Catskill Ice: Old Dogs, New Belay

Time spent guiding brought me a deep appreciation of the Catskills. I crossed many peaks and crannies, stashing secret spots away for personal endeavors that I couldn’t take with guided groups.

Ice-Wall

I loved the area near Kaaterskill High Peak, perhaps because of the many days I spent looking at it from across the river when I lived in Dutchess County.

Fast forward a few years, as Director of Operations it was my job to find new hikes. I would also strive to find swimming holes as a side project, and I often ended up back in the area.

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Interview with Alex Honnold and Cedar Wright

Last year, pro-climbers Alex Honnold and Cedar Wright switched gears, embarking on their first bike tour, “The Sufferfest.” Along the way, they would summit all 15 of California’s 14,000 ft peaks, free-soloing any technical routes they encountered.

Sufferfest-2-Bike

This year, they hopped back on their bikes for Sufferfest 2, a fantastic three-week tour of the Southwest. The duo felt the need to raise the stakes; they hoped to free-climb 45 select towers along the 800-mile journey.

If that sounds like a lot for 21 days, that’s because it is. Especially when you consider all of the variables; 33 of the 45 of the climbs were graded at 5.11 or above.

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The Last Road Trip

The past weighed heavily on my mind as I set out for Boston on the last road trip of the summer season. As a damn Yankee, the patriot state has always felt a bit like enemy territory.

Farley-Ledge-Climbing

On route I was to meet some local climbers at a storied quasi-secret crag. Traveling through the meandering hills I decide that that was an oxymoron I could appreciate.

At Farley Ledges (oops), beta is a word of mouth affair. Sometimes an oral history is more vivid than a written account.  You see a climb and maybe you’ll pick up a name and rating. It’s a throwback to the olde days, before cell phones, MountainProject or guide books. Nothing but gneiss rock and good company.

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