The Past Week

I have no concept of time.  I understand seconds, minutes, hours, days... but I never know what day of the week it is.  Last week may as well been a month ago.  Here is a recap of my last week.  If it really was a week?


Last weekend I visited my friend Andrew in Boston.  I always enjoy spending time with him.  We didn't do anything  extravagant.  Drank beers, ate food, watched movies, went to a party, and I helped him get his car out of his driveway.  What more are friends for?  He is student teaching and enjoying it.  I felt bad, Monday and Tuesday he was up at 530am and I stayed asleep on his futon.

Although I had only been back in New Hampshire for a couple weeks, it felt really good to, "escape" to Boston.  I enjoy the city, more so the ideal.  Driving there, away from home (worries and thoughts), I enjoy the adventure.  I like getting away.  Home, Holderness, can pull me down.  Especially when I have nothing to do.  After returning on Tuesday, I have felt my groove.  I've been ice climbing and the weeknight bouldering sessions are in full swing, and I'm working tonight!  Maybe I'll make 80 bucks!

Tuesday nights Jason Conway has people over his house.  He has a fun, and stout bouldering wall in his house.  Good beers are drank, we listen to 80's and 90's gangster rap and throw down.  His boulder problems are so much fun.  Did I mention they are hard?  They are explosive and powerful!  The way bouldering is meant to be.  Tom (Armstrong, the man, the myth, the legend, for those of you who haven't herd of him), put an addition onto his basement bouldering wall.  It's great!  We had a session there Thursday night.  The usual crew showed up, we made some new boulder/route problems.  It was fun.  Once again, climbers + beer + music = fun!!! 

Friday I went with my roommate Eric to Lake Willoughby!  Holly-fucking-God is that place awesome.  Talk about long, pure ice routes!  V-threads!  What the fuck is that shit!  A simple explanation of a V-Thread:  You take your biggest ice screw, usually a 22cm.  At an angle, roughly 45 degrees you place the screw into the ice.  Then you back it out, half way.  If you have another 22cm screw, you visually/conceptually imagine where to place it so it will hit the hollow hole from the other screw.  If it is successfully done, they will meet, creating a V in the ice.  Then you thread it with, webbing, cord-a-let or a sling.  Tie it off and use it as a rappel anchor.

V-thread rappel anchor.

  The heavier of the two climbers rappels first with an ice screw backing up the system in case it fails (shown above).  If the heavier person makes it down successfully, the other person rappels on the V-Thread only.  Really freaky, but, if it is done properly in good, solid ice, its bomber!  Since the ice climbs at Lake Willoughby are so long, they require multiple rappels.  And, since it's all ice, V-threads are the technique used for getting down... safely that is.  

Lake Willoughby

The lake is amazing.  The routes are astonishing, I can't wait to go back and climb more! It's funny.  There are two worlds there.  The ice fishers', and ice climbers.  We talk about their bob houses at belay stations and they give us the stink eye!          

The drive through Franconia Notch was beautiful, honestly, when is it not?

Today I climbed a few pitches of ice at Rumney.  I met my friend Corey Schwartz earlier.  He lives the married life and has a full time job.  He loves being able to get out for morning sessions.  We climbed a few lines at the Parking lot wall at Rumney.  I had an interesting conversation with the White Mountain Law Enforcement.  He had a radar gun in his expedition and I asked him if he could issue speeding tickets.  He told me he could do whatever he wanted to.  Then I asked him how accurate the radar was.  He responded that he is trained to assess how fast someone is going, then he radars them, and if his assessment is within 3 MPH of what the radar reads, he will pull "you" over.  Kind of fucked? Anyway, we set up a top rope on a thin, chandelier-ed climb called "Frankie Lee."  It was a lot of fun. I took a burn on the left side, which was full of slightly over hanging bulges, great stems, a little mixed stemming.  I knocked a good size block of ice off and hit myself in the head/face.  Some blood, nothing major.

Corey psyched to CLIMB!  Sorry ladies, he's married!

Tomorrow Anthony Cormier is driving up.  We hope to ice climb, maybe rock climb if the weather agrees.  If we rock climb we will do some night ice!  Night ice is so much fun, especially on cold clear nights.  The ice glows a different shade of blue in the moonlight.

I'm conflicted!  Should I go to Spain for two weeks?  I could, I have the money (kind of).  I would return broke, but it would be a great adventure.  On the other hand.  I'm finally feeling back in my groove here.  I applied for a job as a sales associate at Plymouth Ski and Sport.  It is the local out door gear shop.  They don't carry any super technical gear.  Basic, everyday gear that non-climbers purchase.  Also, I have made plans with a few friends to spend my birthday in Montreal... if I go to Spain I don't think Montreal would happen. It kind of seems like a no brainer, but I can't decide what I should do!

I'm out of coffee and its time to get ready for work!