It was my first trip to the White Mountains, which were breathtakingly beautiful and engulfed in vibrant fall colors. Aside from the incredible scenery, there was never a shortage of fun to be had! From the Festival Village to the UBC Pro Tour bouldering competition, and from the Gaslight Anthem to the American Alpine Club's phenomenal pancake breakfast, the festival was a perfect way to spend a long weekend in New England.
The Pros
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| Alex Johnson crushing during qualifiers. |
Alex Johnson took top honors for the women, followed closely by Francesca Metcalf and Angie Payne. Watching Angie for the first time was inspiring. At the moment, she's best known for being the first woman to climb V13 when she sent The Automator this summer. Ethan Pringle narrowly edged Brian Kim to claim the top spot for the men. Other competitors included Daniel Woods, Sasha DiGiulian, and Vasya Vorotnikov. Other pro climbers in attendance, including Sonnie Trotter, also led clinics at Rumney on the final day of the festival.
The Gear
You couldn't get far without passing through the Festival Village full of sponsor and conservation partner booths. Each company came with new stuff to show us, but some of the things I saw really stood out.
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| Black Diamond Gridlock from start to finish! |
Osprey brought the full gamut of packs, ranging from the Variant series for alpine climbing to the Shuttle series for traveling. I had the chance to be fitted for a pack with their representative. He used a flexible plastic tool with markings on it to tell me what size torso I have, and what size waist belt to look for. Turns out I've got a small torso (18") and need a medium sized waist belt. Knowing I'm a small makes me laugh; I'm almost 5'9" tall!
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| The La Sportiva demo shoes waiting to be tried out at Rumney. |
Petzl brought all of the new ice tools I've been coveting since hearing of their release. The Quark felt noticeably lighter than I expected it would. Unfortunately, our trip to Rainbow Slabs and watching the UBC Pro Tour Finals meant missing the chance to demo them on Saturday. I did get a good look at the Tikka XP² headlamp and was impressed with its versatility. Might add that to the gear collection, too!
The Climbing
On Saturday, our goal was to find fun, moderate single pitch climbing. With a group of nine, including three trad leaders, our chosen destination was Childs Play (5.5) on The North End at Cathedral Ledge. Just outside North Conway, Cathedral Ledge is known as the "epicenter of trad climbing in New Hampshire." After discovering the rocks were wet from overnight rain, we headed to the Rainbow Slabs.
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| Topping out on lead! Pecolator (5.7) |
Sunday brought us to Rumney, arguably the best sport climbing destination in the Northeast. After hearing about the quality of sport routes and the beautiful rock, I couldn't wait to make my first trip there! We opted for the easily accessible Parking Lot Wall, and I jumped on lead before I could talk myself out of it. I led Percolator (5.7) thanks to an incredibly patient belayer - my first outdoor lead in over a year and my hardest yet. Bill stood there and kept me safe while I found places to rest and compose myself before continuing on. (Big thanks to George for the photo on the right!) I set up a toprope anchor there while Patrick led Cafe Au Lait (5.6). Everyone ran through both climbs at least once with the majority, including Aleya, leading Percolator just for fun!
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| The sun sets on our tent City at Loon Mountain. |