Two days, two organizations, three students. The turnout wasn’t huge, but the students learned a lot and had a great time doing it. It helped that the weather was pretty magnificent. Hopefully the word will get out so next time these groups come to us in greater numbers. Day one was with Ridj-it out of Boston and day two, with our friends in the NH Women’s Hiking Group (a.k.a. the Purple Army). On lead for these classes was Redline Guide Will Murphy on both days. Will provided the photos for the video below as well as these summaries.
DAY ONE…
As I drove through Crawford Notch this morning I was looking forward to the fact that for our guest the day would end there. Crawford Notch is famous for its ice climbing and our guests were getting ready for our ‘Intro to Ice’ course. We met at Basecamp and spent some time going over gear, climbing crag etiquette, and safety. A primer in knot tying got us ready for the next phase of ice climbing.
The walk to ‘the forest’ was pleasant with the view of Mt Washington ever leading us. We spent the day on top-rope learning ice climbing skills including partner check, safety, use of ice tools and crampons. After several ‘laps’ on the ice, we pulled the rope to flatter ground and practiced ice screw placement and anchor building.
It was a great time of new experience and challenge for both guests, each excited at what they were doing and looking forward to extend that in the future. —Will
DAY TWO…
Another stellar day in Crawford Notch at Frankenstein awaited our guest for our ‘Intro to Ice’ course. A classroom session introduced all the equipment with associated procedures for knot tying, harness and equipment checks and safety. As we headed to the Notch, our guest was excited at the prospect of climbing ice. Once at our site, nerves were present, but as the practice and experience grew, the nerves abated. During lunch we saw 2 Air Force planes on a practice run come through the Notch.
The end of the day featured anchor building and various procedures for tying in. All in all a beautiful day in a beautiful setting. —Will
Sounds like two wonderful days, right? Check out these photos!
Great job one and all. Thanks for climbing with Redline Guiding.