climberism magazine issue #7

JULY | AUGUST 2011

THE WAVE: Featuring one of Dover Island’s best routes in anticipcation of the 10th annual Boulderfest

TUFA WARSThe Northeast goes to Southeast Asia

SILVER LAKENewly developed and instantly classic

UBC EMS PROTaking over the Big Apple’s Central Park

climberismTHE NORTHEAST CLIMBING

North to SouthA LITTLE BIT OF EVERYTHING CAN BE

FOUND IN THE NORTHEAST

+Gear TalkFood for Climbers

Local LegendTalk of the Town

THE NORTHEAST CLIMBING M A G A Z I N E

2 MAGAZINEclimberism | JULY AUGUST 2011|

6 LOCAL LEGEND // Ryan Stefiuk By David Crothers

8 TALK OF THE TOWN // Your Local Newswire

10 GEAR TALK // It’s Not Just Gossip

12 LOCALS ABROAD // TUFA WRESTLERS UNION By Chris Beauchamp

16 BOB TIMMER // Old School Vermont Climber By Ross Perry // Photos by Alden Pellett

18 NEW YORK CITY // The UBC Crushes Central Park By David Crothers

26 SILVER LAKE // The Classics By Jesse Littleton

32 IN PHOTOS // The Whitney-Gilman Ridge By David Crothers

39 FOOD FOR CLIMBERS // Noon Mark Diner By Jarred Cobb

ON THE COVER: Freddie Wilkinson hucking through the crux of Wild Life (5.12b) at Wild River, NH. Freddie is climbing the crux, which demands a big move off of two tiny crimps on a razor arete. This pitch takes all of a 70m rope to climb and get lowered..

Photo by: Patrick Bagley

http://bagleyheavybags.blogspot.com

JULY | AUGUSTINSIDE THE MAG

Olof Dallner and Justin Trana snoozing on the belay ledge above Tree doves and Annie Oh! PHOTO BY: OLOF DALLNERContents

3JULY AUGUST 2011| MAGAZINEclimberism | 2011 JULY AUGUST|

When not shooting photographs profession-ally, Chris is trying really really hard to climb rock. Don’t be fooled by his meager accom-plishments, he and good friend Ryan Stefiuk have been installing test pieces in the Catskills when the weather dips below freezing and blue daggers start forming in the region.

Chris Beauchamp

Ross grew up as a native Northeasterner in Connecticut and is likely the nicest guy you’ll meet out at the crag. He has been protecting and preserving climbing as the Vice-President of CRAG-VT for a number of years all while teaching Science to middle school students. He’s a Bruins and Red Sox fan, and an Ice Crusher.

Ross Perry

JULY | AUGUST ISSUEEDITORIAL DIRECTOR David Crothers

ASSISTANT EDITOR Julian Rodier

COPY EDITOR Jarred Cobb

TECHNICAL DIRECTOR James Thompson

GRAPHIC DESIGN Ray Kania & Dick Ritchie

ADVERTISE [email protected]

CONTRIBUTE [email protected]

SUBSCRIBE climberism.com/new-subscribers/

HEADQUARTERS Climberism Magazine P. O. Box 4563 Burlington, VT 05406

CONTACT US [email protected]

Most of the activities depicted in this magazine carry significant amounts of risk with the potential for serious injury or death. We do not recommend you try or participate in any of the activities depicted within this publication. Seek professional guidance or help from some-one of expertise. You assume all risks associated with your decision.

Copyright Climberism. All Rights Reserved. No material in this publica-tion may be reproduced without prior written consent.

THE NORTHEAST CLIMBINGclimberism

M A G A Z I N E

CONTRIBUTORS

Since the summer of 2007, Jesse Littleton has been exploiting New York State climbing to its fullest potential. After spending two years in the Shawangunks, Jesse migrated north to the Adirondacks, where he was able to spend his time seeking out first ascents in the newly opened, Silver Lake and Potter Mountain Cliffs, or as some like to call it, “The Land of Five Star 5.10s”. Now back in New Paltz, Jesse continues to actively participate in the climbing communities of New York, both north and south.

Jesse Littleton

The man is a beast, crushing boulder problems in the V9 - V10 range, it’s a surprise this guy isn’t touring the world professionally and climbing hard granite for a living. Instead “Scooter” works finance for the Canadian government as little as possible, and hits up Dover’s finest whenever possible.

SCOTT RICHARDSON


LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

The Northeast con-tinues to amaze me. With summer in

full throttle and rock climbing nearing its peak, there’s so much happening in the Northeast climbing scene. Recently, we traveled down to the Big Apple to catch the Unified Bouldering Championship EMS Pro in Central Park. Some of the country’s top climbers threw down in front of thou-sands of fans. The at-

mosphere was electric and the event put climbing on the map.

Back up north, we saw Emile Mennin crushing it at Rumney, sending Dave Graham’s Dodge the Lemons (5.13c/d). In the Adirondacks, new routes are being developed left and right, as you’ll read about in Jesse Little-ton’s article on Silver Lake. And, if all that wasn’t enough, Chris Beauchamp recently

threw down on some amazing lines at the Bat Wall in Borneo.

So read this issue, Climberism’s 7th. En-joy it, live it, pass it on to your friends. And when you’re done get out there on some rock and breathe in that beautiful summer air knowing that the Northeast has got plen-ty more to offer.

- David Crothers

EDITOR’S NOTE

Dana Riddle making easy work of women’s problem #1 in New York City’s Central Park // Photo by: David Crothers


LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

“I’m in the west now, but all my east coast climber buddies got an e-mail from me.” I’ve only looked at one issue so far, but it was great. I climbed all those Catskill ice climbs years back.

Now live in Canmore (Banff) in summers, a RV for the winter in Arizona and Las Vegas, Nevada mostly.

Here I am, the old man on left, we’re above Lake Lousie in North Victoria.


DAVID: How was your winter season this year?

RYAN: It was good, but I am glad it’s over. I think there is something about winter climbing, for me at least, that is rewarding but a little more stressful at the same time. It could be the climbing but I think it’s just scarier.

DAVID: You put up a lot of new climbs in the Catskills this year right?

RYAN: We put up a lot of new climbs this year. It was exciting, I think we put, at one crag alone, three M8’s, two M7’s and one M6 with really bad gear. But we also put up some routes with no known recorded ascents that were more moderate mixed trad routes at another areas as well, probably half a dozen routes or so. We also found a whole new cliff in the Catskills that probably has fifteen to twenty moder-

ate to hard ice and mixed lines, it was a pretty nice find. We found it at the end of the season so we’ll have to see about next winter.

DAVID: Very cool, so do you think there are still a lot of climbing and cliffs to be found down there?

RYAN: Oh yea, I think a lot of the cliffs are in plain sight but are a little harder to get to and I think your average weekend warrior isn’t looking for that stuff. They’re b-lining for the closest and most accessible climbing they can get to.

DAVID: How did you get into climbing?

RYAN: I was pretty passionate about the outdoors at a young age. I started racing

RYAN STEFIUK is a guide, hard ice climber, first ascentionist, rock climber and all around great guy. Growing up in Westfield, New Jersey, Ryan learned at a young age he was an outdoorsmen. Racing bikes in high school slowly segued him into rock climbing at the Gunks with a fellow bike racer. His passion for the outdoors and studying Geology at St. Lawrence naturally led him to his career in guiding, where he travels all over the country and Canada. You can catch up with Ryan, his travels and guiding information as he blogs regularly on his website: bigfoot-mountainguides.com, which get’s its namesake from his rather large size 16 feet.

LOCAL LEGEND // RYAN STEFIUK

RYAN ON THE FA OF KYBHT (M6R) // CATSKILLS, NEW YORK

JULY AUGUST 2011| MAGAZINEclimberism | 2011 JULY AUGUST| 7MAGAZINEclimberism |

mountain bikes which eventually segued into climbing. I had a buddy who also raced and climbed, so we started going to the Gunks more and more. You know how it goes, it just becomes part of your life.

DAVID: What brought you into the guiding aspect of climbing?

RYAN: Basically I wanted to be outside all the time, I wanted to climb more and I like working with people on that level. I took a course while attend-ing St. Lawrence University, sort of an outdoor leadership program, so I’d say that was where I got my founda-tion. Since then I have worked for several guiding services and outdoor organizations. Its pretty much been my line of work since I graduated college.

DAVID: Any scary guiding moments?

RYAN: I Just got back from the Moose’s Tooth in Alaska and nothing terribly scary happened to us but about four days after we flew out, a serac collapsed off the Bear Tooth and all five people at base camp were blown from their tents and one guy died from trauma. It was just timing, only four days after we left a small earthquake in park sent all the seracs down. That’s about as scary as it gets and if you’re a guide and have a client die, you’re prob-ably done, it’s just too much.

DAVID: What would you say your favor-ite climbing area is in the Northeast?

RYAN: Tough questions, I’d have to say, Lost City in the Gunks is probably my favorite area to climb rock, and for ice climbing, I’d have to say The Devils Kitchen in the Hell Hole. There is just so much climbing in the area it is really hard to go elsewhere.

Brave New World (11b) // Gunks, New New York

Brave New World (11b) // Gunks, New New York


TALK OF THE TOWN // YOUR LOCAL NEWSWIRE

DODGE THE LEMONS

E M I L E M E N N I NWhile most the world was reading about the latest up-date on Daniel Woods’ hardest line, carnage was raging at Waimea. For a month and a half all of Rumney, New Hampshire could hear the howls of Emile reverberating off the slick gray schist walls. Working Dodge the Lem-ons (5.13c/d), one of Dave Graham’s test pieces, was no easy task for this Northeast native.

Initially, Emile started working the route with Mr. Jay Knower himself, another Rumney local. Figuring out the opening moves quickly, Emile took on the project even after being intimidated with witnessing a lot of strong climbers fall from the route. Emile can add his name to the list of climbers that have put this climb to bed. Jay Conway puts it nicely on mountainproject.com, “Climb-ing this route feels like wrestling TWO fat kids!!”

I N T E R V I E WMelissa GodowskiMelissa Godowski is 18 years old, the head climbing coach at Central Rock Gym in Worcester Massachusetts, and she is one of the strongest Northeast climbers we follow. Her passion and dedication to the sport has undeniably brought much of the success she has experi-enced in recent years. She competes on the professional level, and is so strong that you can almost always find her in finals. Godowski was recently invited to the Teva Games in Colorado for the first time, and placed 32nd, “I’m already working on my technique and training for next year,” she told us. Melissa continues to support herself on her climbing quest and has recently started pursuing sponsorship opportunities. Find the complete interview at climberism.com and look into the life of one of the strongest female climbers the Northeast has. Read More...


NH TEST PIECE VIDEO

S T E V E H O U S ESteve House visited the Northeast last winter, soloing two classic ice climbs on New Hampshire’s Cathedral Ledge — Repentance and Remission. We talked with Steve about the Northeast, Repentance and Remis-sion, his fall, and what has inspired him as a climber. The video was filmed by Jim Surette of Granite Films and you can find the full interview video on our website.

“I did them both at the same time, and I actually don’t remember who I told, if anyone. I actually don’t think I told anyone, it just kind of came out as there were obvi-ously other people involved, such as Jim Surette doing the filming. Word seemed to get out pretty quickly. I didn’t think that the local climbing community would react so strongly to the ascents.” Read More...

RESCUE ABROADLouis RousseauOn July 4th, with warnings of bad weather, Quebec alpinist Louis Rousseau, along with several other climbers, assisted in the rescue of a Pakistani climbing porter left for dead by a Japanese expedition he was assisting. Experiencing severe altitude sickness while gaining elevation, the porter fell ill and began bleeding from his nose and mouth.

Italian climber Giuseppe Pompili reported from his blog that the porter “was helped down from 5900 meters by three por-ters and a Sherpa of Kobler’s Swiss team on July 4th.” He was unable to walk more than twenty steps without stopping. Once news of the rescue hit base camp, Louis Rousseau and a number of other climbers immediately went to assist the group helping the porter down. The group took turns slowly lowering the porter through the heavily crevassed and glaci-ated terrain until they reached base camp at 4 pm. Once they arrived, they set up a medical tent, equipped with a hyper-baric chamber. Read More...

YOUR LOCAL NEWSWIRE // TALK OF THE TOWN


GEAR TALK

Mmmm... slippers, mmmm... Poke-o-Moonshine cracks... I love slippers, especially when comfort is needed for jamming. These little fellas drive a heap of performance and comfort, exactly what a slipper should do. Hemp foot bed helps keep the stink away, the foot straps dials in the fit, and for an extremely affordable price you’ll be working Cathediral Cliffs classics in no time. Once you find a good slipper, one tends to never put their foot into anything else. Siz-ing varies so make sure you try them on before you assume your size.

Climb X Zion Hybrid // Climbing Shoe

GEAR TALK|

Clipping anchors just got a little more luxurious. I usually make my own landyard from store-bought webbing and while that may do the trick, these guys are rated to take 20 falls, how many can your homemade landyard take? The major highlight of this product is that they’re made from dynamic rope, giving you the stretch you’ll need in case of a fall. Bombproof construction and nicely designed. Dynaclip comes in 2 sizes : 75cm (adults) and 40cm (children).Dynadoubleclip comes in one universal size, with one strand of 40cm and the other of 75cm.

what we’ve been using ^̂^̂

BEAL Dynaclip // Climbing Landyard

“it ’s not just gossip”

JULY AUGUST 2011| MAGAZINEclimberism | 2011 JULY AUGUST|

GEAR TALKTHE ACCESS PAGE

Ragged Mountain Foundation

C3PAClimbing Conservency of Central Pennsylvania


MY HEAD WAS POUNDING, rhythmic pulses of pain which were thwarting my attempts to make sense of my situation. Had I really amidst my drunken stupor made a 3 am attempt to reschedule our 7 am flight in some sort of misguided hope that I’d be able to indulge in some of the local limestone? Had I even been successful in changing the flight reservation or more likely had I failed and we’d now simple missed our flight? Had my all consuming urge to squeeze in some tufa wrestling pos-sibly jeopardized the entire trip?

This was after all a work trip, something that should be insulated from my rock inspired whims. And how was it exactly that I was supposed to connect with the local climbers who had originally spawned this idea anyway? My nausea suddenly intensified with the conclusion that I’d endangered the entire work project just so I could squander the day nursing a hangover in our hotel.

And then... salvation in the form of the ringtone from the cellphone Tama, my traveling companion, had dropped next to my bed the night before. Asang! The night before we had been at the Funky Gibbon, a local watering hole where Asang, along with a few other climbers, tended bar.

The evening consisted of a single scene playing over and over, Asang serves up some beer, then proceeds to tell me how good the climbing is at the Bat Wall and then suggests we should change our plans and come climbing tomorrow. I reluctantly inform him that as much as I’d love to we had a pretty tight schedule and we were only in Kuching for that one day stop over. But no one could withstand Asangs persistent enthusiasm forever, particularly when coupled with his generous pours of home brewed Tuoc, the local rice wine moonshine.

Now on the phone Asang was announcing that he’d be by in ten minutes to get us. An hour later and we were driving the car right into the gaping maw of a giant limestone cave dripping with stalactites in an incon-ceivable variety of formations.

Drive-up sport climbing on what is often regarded as one of the more remote islands on earth? My jubilation was temporarily dampened when it was announced that we’d neglected to bring a stick clip which was more or less mandatory equipment at the Bat wall owing to the fact that most of the routes started 15’ off the ground and required a Batman start; stick clip the first bolt and then haul yourself with your belayers help up to the start holds and go.

LOCALS ABROAD TUFA WRESTLERS UNION

Bat Wall | Borneo, Malaysia // Photos From Christopher Beauchamp

JULY AUGUST 2011| MAGAZINEclimberism | 2011 JULY AUGUST|

A HOT SWEATY MESS,

HUFFING LIKE A LIFE

LONG CHAIN SMOKER,

DEVASTATINGLY

HUNGOVER I WAS

HAVING THE TIME OF

MY LIFE AND BASKING

IN A COMFORTING

BLISS.


Being in Borneo though a stick clip is never farther than the closest patch of bamboo. While the rest of the group was foraging for bamboo I started sizing up the one route whose stalagmites actually touch all the way down, Two Egg Bacon Burger, one of the first and finest of the routes here and whose namesake I’d get to experience later that day. My query of “is it hard?” was answered with a french grade and its australian equivlient both of which told me nothing. That they seemed somewhat impressed that I’d elected to warmup with an on sight attempt of the Two Egg Bacon Burger gave me pause for concern. I certainly didn’t want to find myself bouncing between stalagmites like a life size pin ball game.

Launching into the opening sequence in my four sizes two big borrowed shoes and no chalk I quickly started to appreciate just how steep the overhang was. The insufferably humid heat instantly sent rivers of salty sweat into my eyes and down my arms where my chalkless hands lie defenseless. “Are you guys sure there’s nothing in these pockets that can kill me?” I nervously asked, up to that point in the trip it had seemed that all the fauna of Borneo was in a highly competitive race to eat me. After resigning myself to blindly plunge my hands into all the holes in an attempt to find the best holds, not necessarily the most positive, but more the one’s with the least spiders, I was set-tling into the climb and quickly becoming enamored with the three-dimensional nature of the climbing in the cave, super pumpy but with great smooth white jugs in a variety of amorphous shapes.

Minutes later, lowering from the chains, a hot sweaty mess, huffing like a life long chain smoker, devastatingly hungover I was having the time of my life and bask-ing in a comforting bliss at the realization that I was part of some bigger tribe, a people who would go out of their way so that they could share the local goods with someone they didn’t know, literally from the other side of the planet, who was on a one day stopover. Sure I’d probably still grumble about the crowds when I got back to my local crags but for right now....


BOB TIMMER // OLD-SCHOOL VERMONT CLIMBER (1964-2011)

Longtime Smugglers Notch local Bob Timmer, 46, died at home on May 3, 2011. He courageously battled various forms of cancer for more than ten years, all the while climbing year-round as much as he could. He inspired the disabled as well as able-bodied individuals with his courage, fortitude, and per-sistence throughout his struggle. Two videos of Bob ice climbing are available through YouTube.

Bob honorably served our country in the US Army and Vermont National Guard for 23 years, and the travels he experienced during this time allowed him to climb in many countries, such as Pakistan, Italy, France, Austria, Spain, and Canada. He also climbed at crags all over the United States, including North Conway, the Gunks, Yosemite, and an annual trip with friends to Joshua Tree. But most of all, Smugglers Notch, Vermont, which spans the towns of Cambridge and Stowe, was his favorite. If you’ve seen the original pamphlet-style guidebook to Smugglers Notch Ice, you’ll see Bob on the cover, working another bold route with ease. In an interview for CRAG-VT’s November 2008 Crag Rag, Bob listed his favorite Vermont ice climbs as Ragnarock (NEI 4+) and Elephant’s Head, South Face (NEI 4 M4) at Smug-glers Notch, and his favorite Vermont rock climbs as The Rose (5.10a) and The Thorn (5.11a) at Upper West Bolton.

Bob is survived by his wife Cathy, sons Jacob and Joshua, and three beloved dogs.

The Vermont climbing com-munity has lost a valuable

member.

Story by: Ross Perry // Photos By: Alden Pelletthttp://vermontphotographer.com

JULY AUGUST 2011|

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THE UNIFIED BOULDERING CHAMPIONSHIP TAKES OVER CENTRAL PARK

NEW

YORK

THE UNIFIED BOULDERING CHAMPIONSHIP TAKES OVER CENTRAL PARK


It comes as no surprise that the UBC’s EMS Pro blew Central Park away

in June. I was amazed by how many spectators swarmed the walls, ready to cheer and support the climbers, many of whom, I believe, have never experienced a competition before — let alone thought about climbing. Hopefully many of these potentially new faces to the sport will now go out and join the community because of this event. I have never experi-enced such an amped crowd during a bouldering competition nor have I experienced such engagement — it was hard at times to continue shoot-ing photos and video.

Not only did the event attract groups of climbers from the city and around the northeast, it also captivated those who were just in the park for the afternoon. Before long, the climbing walls were packed with spectators cheering on some for our very own Northeast climbers, along with a few climbers from outside the region and even as far as Mexico!


Every climber did a superb job tackling each problem creatively, but it was pretty obvious right off the bat who was likely to take first for the men and women. Vasya Vorotnikov crushed and pulled ahead early with the only top-out of the first problem and later finished things off with an incredible flash of the last problem — sending the crowd roaring. Mike Fein-berg, New York’s very own strongman, took third place with an impressive show of confidence on the last two problems.

For the women, Angie Payne and Sasha DiGiulian duked it out by flashing all three problems and sending the score-keepers digging into the semi-finals results in order to determine the winner. Francesca Metcalf and Lizzy Asher — both Northeast climbers — impressively battled and climbed strong, taking both third and fourth place. Metcalf climbed with support around her ankle from an injury she sustained from an climbing ac-cident earlier this year.

LEFT TO RIGHT: Ty Landman on men’s problem #1, Francesca Metcalf on women’s problem #3, Dana Riddle on wom-en’s problems #2, and Vasya Vorotnikov on men’s problem #1.


Another event like this will only continue to push the sport into new directions. The EMS Pro was a huge success for everyone involved, including USA Climbing — the national governing body of competition climbing in the United States. It put the community in the spotlight, right where it needs to be in order to receive an ac-ceptance into the Olympic games. I was excited to have the privilege of covering such a great event. We’re looking forward to the Nor’easter coming to Burlington, Vermont this fall!

23JULY AUGUST 2011| MAGAZINEclimberism | 2011 JULY AUGUST|LEFT TO RIGHT: Mike Feinberg on men’s problem #3, Tiffany Hensley on women’s problem #2 and Lizzy Asher on wom-en’s problem #1

24

Pat Bagley belaying Grady Jackson on Orangahang, Rumney, NH (5.12a/b) Photo By: David Crothers

MAGAZINEclimberism | 2011 JULY AUGUST| 25 2011 MARCH APRIL| MAGAZINEclimberism |

Derek Humphrey on The Hobbit Hole (V3) - Pawtucka-wayPhoto By: Lauren Beaudoin

SILVER LAKE

In the Adirondack Park, halfway between

Saranac Lake and Plattsburgh, lies an

oasis of granite like none other. It’s off the

beaten path, but still convenient to visit.

Recently, there’s been a first ascent gold

rush – Silver Lake has been open to climb-

ers for more than two years now. In those

two years, more than 130 routes have

been documented. In fact, there are more

climbs at Silver Lake than there are at the

Beer Walls and Spider’s Web combined.

You can easily climb high-quality routes

for a full day at more than a dozen crags

that exist at Silver Lake. These are some

of the classics.

{CLASSICS}

Richard Wilson on the third pitch of The Brazilian

STORY BY: JESSE LITTLETON

27MAGAZINEclimberism | 2011 JULY AUGUST|

The Center of Progress cliff is a tall one with some instant classics. The Tooth and Nail area has three climbs not to be missed:African Barking Spiders (5.11a), Tooth and Nail (5.10b) and Oral Surgery (5.11b). Also, don’t forget to do the splitter Connecti-cut Yankee (5.10d), a contender for best climb at Siver Lake.

CENTER OF PROGRESS Colin Loher on the first free ascent of Tooth and Nail

Potter Mountain, the land of the 5.10s, is the tallest of the cliffs, with several climbs coming in it at over 300 feet. Go to the area called Shangri La and climb the crazy moon rock slabs. There isn’t a bad pitch up there but make sure you do The Brazil-ian (5.10a), Once in a Lifetime (5.10d), Groovitational Pull (5.10a), Positive Latitude(5.10b) and Every Inch Counts (5.10a).

POTTER MOUNTAIN Jesse Littleton climbing “moon rock” on Once in a Lifetime

MAGAZINEclimberism | 2011 JULY AUGUST|

The Summit Cliff is remote and wild. It’s a steep hike that takes about an hour and most of the pitches are 100% trad. The seclusion you will find here is part of what the Adirondacks are all about, and you can’t help but feel bad ass climbing at this cliff. Make sure you don’t miss Queen of the Jungle (5.10b), Great Northern Diver (5.10d) and Tales of Weakness (5.9), Green Mountain Boys (5.9), Handlebarbarism(5.10b) and Hairy Upper Lip Drip (5.10b).

THE SUMMIT CLIFF Devin Berberich on the first pitch of Great Northern Diver


The last of the well developed cliffs is the C Chimney Cliff. Here you’ll find long hard pitches with a mix-ture of cracks, slabs, roofs and steep faces. Outstand-ing climbs here include Zoinks!! (5.11a), Haroom Baroom(5.11d), Bearded Munchkin (5.10b), Seeking Enlightenment (5.10d) and Hippie Sticks and Black Flies (5.11a).

C CHIMNEY CLIFF Mark Scott, just after the crux on the first pitch of Hippie Sticks and Black Flies


Of course, these are just the classics of Silver Lake so far. There are several undone projects waiting to be sent, as well as acres and acres of unclimbed rock. Whether you want a day of cragging, or a day of first ascending or some mix of both, Silver Lake has it. So get out there and enjoy the wildness and seclusion, the stellar and sometimes lunar. Silver Lake is sure to deliver.

Top Left: Tom Wright and Peter Nichols on the second pitch of Groovitational Pull; Top Right: Rich Wilson on the first ascent of Handlebarbarism.; Bottom: Jesse Littleton on pitch two of Zoinks!!


Whitney-GilmanThe

In PhotosRidge


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THE WAVE IS PER-HAPS DOVER ISLAND’S MOST

COVETED BOULDER PROBLEM AND SETS THE STANDARD FOR V5 BOULDERING ACROSS THE PROVINCE. TRAVERS-ING THE LIP OF A BEAU-TIFUL GRANITE SCOOP - REMINISCENT OF THE WAVES THAT FREQUENT-LY CRASH AGAINST THE COAST OF DOVER ISLAND - WILL GET YOU A HOOT, A HOLLER AND A BREATH TAKING VIEW.

The Wave begins from a sit start on a jug. Stand tall on positive feet and quickly switch your right hand to an under-cling. From the under-cling, cross straight up with your left hand to a decent side-pull edge. Work your feet up to the start hold and make two hand movements to traverse the lip to the right. Back step a large, prominent jug under the scoop and fire big with your right hand to a positive sloper. Match your feet, mov-ing your right foot to a far right smear on the scoop-face. Bring your left hand

to a sloping dish about one foot left of your right hand. From these holds, keeping your right foot smeared on the scoop-face, swing your left leg up to heel the tra-versing lip. Now the crux: rock hard over your left heel while mantling up over the lip. Once in a state of bal-ance, reach up with your left hand to a small but positive crimper. Crank hard on the crimp, mantle with your right and rock over your heel until you are able to stand up.

Congrats. You’ve just sent the wave!

ROUTE BETA

FEATURED ROUTES

DOVER ISLAND, NOVA SCOTIA // THE WAVE (V5)

WRITTEN BY: SCOTT RICHARDSON


PERHAPS IT IS NO SURPRISE THAT A CLIMBER AS PROLIFIC AND CONTROVERSIAL AS HENRY BARBER HAD A BIOG-RAPHY WRITTEN ABOUT HIM AT THE RIPE AGE OF 28. IN

ON EDGE: THE LIFE AND CLIMBS OF HENRY BARBER, CHIP LEE CAPTURES THE FRENETIC PACE AT WHICH BARBER TACK-LED SOME OF THE HARDEST ROCK ROUTES FROM GERMANY TO AUSTRALIA DURING THE 1970’S. BORN IN BOSTON AND SCHOOLED ON ROCK AROUND THE NORTHEAST, BARBER’S MARK HAS BEEN LEFT ACROSS THE REGION--JUST PICK UP A GUIDE BOOK FOR THE GUNKS OR CATHEDRAL LEDGE AND YOU’LL SEE HIS NUMEROUS FA’S. HIS EMPHASIS ON CLEAN AND FREE CLIMBING MARKED A TURNING POINT FOR THE SPORT AFTER A RELIANCE ON AID BY MANY CLIMBERS OF THE PREVI-OUS GENERATION.

LEE’S BIOGRAPHY IS AT TIMES GRIPPING, WITH ONE CHAPTER TITLED “BEAUTY AND DEATH” QUOTING BARBER AT LENGTH ON HIS PHILOSOPHY OF FREE-SOLOING, “IT IS A TIME WITHOUT DISTRACTIONS, WHEN YOU CAN ONLY LOOK DEEPLY INSIDE YOURSELF. THE HARMONY OCCURS WHEN YOU HAVE TO BREAK THROUGH THE BEAUTY AND ADVENTURE TO GAIN THE BALANCE OF MIND AND BODY NEEDED TO SOLO DIFFICULT ROUTES.” BUT, AT OTHER TIMES THE BOOK CAN BE SCATTERED AS THE CHAPTERS AREN’T ALWAYS CHRONOLOGICAL AND LEE TRIES TO COVER TOO MUCH IN THE 281 PAGES.

OVERALL, THE BOOK IS A MUST READ THAT DESCRIBED ONE OF CLIMBING’S FIRST SUPERSTARS. HENRY BARBER TOOK A LOT OF HEAT AFTER A MAJOR ACCIDENT AND RESCUE WITH ROB TAYLOR AT KILIMANJARO, BUT BARBER’S NO-BULLSHIT ATTITUDE AND PIONEERING OUTLOOK WERE PIVOTAL IN THE PROGRESSION OF AMERICAN AND INTERNATIONAL CLIMBING. IF YOU WANT TO GET IN THE MIND OF ONE OF THE BEST AND MOST BAD-ASS NORTHEAST CLIMBERS EVER, GET A COPY OF THIS BOOK.

On Edge: The life and climbs of Henry Barber

WE CLIMBERISM FOOLS WERE LUCKY ENOUGH TO GET OUR HANDS ON ROB HOLZMAN’S RECENTLY PUBLISHED GUIDEBOOK TO PENNSYLVANIA. COMING IN AT NEARLY

500 PAGES, IT IS THE FIRST COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE FOR THE “KEY STONE” STATE, AND THE AUTHOR’S HARD WORK AND KNOWLEDGE OF THE PA CLIMBING SCENE IS EVIDENT THROUGHOUT. HOLZ-MAN, AND HIS PARTNERS TOM KNEISS, NICK MORELL AND RYAN LUKAS HAVE DEVELOPED THOUSANDS OF ROUTES AND BOULDER PROBLEMS THROUGHOUT PA, AND HOLZMAN HAS “CLIMBED, OR ATTEMPTED, NEARLY EVERY ROUTE AND BOULDER PROBLEM MEN-TIONED IN THIS GUIDE.”

BECAUSE THIS IS THE FIRST GUIDEBOOK FOR PENNSYLVANIA, HOLZMAN HAD TO DO A LOT OF LEG WORK TO FIGURE OUT ORIGINAL ROUTE NAMES AND FAS DUE TO CLIMBERS IN THE STATE NOT KEEPING A WRITTEN RECORD OF WHAT HAD BEEN SENT. HE IS RESPECTFUL OF ACCESS ISSUES, ONLY INCLUDING AREAS THAT ARE OPEN TO CLIMBING. WHAT YOU’LL FIND IN THIS GUIDEBOOK ARE OVER 1,000 ROUTES AND BOULDER PROBLEMS FROM POPU-LAR AREAS LIKE DELAWARE WATER GAP AND BOXCAR ROCKS TO THE MORE OBSCURE CHIMNEY ROCKS AND BROWN SUGAR WALL IN WHITE HAVEN. EACH AREA HAS LOCATION AND DIRECTIONS, HIS-TORY, RECOMMENDED RACK, ACCESS ISSUES AND RESTRICTIONS, IN CASE OF EMERGENCY CONTACTS, AND ROUTE DESCRIPTIONS AND GRADES.

WHAT YOU’LL ALSO FIND IN HOLZMAN’S TOME IS HUMOR AND PER-SONALITY. WHEN TALKING ABOUT GRAFFITI AND VANDALISM AT BOXCAR ROCKS, HE SAYS “IT’S THE SPRAY-PAINT-TOTING KIDS WHO LOOK LIKE THEY WALKED OUT OF A MARILYN MANSON VIDEO, AND CARRY A COPY OF HELTER SKELTER IN THEIR BACK POCKET THAT WORRY ME.” WHILE THERE MAY BE SOME IN PA WHO WILL ARGUE WITH CERTAIN ROUTE NAMES, FAS OR GRADES, HOLZMAN ENCOURAGES PEOPLE TO CONTACT HIM FOR FUTURE EDITIONS. IF YOU LIVE IN PA, YOU’LL DISCOVER NEW ROUTES AND CRAGS IN THE BOOK; IF YOU LIVE OUTSIDE THE STATE, YOU HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO FUEL UP, GRAB YOUR RED BULL AND GET YOUR ASS TO PA FOR SOME FINE NORTHEAST CLIMBING!

Rock Climbing and Bouldering Pennsylvania: Secrets of the Keystone State

THE LIBRARY


On a recent trip to the Daks, tired of our diet of roasted

squirrel and PBR, we stopped into the Noon Mark Diner. From the outside, it looks like your typi-cal small town diner, the kind you should always stop at. However, we heard rumors about the spot, some climbers even claim it has the best pie you’ll ever eat, so we checked it out.

Open from 6am to 10pm, it’d be hard to find the place closed after or before a day of climbing. Serving a killer breakfast, solid sandwiches and even veggie burgers, this place has it all, whether you’re a carni-vore or a filthy hippie.

Like most things in the Adiron-dakcs, hidden gems exist all over

the place, you just have to dig a little to find them. We were lucky enough to have been recommended to the Noon Mark, which gets its name from the near by Noon Mark Mountain and the old Noonmark Farm. We grabbed a slice of their maple walnut pie and some vanilla ice cream, on our way back home from a weekend in the mountain. I can still taste the deliciousness. We recommend this place to you like our friends did to us and if you aren’t lucky enough to be close to the Daks or Noon Mark Diner, I pity you for you will never be a seri-ous climber. But, you can order a pie and they’ll ship it right to your door! Way better than squirrels!

You can’t really eat the Noon Mark Diner,

but the food inside this establishment is

a must for any climb-er who finds him or

herself in the Adiron-dacks and looking for

some hearty grub. Since 1981, they’ve been churning out homemade bread

and pies from their spot on Route 73 in

Keene Valley, NY.

On Edge: The life and climbs of Henry Barber

FOOD FOR CLIMBERS


CLIMBERISM MAGAZINEPHIL BRANCA CLIMBING AN UNKNOWN 5.9 IN THE QUINCY QUARRIES.QUINCY, MASSACHUSETTS

climberism magazine issue #7

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