Category Archives: Stories

Entertaining, Inspirational and Educational tales.

A Lesson on Bailing Out-Climbing in Huntington Ravine

Today I met up with my friend Brent (http://www.brentdoscher.com/) in hopes to climb some ice. The recent warm weather took its toll on a lot of the good ice climbing destinations. We knew we’d need to go to higher elevations and colder temps to find good ice conditions. The initial plan was to head into Tuckerman’s Ravine on Mt. Washington as Brent spotted a good flow from the ridge on Lion Head a couple days ago.

Weather Forecast and Avalanche Danger

The forecast today was looking pretty gnarly. With a high in the low teens, 100 mph wind gusts, snow and 50 below wind chill!

Today’s Higher Summits Forecast

However, with the wind forecasted to come out of the west for the most part, we had hopes that the summit of the mountain would keep us sheltered from it while we climbed on the east side. We knew we might be in for some intense weather regardless, and we packed accordingly. Extra layers, heavier mittens, hard shells, chem warmers, the works. The avalanche report for today showed most gullies in Tuckerman and Huntington Ravine were “Low danger” while a couple in Huntington Ravine had “Moderate danger” advisories. Continue reading

So You Want to Ski In the Chic Chocs?

Over the Border and Through the Blizzard to The Chic Chocs We Go.

CONTRIBUTION FROM NEM GUIDE, COBY JACOBUS


SOMETIMES, YOU JUST GOTTA GO. WITH PERMISSION OF COURSE.

We all have that one friend who shoots out a random text about some crazy trip to a far away place with mystical blower powder. Well…that’s Ryan Gibbs to me! His Instagram name is @powdergibbs for god’s sake!

Right after Christmas he texted me about this crazy idea to ski some amazing Canadian powder in the Chic Chocs. The drive he said is only eight hours…from Orono, ME. I don’t live in Orono though, so tack on another 2.5 for me! Great!!! 10.5 hours of driving with only a guide book, some random online searching and words from friends and friends of friends! This is a stupid idea I thought. I even told Ryan, “Ryan, I don’t know man, my wife will kill me, I’ve got a dog and a 7 month old at home. Its a lot of driving and we don’t even know if the snow is gonna be good.”

Continue reading

Knowing When to Turn Around

Ultimate Success: The Unspoken Truth

There are risks and costs to action. But they are far less than the long range risks of comfortable inaction.

— John F. Kennedy

rainier

As climbers, we seek adventure and exploration. But, why? What is it worth? And how do we define success? “If we go for it, there is a probability that we aren’t going to come back,” asserts Jimmy Chin, world-renowned climber. Yet, the allure of the mountains continuously pulls us back in search of something sacred and uniquely individual. Continue reading