ragged little climbing area that boasts good ice for locals to run laps on. After a day’s worth of ups and downs, Doucet noticed that his hairy companion, Auggie, had wandered off. With a little alarm, he began to follow the track laid out by the black lab’s torso through the deep snow. Up and over the top of the upper quarry he called and he whistled. Finally, Doucet discovered Auggie in the midst of a Call of the Wild moment. Auggie’s entire front half was lodged inside the rib cage of a rotting deer carcass, his back end wiggling with ecstasy. Shaking off his initial disgust, Doucet began separating his dog from his new found playmate. While pulling the dog from the dead deer he looked over his shoulder. To his surprise and quickly on a second glance, he couldn’t believe what loomed over him and his dog. A cliff, coming out of the leafless trees with an ominous overhang, hovered above them. A voice? An eery force? A silly coincidence? Whatever it was, Derek Doucet was possibly the first to foresee an era of sport climbing on this hidden cliff; The Carcass Crag.

By spring 1999, all of the major routes on Carcass had been cleaned and set. Two to three times a week Doucet dragged his climbing friends Travis Peckham, Dave Furman, and Paul Hansen out to the cliff, and soon the classic Who’s your Daddy? (5.12c) had seen it’s first ascent by Furman. With it came other famous lines such as Alternative Power (5.12a) and Progress (5.11a) that were established on the crag. By the end of the summer dozens of routes and variations had been put up.

TOP LEFT: Kevin Ryan on Who’s your Daddy (5.12c) Photo: Dave Vuono http://www.davevuono.com TOP RIGHT: Travis Peckham on Whos Your Daddy (5.12c) BELOW: Garrett Bywaters on Alternative Power (5.12a) Photo’s by: Paul Hansen http://www.ecopixel.com

The Carcass Crag had been formed and set for a decade of memorable climbing, but still now one thing lay in it’s path.

For almost eleven years the crag would stay a protected secret.

In 1999, there was essentially very little sport climbing in Vermont, or certainly not Bolton. There were as few as two or three sport lines in the Bolton area in 1998. Up to that point, traditional and top-rope was the primary means of vertical exploration in the state. “I think it is fair to say that the Carcass really launched the Bolton sport route development gold rush that lasted through the mid to late 2000’s,” says Doucet. It has been a crag that’s meant a lot, not only to those four esteemed climbers, but to a much wider community. It dispatched a community of Vermont climbers with an ambition to find quality sport climbing areas that were hiding in the Green Mountains.

They had been shown what was possible.

Like many other cliffs in Vermont, the Carcass Crag was on private land, it’s discovery by Doucet and Auggie led to hard work trying to preserve the climbing there. The hushed reputation of the crag was only to hinder the possibility of a closure by its landowners, a very realistic fear. It wasn’t until the summer of 2010 that the Carcass was primed for its final unveiling. Last July the Carcass Crag was purchased by CRAG-VT, preserving its access to the public forever. The Carcass Crag teaches us to never stop looking and never stop working for what you believe in. The members of CRAG-VT are the true hero’s for coming together and preserving such a special place.

TOP LEFT: Derek Doucet on Alternative Power (5.12a) TOP RIGHT: Derek Doucet on Progress (5.11a) Photos by: Paul Hansen - http://www.ecopixel.com LEFT PHOTO: Annika Frodi-Lundgren on Who’s Your Daddy (5.12c) Photos by: Dave Vuono - http://www.davevuono.com

Unknown climbers in the Black Chasm on the Mephisto Waltz (WI5) Catskills, New York

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Photo By: Jenny Herbert The Black Jack Crack (V2 5.10d)

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Palenville Coronary

DC: So the route you climbed, “Palenville Coronary” was pretty amazing.

Chis did a nice job editing and filming, he gave it a raw feeling. You could definitely tell, you were feeling it, you could see it. I was rooting for you and then you fell. I was like, “oh man, that was a bad-ass fall!”

York after Brad recently moved to New had left t” wes t “ou e realizing his lif holes in his him with precious few ass life.

Date: January 3, 2011 Climber: Brad Heller -esterner Brad Heller recently moved east, to New York from Utah. As most of you may know, he is the star in the video Chris Lamme filmed of him climbing Palenville Coronary. A bold first ascent in which he took several falls.

W

At the moment Heller is laid-up with a busted leg after taking a fall on a piece of gear that blew while attempting another FA in the Catskills. Unfortunately, the fall led to a ticket for climbing in an off-limits area and a misdiagnosed leg fracture. Buried in paperwork and prepping for an upcoming court date, Heller is kicking back with five more weeks to go until his cast is removed.

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BH: Yeah, I agree, I think it does definitely have a raw feeling and I think Chris did a really good job of filming it. I think it worked really well because the architecture of the climb put him right in my face. It really showed what I was going through.

DC: Yeah, I loved it dude. The ending and the famous last words, “I’m so pumped!” That was great.

BH; you can’t make that stuff up dude [laughs].

DC: So when you fell on your latest project, was it painful?

BH: Not immediately, I mean, I knew I’d broken my leg as soon as I hit the ground. It’s really strange how a broken bone feels different than anything else. I think that’s why I knew it was broken. Initially, it just felt like a lifeless block of wood, that’s the best way I can put it. You know that it’s hurt really bad and you know that it’s broken, but as long as you don’t mess with it or twist it, you can just ignore it and deal with it for the time being. But the following day and the upcoming days, I experienced the most intense pain I’ve ever felt. Pain so bad you pass out and hallucinate.

DC: Yeah , I imagine it was the adrenaline wearing off.

DC: Wow, that’s a pretty harsh ending to the season...

BH: Oh yeah. It’s more frustrating because it should never have happened.

I was fighting with them in the ER to listen to me and they just had a dumb doctor in there and he wouldn’t listen to me. He just kept telling me it was a sprain and sent me home. Like I said, if I would had gotten surgery within 24 hours, I wouldn’t have any problems. I still would have had surgery and a broken leg, but now I’m looking at the possibility of having to fuse my ankle and all sorts of messed up stuff.

DC: Well good luck man! It sucks you broke your leg, but get well and keep cranking!

BH: You too David, be well!

Bradley Heller

BH: Exactly, and I think when you have a serious injury like that, it really takes an emotional toll on you and your body. You can deal with that for maybe 24 hours or something, maybe in an emergency you can cope with it longer, but once you finally let your guard down you realize how bad it actually hurts. I fought with the doctors forever, but they had misdiagnosed my injury as a sprain and didn’t prescribe me with any pain medication. I was like, “I’m in a lot of pain right now.” They told me to go home and take some Tylenol or Ibuprofen [laughs].

and I then think it’s supposed to be 12 weeks before I’m fully weight bearing, which is pretty bleak. It’s about the slowest bone to heal in your body because it’s so nonvascular. It actually takes longer to heal than a femur. If I can commit all of my energy and my mental power to healing my leg, which is kind of important, I can go to this meeting tomorrow and determine the best course of action for me to heal, and see how it does. I think that mental shift makes a big difference on how your body responds to an injury. Once I know my course of action I can start putting my energy and effort into healing, and hopefully I’ll be able to climb again in the late summer.

DC: So what does that do for your rock climbing season?

BH: Well…it just depends on how the healing process goes. As of now, if I decide the best course of action is to leave it in a cast and see how it heals, then I’m 8 weeks in this cast

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Palenville Coronary

Date: January 3, 2011 Videographer: Chris Lamme -r. Chris Lamme moved back to New York last year. At the moment he is trying to film everything and anything to do with hardcore climbing. Brad was the perfect subject and partner in crime. After his Palenville Coronary video he filmed Brad while attempting another FA in the Catskills. Though you can’t see much except for Brad falling out of the pitcher and gear popping.

Now Chris is finishing the winter out in The Red and waiting for Mr. Heller to heal-up so he can keep entertaining the community and the world at large.

His video, now an international hit, has been featured on a list of websites all over the world.

M

DC: What kind of camera are you shooting with Chris?

CL: The cameras I had out were the Panasonic HPX and a Sony Handycam.

DC: Do they both shoot HD? CL: Yeah, but the Panasonic is a pretty nice camera. Gotta be careful with that one though [chuckle].

DC: So do you have any projects? What’s your agenda behind filming? Are you really into it or…?

CL: I’m trying to get into it. It’s been a hobby for a little while. I’d like to get into it in some form whether it’s making climbing videos or just doing some type of freelance work. It’s kind of hard to get your foot in the door when you don’t really have anything to work with. But I’ve been putting together an idea to shoot a video here at the Gunks, though I just found out that the preserves wouldn’t even allow it.

DC: Really?

CL: Yeah, they own the property and I don’t know I gotta look into it. I have a friend that works for them, he said that even the local guides are not allowed to film their clients, which doesn’t make any sense.

DC: The Preserve is weird about their property, but I would at least chat with them.

CL: Yeah, so I don’t know if I’ll be able to do that one. I don’t want to put all the time and energy into it and then get shut down. So I’m just gonna check with them and see what options I might have. If not, I’m just going to try and find another project.

Man on a mission and back New York in , waitin g to film next hai t h e r-raiser .

DC: How did you meet Brad?

CL: Actually, I met him a year ago. I was in Palenville, NY, (which is right near where that climb is) last winter.

He was out here visiting with his wife.

They were just here for a couple weeks, checking the place out, deciding

whether they wanted to move here. I ended up bouldering and climbing with him a little bit that day and hung out with him that night, got a little bit drunk, and went climbing the next day.

DC: Brad hasn’t been ice climbing that long?

CL: He hasn’t been ice climbing for very long, which I thought he had since he’s been rock climbing for awhile. He’s got that head, that strong head on him [laughs]. He trad climbs too, he just put up some hard stuff. He climbs a lot harder than me that’s for sure.

DC: Yeah, it takes a little dedication, ya know? So can you tell me what happened when you were filming Brad and he broke his ankle?

DC: At least in the New Paltz area you get a taste of everything.

You’ve got some good rock climbing, good mix, good ice climbing, so kinda right in the heart of a nice area.

CL: Yeah the climbing here is just awesome. I’m actually, well you probably don’t want to hear it, but I’m looking forward to the summer [laughs].

DC: I’m not quite ready for the season to be over, but getting there.

Keep up the good work with the films, we’re all anxiously awaiting your next one!

DC: How much is the ticket?

CL: I’m not really sure, we have to go to court for it. I wasn’t climbing I was just out there with my camera.

DC: Are you allowed to hike around and stuff there?

THE P ERCH

Chris Lamme

CL: Everything happened in kind of a touchy spot. It’s part of Minnewaska. I don’t know if you’ve heard that whole story at all, but we actually got citations because we were in a place where you’re not supposed to be climbing and the manager of Minnewaska really wanted to make a lesson out of us, Brad couldn’t even leave for like forty-five minutes. While he was in there getting scolded by the manager of Minnewaska, I had to run back in and get my rope, rappel down, swing around, and grab his tools still hanging out of the rock where he fell. I had to go get that and clean my rope and the get rest of our stuff. We both go to court next week.

So yeah, he fell and then somebody else heard whatever was going on and as he was crawling by the guy was like, “oh I called 911 for you!” We were like, “What?” “No!” “Please call it off .” But by the time I got out there, the cops were already there and all sorts of stuff was going on, which sucked.

CL: Supposedly not. But there were some older ladies that were in there taking pictures. Just a part of Minnawaska.

There’s a beautiful waterfall and they just don’t have the trail system set up. I don’t know, New York State is really weird about parks and stuff. Not use to it, out west everything is open. If Brad wasn’t laid up, I’d still be getting great footage.

CLIMBING AGAINST COAL NORTHEAST CLIMBER TAKES HIS FIGHT TO THE SOURCE STORY BY JARRED COBB PHOTOS COURTESY OF GREENPEACE

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As a Northeast climber and outdoor junkie, I’m deeply concerned about climate change.

Whether we inherit mid-Atlantic temperatures here in New England (think: no more ice climbing), rising sea levels, the loss of our precious biodiversity or the 300,000 people that die each year due to its effects...well you get the picture.

The fossil fuel industry has been spending millions to derail efforts to reduce greenhouse gases, but the scientific consensus is that we are close to a tipping point. If we don’t curb the burning of coal and oil and move away from the ultra-consumer, throw-away culture in which most of us live, then we’re pretty much screwed.

So, what does this have to do with you, the Northeast climbing enthusiast? In February, seven Greenpeace activists were arrested in Bridgeport, Connecticut for scaling a coal plant and hanging a banner declaring: “Shut it Down, Quit Coal.” The climbers donned their trademark orange jumpsuits and white helmets on a sunny Thursday morning. They were somehow able to slip past the plant security and got atop a structure that unloads coal from barges. Anchored to an I-beam and pulley track, which was rated for 7,000 tons (pretty bomber), they hung the 40 foot by 20 foot banner until the cops came and put them in the slammer.

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I spoke with John Deans, a climber from Topsham, Maine, who explained how it all went down.

-- “The climbers were on a double rope system using a tensionless hitch with a bunch of wraps around the I-beam. When climbing metal structures with surface rust, the sharp burrs can wear the sheath of the rope so in this case, the heavy canvas was used as rope protection around the I-beam. The double line was tied with a figure eight on a bite with a carabiner connecting the two lines for extra backup in case the hitch slipped.

This is an incredibly simple system, and has redundancy in the double line. The climbers themselves rappelled using a Petzl Stop on one line, and had a shunt for a backup

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point of safety on the other line. They were wearing Navaho harnesses with chest straps and ascended using an ascender.

The top of the banner had grommets with zip ties through it and a curtain line running the length of the banner with a few feet on each side, tied to the banner with prusiks to adjust tension. The banner was hauled on the curtain line with a camming pulley on one end and a self-adjusting pulley on the other end.

The climbers attached the bottom line to their harnesses with a carabiner, munter hitch and rappelled until the banner unfolded and dropped.” -The Bridgeport Harbor Generating Station produces 3 million tons of global warming pollution every year, and 6 schools in the low-income com| APRIL munity within a mile of the plant.

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Nation-wide, the nasty chemicals spewing from over 600 coal plants kill 13,000 people per year. Our planet and our beautiful wild areas are being wrecked by coal. We all need to do our part to cap our consumption. Be conscious of your footprint; keep climbing wild.

Check out www.climberism.com for a full interview with Greenpeace activist John Deans.

If we don’t curb the burning of coal and oil and move away from the ultra-consumer, throw-away culture in which most of us live, then we’re pretty much screwed.

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The Library

O

nly a little boy’s most adventurous dreams could think up such a man as Bradford Washburn. David Roberts’ “The Last of His Kind” is a stringent reminder to us all that very few men did burly things in a time before the invention of Gore-tex and 747’s. Roberts’ book follows Washburn’s life through deadly river crossings with Bob Bates, through multiple first ascents in the deepest corners of Alaska, and through his beginning in the heart of the White Mountains. Washburn exemplified a generation of climbers who explored unchartered mountain terrain back when Babe Ruth was slamming homeruns. “The Last of His Kind” is not only a good history lesson, but it’ll teach you how to explore with style.

Dating advice not included!

S

usan Schwartz does a truly impeccable job telling the story of one man’s incredible life in “Into the Unknown.” Hans Kraus grew up in Austria in the 1920’s and 30’s and cut his climbing teeth in the Dolomites at a time when climbing gear was somewhere between nonexistent and primitive. He became an orthopedic surgeon while in Europe, but fled to New York when Nazi Germany began to expand its reach. Luckily for those of us in the Northeast, Kraus ended up being one of the first and most prolific climbers at the Gunks.

He teamed up with Fritz Weissner to develop most of the routes that went up in the first two decades of Gunks climbing--Kraus would go on to make over 60 FAs there.

Schwartz’s writing is riveting. Her re-telling of Kraus’ FA of High Exposure is a tremendous piece of story-telling that left my palms sweaty. It took Schwartz ten years of research and writing to complete this book, and the effort paid off. Anyone who’s climbed at the Gunks or has ever stared up at an overhanging and exposed cliff will enjoy “Into the Unknown”. In the words of Hans Kraus: “If it were not for the ‘Gunks, I would have died much sooner.”

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arroz con frijoles

FOOD FOR CLIMBERS When I’m packing lunch for my northeast rock or ice climbing, there’s one dish that always seems to end up in my pack: arroz con frijoles, or rice and beans for you gringos.

I

buy bulk beans and rice at my local co-op on the super cheap, and the dish is simply a necessity for your next climb. Why not some trail mix or granola bars you ask? Well, here’s why:

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Rice and beans can be eaten cold, warm or hot, so you don’t need to be too fussy how you pack them. You’re climbing at the Gunks in July? No problem, just throw some rice and beans in tupperware and they’ll be steaming by the time you get to the top. It’s 10 degrees outside and you’re headed to Smuggler’s Notch? Hakuna matata, put your rice and beans in a thermos and they won’t freeze by the time you eat them. But, if they do, just toss them in your mouth and they’ll thaw in no time.

You’ve got rice, beans and raisins. A sweet and salty mix. Or, maybe you’ve got some whiskey in your flask on your hike back from a day of ice climbing. There you go!

Rice, beans and whiskey--the perfect end to your day.

They form a complete protein—rice and beans contain all the amino acids you’ll ever need and have lots of protein, carbs, iron and vitamin B (think energy without the bull testosterone).

DISCLAIMER: This magical mix may cause explosions inside of you. Be aware and conscience of your surroundings, belayers and girlfriends may not be there to catch your fall if your internal explosions find their way outside...

And, most importantly, this dish is versatile. Say you find some raisins rolling around in your climbing shoes. Sweet!

Me? I like to go a little Iron Chef with my rice and beans. I roast beets and garlic, and then combine that with brown rice, black beans, hot peppers and barbecue sauce. You end up with one of the most delicious things you’ll ever taste.

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CLIMBERISM MAGAZINE Ben Blakney - Fine Line (V11) Halifax, Nova Scotia

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