Twelve Days in the Northeast

Hi folks,

The most recent trip report is posted here on Climbing.com. I'm no poet, but I took a shot at writing a poem anyway. Because of the way the text wraps around the photos, it doesn't quite look as I submitted it, but that's OK. I really have no clue if it's any good or not. Here is the beginning to give you an idea:

Upon the passing of Hurricane Earl;
he flew in just before
we drove

Guidebook: Rumney - Rise & Shine (5.7), Bolt Line (5.8), Dung Beetle (5.8), Easy Terms (5.8), Hippo's Parade (5.8+), Lies & Propaganda (5.9), Easily Aroused (5.9+), Egg McMeadows (5.10a)

Rumney

Meadows / Parking Lot Wall

Approach: From the main parking lot, if heading to the Meadows first, walk to the far end of the lot (past the kiosk if walking from the toilets and / or fee station), and head straight up the path. The path will come out at the left side of the Meadows. For the Parking Lot Wall, head up the path directly behind the kiosk. A path connects both walls at the top.

The Body Fights Back

In summary, I got sick bad a few weeks ago on my final day in Acadia. It was Lyme disease, and I fought what I thought was a feverish flu for five days until I finally went to the emergency room in search of help. The comeback has been slow but noticeably progressive. I started with slow 30-minute swims every other day and, over the course of a couple of weeks, have built up to medium-paced 60-

Local Update

Despite the fact that the heavy rains that were scheduled to roll into Massachsetts early in the day didn't show up until later (and, thus, kept folks like me wrongly relegated to the gym instead of being outside), I am a bit more optimistic about climbing in New England this spring.From what I understand, Farley Ledge and Rose Ledge each have a little bit of snow on the trails, but the routes

Rumney After Cannon

Just to let you know, unless you want to read about fatigue and public nudity, the Whitney-Gilman post is better."Jello" and I desperately wanted to sleep in after the day before, but there's always one thing that keeps me from sleeping in while camping: the fucking sunlight! Well, that and the constant howls of coyotes off in the distance (at least I hope they were off in the distance). We were

Rumney (re, re, redux)

The entire week leading to my trip up in North Conway I pressed my partners to meet up somewhere on Saturday and Sunday. I really wanted to make my two days on Cathedral a three or four-day-long climbing weekend. I posted to my group and got nothing but crickets in response...and even they were asleep. So I made one last effort with a phone call to a girl I wasn't I wasn't sure was comfortable

Rumney - Taking the Injured Thumb Outside and On Lead

Yesterday was my first day testing my recovering thumb both outside and on lead, and I have to say that I think I did fairly well. I was nervous, and my leg shook like crazy at times to prove that was true - even on easy routes I had climbed clean before.The day started with "Cody" picking me up at 7am in an attempt to get to Rumney by 9am. We were to meet "Sherpa", who, by the way, requested a

Good Leads This Weekend

I sport led my first 5.10 this weekend, and tacked on two 5.9+s as well. While I've trad led 5.9 in the Gunks before, and possibly elsewhere (Pawtuckaway?, Crow Hill?, Acadia? North Conway?, Switzerland? - I can't remember exactly), today was the first day that I've led 5.10 outside. I've led 5.11 inside before (though how clean is still up for debate) and am not afraid of hard 5.10s in the gym

Another Great Day At Rumney

I just can't get over how much fun I've had climbing at Rumney this spring. In years' past, climbing there has been difficult, not because the climbing is hard, but because getting on routes is a challenge on nice days. Rumney has many, many crags spread across Rattlesnake Mountain, but each of the crags are so enjoyable that they all attract crowds when the sun is high and warm. Cloudless days

The First Rumney Assault of the Year - YEAAAH!

OK, so we were so excited after hitting Qunicy Quarry a few weeks ago that we got ahead of ourselves in thinking we'd be able to get out every weekend from that point thereafter (maybe until the end of time). I know. I know. It was a foolish thing to think, but I'm not convinced it's entirely abnormal; especially after living inside for the winter. When it gets cold at the start of the winter,