such adventure, much blog, many words, wow.

So this weekend was pretty fun and action packed. That’s without the superbowl =]
Saturday morning the alarm went off at 5 am, Aly, myself and 2 friends dragged our butts out of bed to drive up to the catskills for a day of ice climbing. The weather was calling to be crappy, but thankfully it stayed nice all day.
We made it up to kaaterskill clove by 8 and thankfully were one of the first cars in the lot, at the climbing location. It’s a short steep approach, with lots of options for routes, so this place gets packed quickly. We made plans to meet one other group there.

the ice was nice and fat, and I hopped on lead onto a WI2. Things went smoothly, except for one scary moment, where I was about 6 feet from the top, and all of the ice that my right tool was in, totally blew out and sent me for a little ride, I was about 4 feet above my last ice screw. THANKFULLY my left tool was in there nice and solidly, so I managed to get my feet back on and get a better placement on my right hand. I have never fallen on lead yet, rock or ice, and this is the closest I want to come. I learned my lesson. Go slow, make sure each placement is totally solid. I finished that lead without incident, and setup a toprope for the rest of the crew to climb on. 2 other ropes had been setup, and we had a good crew of people sharing ropes, so we got a decent amount of climbing in.

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the line that I got to lead here, follows the deep blue ice up to the center left exit.

After some more top roping, and once the area turned into a zoo, with climbers on top of eachother, we called it a day and went down and made our way home. Everyone was happy with the day, and glad we got there early enough to climb without it being crowded.

Sunday morning I got to sleep in until 7. We were heading up to bear mountain/harriman state park for the annual NYARA hike-a-thong, where you get a map, with a marked course of trails, and you go run/hike, whatever for a few hrs to burn off a bunch of calories before you binge on superbowl food. And instead of a tech t shirt..you get a thong.
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the course this year turned out to be 14.6 miles of constant up and down on technical singletrack trails. I think we logged about 3200 feet of climbing. It was really tough. There wasn’t enough snow for snowshoes or microspikes in my opinion, but a bit too much for just trail shoes. I went sans spikes, and had little bits of foot slippage the whole run, which really adds to the difficulty. My brother and I ran it together, finishing the course in 3:20. There were a handful of really fast runners in front of us, but they skipped /missed one of the last sections of trail, so “officially” we were the winners. Theres no prize for winning, so it didn’t matter. I like to do this run as a wakeup call for long sessions to get me back in gear for the Adventure Racing season.
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Aly was up there and completed the full course as well, finishing with a big group in 5:10. I was super psyched for her to do the full course, she learned a lot about pacing her caloric intake, and hydration, as she didn’t bring enough of either. A good day was had by all.

now im at work and looking forward to a nice recovery XC ski tonight when I get home. Thank you new snow.
 
Thongs are way better then t-shirts, its somthing the whole family can enjoy. may have to look into this to replace t-shits for short track.

loving the forecast for the week, =====================





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Got out on the xc skis with utah last night in mahlon. 1:17. i think he strava'd it. rock rill parking lot, to saffin pond, up to the campground on yellow, then down the wall and back out to rock rill. i need a BC XC setup. that snow was a bit too deep for my narrow skis. at the end of the ski, one binding was so gunked up with ice, from making tracks, that it wouldnt release. had to just take the boot off and let things defrost inside.

this morning i shoveled out 5 inches of concrete from the driveway so i could get to work. Im thankful to have a job...but really..it would be nice to call it every so often. i wonder how this new, super dense snow will be for xc skiing. if we lived anywhere with big mountains, id say that these past 2 snows are prime for avalanche conditions.
 
That was a fun loop. Especially skiing down the wall. Im getting better on those stupid things, I think I only crashed once last night.
 
Now I know why you pack cheeseburgers for AR. Half of Sunday I just kept dreaming about a juicy cheeseburger. Internal battle of drooling vs trying to make it stop.
 
you can only down so many powerbars in a race. cheeseburgers feel like they not only fill your belly, but lift your spirits 😀
 
The Presidential range traverse – winter
Warning. This might be long winded.
This past weekend, I went up to NH to attempt the presidential range traverse with my brother and another AR teammate who is into mountaineering. This was my first time attempting this traverse, and only my 2nd time in the white mountains. My first time up there was for a 3 day avalanche training course where we climbed into tuckermans ravine, but did not summit any mountains. Ive always heard about the legendary weather conditions in the white mountains. Now I know them very well.
Heres a map of the intended route. Going from north to south

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we intended to camp after summiting mt Washington at lake tear of the clouds, then finish the trek on day 2.
another view of the range, and why they call them the white mountains
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5 pm Friday, I set out with my brother, John to meet Fritz in Hartford CT, where he lives. We get there about 8:30. We pack everything into Fritz’s SUV, and fill all our nalgene bottles with boiling water, then insulate them so we can keep them liquid for as long as possible. We are on our way north by 10 PM. Driving shifts allow us to sleep a little bit in the car on the way. We pull into the trailhead about 2:45 AM and start getting ready for an alpine start. By 3:20 we are on our way for the first slog of the hike. 3.8 miles with over 3000 feet of elevation gain. It really sucks, but we made it to the col between Madison and Adams by about 7 AM. Just in time for sunrise. As we start hiking up Madison to tag the summit, I got to experience the most amazing sunrise ive seen yet. It was WAY too cold and windy to stop and take pictures. I really regret this. The sun was just an orange circle, with the clouds blowing through, the light was turning the entire world around us bright orange and red. It seemed like the air was just in flames. This was a good reminder of why we do these things. For that unique moment that is going to stick with you for a long time. Its worth the uphill battle .

at this time, the fairytale ended. We tagged the first summit and turned around to head south. Temps were hovering around the 5F mark, but winds were a sustained 60MPH coming from the south, with gusts up to 80 mph. as we were scrambling back down the rocks, a gust totally knocked me over and snapped one of my trekking poles. Ive never felt wind like that in my life. It hit me that the entire rest of the trip, was going to be into this wind. Oh boy.
We got back down to the col between Madison and adams and had a group meeting. The three of us decided that if at any point, conditions felt too dangerous, we would bail. The unique thing about this particular trek, is that once you get above tree line at mt Madison, you do not go below until the end of the trek. You are out, exposed to the elements the entire time. It really gives you a beating.
as we turn south to head up mt adams, we pass this sign
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now, usually, when you see something like that you think “yeah, but that’s for tourists, who aren’t prepared and don’t really know what theyre doing” well..yeah…but even though I had all the right equipment and experience to handle this, I was still in for it, and reminded that yeah…if things go really wrong here, I could die. So use your head and don’t be a hero.

I don’t really know how to describe the next few hours of trekking up and down the peaks. But basically we were getting thrown around by the wind. I was completedly shielded from the wind with my clothing, but the combination of extreme cold, heavy breathing and wind, formed huge chunks of ice in the collar of my jacket in front of my face. I had to keep breaking them off so they wouldn’t freeze to my face. The terrain constantly varied, from climbing over rocks, to hard pack snow, to solid ice, to thigh deep drifts. This made for very slow progress. We took quick breaks whenever we could. Sipping the water that was no longer warm, and trying to munch down some calories of granola and trail mix. Unfortunately the weather didn’t give a shit if we stopped. It kept going. So we never really got a good chance to stop and truly refuel with a good lunch. Lots of effort, with heavy breathing, and minimal refueling really started taking its toll…it sneaks up on you. But dehydration started setting in before I knew it.

there were two snowfields that we had to traverse on mt Jefferson. Thankfully the snow conditions were stable, but going one by one, there were a few sections that we all felt were a bit too sketchy. We treaded very lightly and made it across without incident.

After mt adams is the long trek up to the highest peak, mt Washington. At this point the weather started improving. Less clouds were moving through, and the wind speeds dropped to a consistent 30 mph or so with higher gusts. It was almost a pleasant day. We trudged on through deep snow and sharp rocks. Just one foot in front of the other, one step at a time. Each step for me felt a little tougher than the last, and I was slowing down.
We had a great view of the summit of mt Washington, all bathed in sunlight…it felt so close, but I knew it was at least another 1-2 hours away. As we started the climb up the summit dome, I was really really feeling it. The further I went, the worse it got, and at 0.2 miles to go, I couldn’t string 10 steps together if my life depended on it. Walk a few steps, stop and breathe..my heart was racing, and my breathing was trying to keep up. My legs and knees were really mad at me for the hours upon hours of cramponing on rocks. Everything hurt. I felt so incredibly exhausted…its hard to describe I just wanted to lay down, but I knew that would be the worst thing to do right now. John and Fritz were ahead of me, waiting . As I trudged up to them all I could say was “something is wrong” they both knew it too. And john said “don’t worry, we are going to get you down”
I don’t know if I can stress enough how important it is to have good partners. Having raced and climbed mountains with my brother for years, he is someone I know I can trust. Ive read and heard so many stories about teams falling apart because of egos and pride and what not. But to have a partner that you can be totally open with and know that they will be there when you need them is #1.

Somehow I managed to push my ass the next .2 miles to the summit. There is a lovely cafeteria up there with hot food and drinks, and tables and chairs. Oh yeah..its closed in the winter. So my brother and fritz lead me to a sheltered area from the wind, basically little garage for the snow cat that they use for the meteorologists to go up and down the road. I unload my backpack put on my down puffy jacket and sit down . oh how good that felt. But I knew we couldn’t stay there for long. It was almost 4 pm. We were going to bail at this point and we had to get down before dark. Descending without daylight would be too dangerous on the steep slopes of tuckermans ravine.

but thankfully I did get to take a little break. Apparently I was mumbling about stuff and calling fritz by the wrong name. I don’t remember any of that. John brewed me some hot coffee and gave me a bag of peanut m&ms…I had a really difficult time actually getting them in my mouth…they seemed to go everywhere but there. That coffee did wonders though. 20 minutes of sitting, and 28 oz of hot coffee seemed to be enough to recharge me. Ok Lets go now before its dark.
From the summit of mt Washington, we descended east, planning to camp at hermit lake (see map above) John took lots of the weight out of my pack and gave me both good trekking poles. We made it down to the lip of tuckermans ravine, by lions head and decided to descend the ravine instead of the lions head trail, which is pretty treacherous and exposed in winter, there have been deaths there from people falling.
Descending the right gulley was steep, but the snow was stable. I was feeling a lot better at this point, and really wishing I had my snowboard. We made it down without incident and got to the camp as it got dark.
Time to make some food, and get in the sleeping bags. We were all beat to hell. The warm food helped to warm every part of me. It was awesome. I slept great until about 1 AM, when temperatures dropped and I just got cold. Then it turned into the whole “get comfortable, fall asleep for 20 mins, wake up, get comfortable, fall asleep cycle” that seems to be about the best you can hope for when camping in the winter Dawn couldn’t have come soon enough. We packed up and headed down the trail to get picked up by the hiker shuttle and end this event. Sunday turned out to be a beautiful, calm, bluebird day. Figures.

Im actually happy things turned out as they did. I think its important to get your ass kicked every so often. I think in the world of mountains and mountaineering, a healthy, but ego bruising reminder that you are not as awesome as you think you are, is good to keep you alive for another try. You can always go back and try again…it pays to not be stupid and pull the plug.
 
This is an excellent blog entry. Please never stop writing these. Really well done. Glad to read that you made it out and learned something, even if it's a re-learning in a way. Fantastic entry Aaron. Thanks for taking the time to write it.
 
Holy Shit! that was amazing, loved that adventure story. sounds like some crazy ass life challenging stuff. that kind of struggle puts other challenges into perspective.

That adventure started with trying to get out of NJ at 5:00pm and heading to Hartford. Then not getting to the trailhead in NH until 2:45 am. At this point I would be exhausted and in need of a warm bed.

Do you think you would have made it if you started out more well rested? Did the altitude get to you, dehydration? What did your bro and Fritz have that you didn't?
 
Awesome trip & post. Norm is almost right...never stop DOING these (and be sure to write too).

I've bailed or wanted to bail on many a trip because the group dynamics are wrong. Nothing is more dangerous in the mountains than bad group dynamics. Chapeau on the attempt but even more props for making the difficult move to abort. The mountains will always be there for the next time.
 
thanks guys, im glad people enjoy reading my 9th grade grammar. 😀

pooriggy said:
Do you think you would have made it if you started out more well rested? Did the altitude get to you, dehydration? What did your bro and Fritz have that you didn't?
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I think there were a few factors that played into my situation. not starting off with a solid rest probably didnt help..though i dont think it was a huge effect. Ive felt sleep deprived before..when its only 1 nights worth, your body can reset itself come daylight, and it normally doesnt catch up until you stop moving.

i dont think it was altitude. Mt washington is only 6200+ feet. while thats not exactly low, ive never felt any altitude effects below 9000 ft.

the biggest factor i think was dehydration. it really snuck up on me. the super cold weather masked it, i never felt thirsty. Although i was sipping water at every stop we took, it wasnt enough. i think all of the heavy breathing and cold air sucked alot more moisture out of me than i realized. I was also sweating a bit, but with the temperatures so cold..it really didnt register. When we got to camp and i went to take a leak, the orange highlighter fluid let me know what was up.

i think the 2nd factor was limited food intake. we had mostly dry food with us to eat, because anything wet would have frozen. I ate what i could..but dry food does not go down easily when youre working hard. I have a bad habit during races of not eating enough.

Not sure why it was different for me than for John and Fritz. When john and I climbed mt rainier this summer, he was having a similar episode at 13,980'. it was the altitude getting him there, though. I turned us around and took him down then....so maybe this was some payback for him where he had to take care of me lol.
Fritz is just a swedish monster...i dont think he is 100% human.
 
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Awesome trip and great writeup, thanks for sharing. It's nice to read about an adventure that's on a completely different level than what I'm capable of.

Also it's motivating. I didn't ride this weekend because it was cold and we have snow on the sides of the road. Reading this makes my decisions shameful, and I will (hopefully) drawn on this kind of post for motivation in the future. Looking forward to reading more of this type of stuff!
 
Great adventure and write up. I think at 6000 ft, the effects of dehydration and sleep deprivation could be amplified, even if you do not feel the altitude in the usual ways. Glad to hear you made it back safe.
 
haha, there we go... indoor gym climbing..thats normal. and yeah..i peeled a whole bunch of skin off of my nose and cheek today...that sucked..the tiny sliver of skin that was exposed between my goggles and buff just got wrecked
 
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