June 3, 2004

Hi Folks,

I usually hate to climb on weekends in general. It's just too crowded, noisy, and frankly I don't usually have to. That's why you'll rarely see me & the Riley-dog when you're up for your time away from home. After days of rain, and a prediction of 3 consecutive days of nice weather over the Memorial Day weekend, I figured that the cliffs in the Valley would likely be full-up. So, when my bud Toby started pressing me to go over to White's Ledge on Saturday to hit Endeavor (5.7+) I figured it wasn't such a bad idea.

Not exactly getting an alpine-start, we arrived at the pullout around 9:15 and there was already one other car there with Mass. plates. In spite of getting turned around a bit, we actually got to the base of the ledge before they did. We hustled to get ready to climb, and when they turned up it was the Dube brothers, Chris & Mike, both of whom I know. There was no problem with choice of climbs, as they were looking for bigger fish to fry & headed over to try George Hurley & my 10c, Finesse, located around the corner to the right. I headed up the first pitch just as another party came up looking to do what else, but Endeavor. OK, so now we have 3 parties, 6 climbers, at a place I've never even seen anyone else! What's next?

I finish the first pitch, brought up Toby and then head up the second to another big pine tree. This is the pitch Webster describes as "intricate" in both his 2nd and 3rd editions. I'd have to agree. While the moves are rated at only 5.7+, the gear can be tricky to find and the climbing nuanced. It's just my opinion mind you, but this might not be a the right lead for someone who is at their limit on 5.7's. The next pitch leads up from behind the large pine tree, clips an ancient pin and wanders up to the next large ledge. Usually you go through the headwall at an obvious weakness, but I spotted a more direct and interesting (read that difficult) line just to the left of that which was probably 5.8+. There was even some good gear, once I found it.

For some time I'd been hearing other people calling & making noise, but I couldn't tell if it was above or below me. Pulling over the headwall who was there but the party who was interested in Endeavor. Apparently they had done Nebulous, a 5.6 on poor rock that starts way left and up from the start of Endeavor. They continued up to a belay at a sling-encrusted thread on the left side of the upper slabs, while I brought Toby up to the ledge.

They continued on a direct line up the slabs following a nondescript crack while I went to their right and into the normal Endeavor hand crack. Now if you haven't done this climb, this pitch is totally worth the price of admission. I mean, how many places will you find a perfect 5.4 hand crack that goes on for close to 2 pitches? Because of where we started, I decided to belay in the crack at a stance. Toby followed and I finished up the crack, traversing left to the belay tree at the end. While you can go all the way to the top and walk off, I never have. According to Joe & Judy Perez, they've done routes on some nice clean slabs up at the top. I've never done them, but it might be a nice round-out to the day.

The two guys who had climbed Nebulous rapped back down one pitch and decided to do the hand crack. Around this time another party popped up on the belay ledge with another group of following closely. We now had 4 parties, consisting of 9 climbers, all in the upper reaches of Endeavor, plus another party of 2 down at the base working on the first pitch of Ten Years After. I found myself wondering if there was anyone left in the Valley!

If you've ever climbed at Whites you will have certainly noticed all the loose rock on almost every surface. Just dragging a rope over a ledge often looses some debris on anyone below. That's one reason I don't like climbing below anyone out there. So, I was quite surprised to see one of the climbers in the party of 3 with no helmet. This is probably not a place to play the purist!

As we rapped off I decided to leave a new rap setup (a nice new black static line and a large stainless ring) on the large tree below the upper crack. I put it high in the tree such that when you pull your rope it won't drag any crap off the ledge on top of you. And believe me when I say that there is a LOT of crap on that ledge! We used it and it pulled perfectly from the next tree ledge. With 60 meter ropes we zipped all the way to the ground from the next rap. All in all a perfect day's outing.

On the way out I noticed that the trail was getting well used and there were only 1 or 2 places where you could possibly get off, so I added a couple of pieces of tape to make it clear. We had gotten turned around where you go into the woods, so I added another couple of pieces to make sure it was obvious. Hope it helps... Here are a few pics of the days fun:

Toby following on the hand crack
Al leading the hand crack
Climber in the middle of the crack
Mike Dube on Ten Years After

As I drove home at 4:30 past Humphrey's Ledge, there wasn't a single car parked on the road. Well of course not, they were all at White's! From what I hear it was crowded this weekend, especially on Whitehorse. I've heard of lines at the bottom of Inferno, Hotter Than Hell, Cold Day In Hell and others. Sounds more like the Gunks than North Conway doesn't it?

The rest of the weekend was used for family and biking fun, culminating with a great day's mountain bike riding on the Kingdom Trails in East Burke, Vermont. If you are a rider you should definitely check this place out. New England single track doesn't get a whole lot better than this, tho some of the trails around here are getting awfully close. We just don't have the banked turns yet. <grin> Get more info here.

News From the Access Fund:
NPS To Reconsider the Twin Sisters Climbing Ban
In February the Access Fund's Policy Director Jason Keith traveled to Washington DC to lobby on several issues, in particular to seek support for revising the climbing ban at Twin Sisters at the City of Rocks National Reserve. As a result of this advocacy work, all members of the Idaho congressional delegation (Senators Craig and Crapo; Congressmen Simpson and Otter) signed onto a letter urging the National Park Service (NPS) to revise the climbing management plan (CMP) at the City of Rocks in Idaho and ease the absolute climbing ban on the Twin Sisters formation.

Adopt-a-Crag 2004
It is time again to start thinking about an Adopt-a-Crag stewardship project for your favorite climbing area. Our goal this year is to support over 85 Adopt-a-Crags around the country. We can't do this without you! In the past three years, we have looked to the leadership and passion of local climbers to make Adopt-a-Crag a success. As the face of the Access Fund at the local and regional level, we depend on your enthusiasm, expertise and leadership in the organization of Adopt-a-Crag events in your area.

Selected Ice Conditions effective April 24, 2024
It's all over for 2023/2024.
	Huntington Ravine	OUT
	Repentance	OUT
	Standard Route	OUT
	Dracula	OUT
For the full current conditions report, CLICK HERE

Remember - climb hard, ride the steep stuff, stay safe and above all BE NICE,