October 28, 2004

Hi Folks,

So these guys came over and needed to borrow a rope. Of course I just couldn't let them go off with it without my going along to make sure that they knew how to properly operate it. It simply wouldn't have been the responsible thing for me to do. And honestly, sweetheart, I didn't have any choice. It's all their fault. I had to go!

Now I don't know about you, but I have a ton of those kind of ready-made but totally lame excuses that I drag out every time I go out climbing or biking when I should be home working. Of course the wife rolls her eyes and sighs deeply, but then knows when to let me be. Thank god for an understanding companion. <grin>

Tuesday and Wednesday were both those kind of days. Today is too, but I just can't possibly rationalize it so here I sit writing. Anyway, on Tuesday Joe Cote and Larry Boehmler dropped by on Tuesday. The wanted to borrow my new double ropes but ended up talking me into getting out for a couple of hours to do the Saigon's. It was an absolutely beautiful day and it quite honestly it totally energized me when I had to come back and write code for the rest of the day. We saw only one other party on the cliff. Steve Duprey from IMCS was on Thin Air with a client, racing with the sun across the traverse. While we climbed in the shade, it was warm enough for us not to have any but the slightest discomfort.

Of course it got me totally wound to go out again so I called up my buddy Toby about doing Recompense on Wednesday morning. Again it was in the upper 20's when I awoke, but by 10 AM it was getting almost balmy. The air had that feel of Indian Summer. and while the foilage is well past peak if you think that it's done for you are wrong. The leaves have slipped into that beautiful gold and deep red that makes me feel so warm good. Several of the trees below the Prow and Thin Air are still amazingly beautiful. Here's a shot of Toby near the start and another almost at the belay. The sun stayed out until about 1 PM and then clouds started to move through. Still the temps really didn't change all that much and the climbing was just as nice. I really liked the look of the clouds as they whipped over the Valley.

I was on the second stance on the Beast Flake chatting with two guys on The Book when I heard a loud "Hey...Al" from down below. Turns out it was Joe Cote calling up from where he was clearing some brush from his lot in the chalet's. In a later conversation he told me that he had seen no one on the cliff other than Toby and me plus the one other party on The Book. I was extremely surprised that there was absolutely no one on the Thin Air face.

It was an absolutely wonderful day and if that's all the rock climbing for the year, it wouldn't be all that bad. That said, I figure that there are still going to be days here & there that will be nice if I can manage to grab them before they slide away. So, I just have to think up a couple of more excuses. Let's see. Honey, somebody had to borrow my rack but I had to go along to help them carry it! Hmmm...

Hide and Seek:
This is getting to be a prime time to look for new places to climb. As the leaves fall they often reveal small hidden crags that otherwise wouldn't be noticed. If you look in the guidebooks you will see that many of the outlying crags were actually discovered in October and November. It's a wonderful time to be out wandering the woods, checking on the various nooks & crannies. Daz and I headed out last Sunday, checking on some little crags that I'd heard about over the years from people like Todd Swain. Most of what we found was all mossy and chossy and looked as if it would be a reasonable place to look for ice as we get further into winter. What was really interesting however, was what we found on the back side of the crag.

the face
the roof

Apparently this is one of those "hidden crags" that you hear about ever so often. The kind of place that not even that many of the locals know about. Until I know more about the access I'm not going to say where it is, but believe me it is only one of many.

VERY IMPORTANT NOTE:
Hunting season is here and of course you want to be sure to wear orange if you are out there. There are large numbers of hunters in "them there woods" and I can hear them shooting in the fields by the river at various times during the day. I have a real tendency to make a lot of obvious noise and sing as well just to make sure that they know we are around. I even have a orange vest for the dog so no one mistakes him for a prey. Better safe than...

Cold & Ice Is Coming:
Brad White from IMCS was up in Pinkham Notch on Tuesday and said that all the gullies had blowing snow in them. While we haven't yet had flurries in the the Valley you gotta know that they are on the way. That said, ice season has already started coming in the Canadian Rockies. Check out these pictures on Will Gad's site, GravSports. It looks as if this will be a good year out there & may be the time to make the pilgrimage out west again again.

Proposed Forest Plan - Open House Schedule:
A series of Open House meetings have been scheduled to assist the public in reviewing and commenting on the White Mountain National Forest's Proposed Land and Resource Management Plan (Forest Plan). Members of the interdiscipinary planning team will be on hand to answer questions. Substantive comments may be submitted at any of the open house meetings (must be in writing). The meetings (except for the one in Boston) will run from 2:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

October 28 - Saco District Ranger HQ, 33 Kancamagus Highway, Conway
November 1 - Androscoggin Ranger HQ, 300 Glen Road (Route 16), Gorham
November 2 - Littleton Community Center, 120 Main St, Littleton
November 3 - Evans Notch Ranger Station, 18 Mayville Road, Bethel, ME
November 4 - AMC Headquarters, Cabot Auditorium, 5 Joy Street, Boston MA

Animals On The Loose:
Maybe they're are sensing the change in season and are hustling for food, or they know that the hunters out. All I know is that I'm seeing a lot more animals than I've seen in a while. I've seen 4 foxes and a moose in the past week, three of the foxes Monday night on the way home from the jam session at the Red Parka. About a week ago more than a dozen wild Turkey's wandered across my back yard in the middle of the afternoon. One friend was driving behind a woman who ran into a moose at twilight right outside of Fryeburg about a week ago. No one was injured but it was a close call and the moose didn't make it! Keep your eyes peeled for the animals.

Fundraiser Raffle Results:
Thanks again to those who contributed to the web site and Report this year. If you were chosen to receive one of the prizes and haven't contacted me (al@neclimbs.com) to make arrangements to get yours, please do. If you don't claim your prize it will go into the hopper for next year's participents. <grin>

Mike Cummings - AutoRoute DVD
Gregory Leach - Accidents In North American Mountaineering
Don Pelletier - Tim Kemple Bouldering guide
Chris LeMay - 3 snow pickets
David Way - Charlet Moser ice screw
Mary Armstrong - Wilcox & Lewis Ice Guide
Katherine Aldcroft - Anderl Hexkmair biography

If you are on the list please email me (al@neclimbs.com) to make arrangements to get your prize. While I'll be happy to mail them out, it will be easier and cheaper if you drop by the next time you're in town to pick it up. Besides, I'd like to meet you. <grin>

Although the fundraiser is officially over, of course we're happy to take donations at any time. You can send a check to

NEClimbs
92 Bow Lane
North Conway, NH 03860

Or you can use the PayPal web method at any time.

Thank you for your support.

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