Luke Foley
Doug Martland
Genevieve Martland
Tim Peck
Mickey Spades
All tagged climb
There’s a surprising number of alpine routes on the Boott Spur Buttress on Mt. Washington. Some are primarily snow climbs, like Cathedral, Stovepipe, Dodge’s, and Hillman’s. Others, such as Summer Chimney and Autumn Arete, are rock routes that ascend one of the three rock buttresses (the aptly named Buttresses No. 1, No. 2, and No. 3) that guard Boott Spur’s upper reaches.
Rattlesnake Rocks has some of the best single pitch climbing in Greater Boston. While we’ve already written about some of the area’s best easy trad climbs, here is a six-pack of enjoyable routes that are worth checking out if you are in the vicinity as well as a pro tip on where to kick back after a fun day climbing.
As he continues to develop his resume for a future AMGA Rock Guide Course, Scott recently asked me to share some favorite 5.10s that he could top-rope before leading. Here’s the first five on my list, along with a little beta for each route.
With the current situation involving the COVID-19 pandemic, it has become impossible or a poor idea to gym climb unless you have a personal home gym. That can be a bit of a drag for many of us, however, we can turn that situation around to take care of ourselves and hit the upcoming rock season even stronger. Below I lay out some ideas to kick start your at-home training so you get stronger during this situation.
Quincy Quarry has three excellent dry tool cracks. Early season favorites of mine, they are worth checking on any day you want to swing the tools, but the ice isn’t “in.”
Quincy Quarries is one of the last places where you’d think there’d be ice climbing. But it’s there, at least until it isn’t. And when it’s “in,” it’s actually pretty good. Here are my favorite routes as well as some beta.
Scott and I recently climbed Lakeview (5.6, Grade III, 7 pitches) on Cannon as part of my 2019 Must-Climb Routes. It was awesome, although at times a little intimidating. It was also, in keeping with Cannon’s reputation, a bit loose.
So you finally have a weekend to join your friends on a trip to Rumney and you’re excited to climb outside for the first time. All that time learning to climb in the gym has prepared you for the physical aspects of the upcoming climbs, but not necessarily the personal gear you need to send the transition from gym to crag. Here’s my recommendation for a streamlined and highly versatile kit.
I climbed so many outstanding pitches in 2018. With rock season now upon us, I’ve been thinking a lot about routes that I’d like to climb this year. So without further ado, here’s five new-to-me rock routes in the Northeast that are on my “to-do” list for 2019.
When I started rock climbing, my gear consisted of a pair purple 5.10 Spires. Eager to climb, but lacking any other equipment, I bouldered. My first “real” problem: a 50 foot traverse from a small but solid stance in a cave on what I later learned was Quincy Quarry’s “N Wall.”
I recently returned from a fantastic 5-day climbing trip to Red Rock with my friend Josh, who I met during the AMGA Rock Guide Course in North Conway in September. Here’s a quick rundown of what we climbed.
At Little Elephant Head in Tompson Street Reservation on Cape Ann, the 5 feels like a 7, the 6 starts like an 8, and the best 7 climbs like a 5. And as Nick and I discovered last weekend when we set off to climb at this obscure Red-Rock-alternative, the routes themselves are really hard to find.
Valley Walls: A Memoir of Climbing & Living in Yosemite is more of a collection of short stories than it is a single narrative, which makes it an easy to pick up and put down. It also makes it a quick read. So if you’re looking to learn more about the roots of Yosemite climbing give Glen Denny’s Valley Walls: A Memoir of Climbing & Living in Yosemite a read.
Tim, Scott, and I recently had a great day climbing on Whitehorse and Cathedral Ledge. We climbed two classic routes—Sliding Board on Whitehorse and Thin Air on Cathedral—in good time, then enjoyed some parking lot beers. While I loved the climbing, I’m pretty sure the post-climb Trilliums made Tim’s day.
Between multiple trips to the Gunks, days clipping bolts at Rumney, and many outings to crag at various cliffs in New Hampshire (Whitehorse, Longstack Precipice, Square Ledge, Echo Crag, and Artists Bluff), Greater Boston (Quincy Quarries, Rattlesnake Rocks, Hammond Pond, and Crow Hill), and Connecticut (Chatfield Hollow), I’ve been climbing a lot this season. Here’s some of the gear that keeps finding its way into my kit no matter the outing.
Heat waves suck! Since this one is sticking around for a few more days, here are a few ways to stay active without getting beat by the heat.
The last several weeks at Tuesday Night Climbing, I’ve gotten an earful about how “dirty” my climbing ropes are. Of course, the earfuls were well-deserved as my ropes were, to put it mildly, dirty. The key word there, though, is were, as earlier this week I decided to solve the problem. I washed the ropes. In case you’ve never done it, here’s how to wash a climbing rope in 7 easy steps.
Over the years, I have sporadically thought about that day with Ron, and I still marvel at the nonchalant way in which he climbed a problem that eludes me to this day. Because Ron seemed so familiar with Pawtcukaway, it has always surprised me that I never ran into him again—that is until I started going to a new climbing gym and saw the familiar beard, ponytail, and effortless style from across the bouldering cave.
Climbers looking to start climbing on their own outside often have two common questions: how do I build a top rope anchor and what equipment is required to set up a top rope? Although there are many ways to build an anchor for top roping, my preferred method is to use a static line to create a master point with two solid anchor points. Here’s how to build one in four easy steps.
