We had a fellow new to backcountry skiing looking to get out and sample the goods. He had heard good things. While he was new to the scene, he opted to forego our more formalized training and to jump right in. He was a confident, skilled skier so this would be no problem. Which is good because as is typical in the backcountry, conditions were variable […]
He reached out to us wanting to establish a date on the ice. Not for himself, but for his wife. She had a birthday coming up and he knew that doing some multipitch ice climbing was high on her list. We were there to make the day a reality as it turned out. The whole family was at our Basecamp the morning of, but dad was […]
Our first Mt Washington Observatory (MWOBS) Overnight Adventure was a success. Unfortunately not everyone who signed up was able to participate. The weather was the reason for the bulk of those who didn’t do it. As often occurs on Mt Washington, the weather was being naughty. Very windy and very cold. Not enough for our trained guides to throw in the towel on, but approaching that. […]
Our recent Snow Moon Snowshoe event was a big success. We had seven participate — led by Redline Guide Mike Cherim — and they were from all over, hailing from Quebec to Florida with a couple of New England states well-represented in the middle. The super low temperatures were a cause for concern, but everyone was decently geared-up and ready, at least for the objective at […]
You’ve probably heard of the New Hampshire 4000-footers. There are 48 of them. We’ve mentioned them a time or two. Hiking them in the three seasons (spring, summer, and fall) is an insanely popular activity nowadays. Taking on those peaks in the winter is also gaining traction — see what we did there? There are no bugs, you still sweat but you also cool down faster, […]
These two peaks — Morgan and Percival — appear on the 52 With a View list — numbers 51 and 52, respectively — but they may be even more well known for their sketchy bits earning them not one but two places on the Terrifying 25 list as well. This day wasn’t about sketchy bits, though. This was just a hike, exercise, fresh air, and views. […]
A father and son team from New York came to us hoping to do some ice climbing, to take an intro course, but also asked that they get exposed to mountaineering skills such as studying the use of crampons and ice axe. These skills, the father mentioned, will ultimately be more useful in the short term. If we can give someone a cake and let them […]
It is these items — “do some laps, learn some technique, and have some fun” — that our guests wanted from their adventure time ice climbing with us. They wanted to do some top-roping in an ever increasing arc starting out easy and the other end of the arc locating their limits, those at present, anyway. Sounds like a doable thing, right? Redline Guide Glenn Van […]
Perhaps shock and awe might fit better than “surprise.” Between the “steeps” and that gnarly Mt Washington weather, our guest felt alive to say the least. This was a private two-day Winter Mt Washington program complete with a day of training followed by an exciting mountaineering experience worth noting. The alpine reward as many know, is sublime. As Redline Guide Mike Maciel put it when we […]
The plan was to take on the Willey Range for a new guest working on her NH 4000-footers. She was from Connecticut, not new to our mountains, approaching the half-way point, but didn’t want to take on the winter summits without backup. That’s where we come in. Just before the hike our guest had been visiting family down under, but felt ready to take on this […]
Noting the title of this blog post, you may be wondering how rock becomes ice. The answer is quite simply: time. Scientifically-speaking, you know this isn’t possible (right?), though geologists might argue the point, so how’s it all work? How on earth does rock become ice over time? Well, it goes something like this: A couple signs up for a rock climbing epic… but life gets […]
It’s not too hard, it’s not too soft, it’s not too hot, it’s not too cold… it’s all juuust right! A couple from New Brunswick, Canada, came to us hoping to do some winter hiking or snowshoeing. They were newer than new to the sport having no experience at all. While we do formally train people to hike, this couple opted to just get out there […]
