2012 Ice Fest Face Off

A couple of weeks ago I was psyched to be photographing the Mount Washington Valley Ice Festival's Face Off mixed climbing competition again. Always a fun event, it's great to watch some of the region's strongest climbers go head-to-head on a completely manufactured, and somewhat silly climbing route. I mean, how often do you find yourself hooking your way up door hinges and PVC pipes? In the context of a mixed climbing competition, however, anything goes, especially anything that makes it more entertaining!

The two routes that competitors would battle over were set by my good friends Jim Ewing of Sterling Rope and Josh Hurst, two of the strongest mixed climbers in the northeast. Below, competitors Janet Bergman and Bayard Russell eye the route...


Prior to the comp kicking off, Canadian uber-climber Will Gadd ran a lap on the wall and then gave one of the best climbing presentations I have seen in a long time...


A couple of thank-yous by International Mountain Climbing School owners Brad White, below left, and Rick Wilcox. Then MC Freddie Wilkinson kicked things off...


One of the first climbers up was my friend Hillary. After a few moments spent energizing the crowd, Hill set off...


Silas Rossi kicked things off for the men, pulling down on the first PVC pipe...


Elliot Gaddy of IMCS putting up a strong effort, along with Lindsay Fixmer of Fox Mountain Guides...


Majka Burhardt pulling hard...


Women's winner Janet Bergman crushing...


Peter Doucette, also of IMCS, working his figure-fours...


Andrea putting up a strong showing, and Bayard Russell eying the first PVC pipe...


Men's winner Kevin Mahoney making his way across the foam "ice" feature, headed for the log, on his way to the win...


Congratulations to all of the Face Off climbers for putting your outstanding efforts and entertainment. Thanks also to the Ice Fest organizers for having me once again.

Happy Holidays

Wishing everyone a happy holiday season. Cheers! Eric

A great (birth)day

Today is Abby's third birthday. How could it not be a good day? But, in fact, it was a great day. We all as parents have visions of the things we will do with our kids. I've been waiting 3 years for today (not to make a HUGE deal about it or anything). I don't believe in pushing kids into things, but there is nothing wrong with providing a little opportunity in the "right" direction. So, on Wednesday my good friend friend Jim gave me a birthday present for Abby -- a children's climbing harness. This evening, after a couple of minutes convincing her the harness would not hurt her, she spent 10 minutes swing from the ceiling. Then my heart swelled as she decided to climb to the ceiling with a top rope belay and jump off. "Do again! Do again!" No need to twist my arm. I tried to get a little video, but it's tough filming while giving a hip belay to your toddler. I caught this 20 second clip and then ran out of memory. It's all I need though. Happy birthday, Abby. Get that turtle!

Twins???

OK, one more baby post and then back to status quo. I just think this is so cool...

I am a twin. My brother Keith lives in Wyoming (lucky!). Growing up we were pretty much inseparable, at least until high school, and then we branched out in our own directions. But it really only lasted those four years. Throughout college, although at different schools, we got together all the time. It was freshman year that we started climbing; Keith and I found a local indoor climbing gym and then proceeded to climb something -- including an old railroad trestle -- most weekends for a loooooong time. My most memorable early adventures (and misadventures) all involved Keith. I definitely believe that twins have a bond, a strong one.

As my last post noted, we just recently had a little baby boy, Colin. A few weeks after we found out we were pregnant we found out that Keith and his wife were also pregnant with their first. Very cool! We joked about the twins having kids at the same time, but our due dates were several weeks apart. Maybe the same month, but unlikely. Then we both found out we were having boys. Very cool, again. Things start to get really exciting as you get really close. We knew we were having a c-section, and a week or so before our scheduled date it was pushed back a couple of days. Then, the day before that new delivery date, my brother calls and says, "guess what, the doctor's scheduling us for a c-section TOMORROW!" No way!

Long story short, our little fella Colin has a psuedo-twin brother 2,300 miles away in Wyoming, born about 11 hours apart. For me, as a twin, I think it is a bit surreal, a little weird and really cool. My brother and I have a strong bond, and I hope as these two grow up they do as well...


(That's Colin on the left.)

Maineline, finally

In the Spring of 2001 I moved from the mid-Atlantic to New Hampshire. At the time I'd been rock climbing for seven or eight years and ice climbing for about five. The mid-Atlantic, however, is not known for its stellar ice climbing. Sure there are some plums to be picked, but for "real" ice climbing I would venture north each winter to the Adirondacks of New York with my twin brother Keith. We had so many great times road-tripping north -- Roaring Brook Falls in about nine pitches, simul-soloing the cliffs of Pitchoff, freezing nights shivering while camped on Chapel Pond. But I hadn't yet swung an axe in New England proper. So, before I even moved to NH, one of the first things I did was pick up a copy of Rick Wilcox's Ice Climber's Guide to Northern New England. Before the the first frost of 2001, I had already dog-eared my copy, marking all of the classic lines that I had to do.

For my first outing in December I climbed the Black Dike on Cannon Mountain, one of the most classic. Over the next ten years I've ticked most of the climbs that so inspired me when I moved here... Repentance and Remission, Omega, Bragg-Pheasant, just to name few... as well as put up a few first ascents of my own. But one line, up in the back of beyond Maine, remained noticeably undone. Described in the guidebook as "surely one of New England's most spectacular ice climbs" and "more at home in the Canadian Rockies," Maineline is one of the most impressive pieces of steep ice around. But it's up there; way up there. Each year I would get psyched to go, and each year the four+ hour drive kept me closer to home where I could get more climbing done in my ever dwindling number of days out.

In a bit of a spur-of-the-moment decision, my good friends Jim, Josh and I made plans to go do Maineline. Sure it would be a long day, but it had to be done. The dog ear on that page of the book had to be unfolded. So, when I awoke yesterday at 4:30am I was dismayed to see lots of snow. This five hour drive just got a lot longer. But, plans were set, and as Jim always says, "you don't bail on your climbing partners." So, I put the car in drive and white-knuckled it to Falmouth, ME to pick up Jim. Then on to Newport to pick up Josh. Then to the back of beyond up past Greenville on Moosehead Lake and finally to Mt. Kineo. Six and a half hours later I parked. The sun was out, the sky blue and the route looked amazing from across the lake. Best of all, I was enjoying the day with my buddies. Jim makes me laugh too... Way up here you do feel like you've taken the plunge...


I had no frame of reference for this climb beyond the guidebook, but Josh and Jim, who have each done the climb several times, were amped about the current conditions. It sure looked good to me! This is pitch 2, at least when done in 3-4 pitches...


When we arrived a party from Orono was just starting up the climb. I was bummed. All this way and we were scooped. Instead, we started up a nearby feature to check out some future possibilities and perform some shenanigans. Half way up the pillar, our neighbor on Maineline took a bit of a, well, monster whipper. I'm talking 50+ feet. I've never seen someone fall so far. Scary does not describe it. He was shaken, experiencing some wrist pain, but otherwise unharmed (i.e. unbelievably F%$#ing lucky!). Their misfortune was our gain, and we rapped down to the start of Maineline. We offered to retrieve their high gear, and with that, I was off...


I led the first two pitches as one, finishing in an ice cave on the left-hand side. The left image above was taken by Jim when I was halfway up the column. Both Josh (shown above right) and Jim followed much faster than I led and joined me in the cave. Jim then led from the cave to the trees, finishing the route in two long pitches as the sun quickly faded. We rapped down, finishing in the dark, which was followed by a freezing walk back across the wind blown lake to the car at 6:30pm. Then it was a five hour drive home (more snow).

I'm super psyched to have finally climbed this amazing line and to be able to check off this long-standing, must-do New England ice climb. I can't say when exactly I will make the trek back to Kineo, but I now know first hand the jewel that resides way up in the back of beyond. Until then...

Ho, ho, ho...

I wanted to take a moment to wish everyone a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year!

Ho, ho, ho...

Two days with Kismet Rock Foundation

Back in August I was fortunate enough to spend two days with two exceptional groups of kids attending week-long courses with the Kismet Rock Foundation. It's hard to be a climber in the northeast and not at least have heard of Kismet, so I was super excited when Janet Bergman, Executive Director of Kismet, asked me if I would be willing to document a day of Kismet. Of course! How about two days! In their words, Kismet:

"...offers comprehensive courses in rock climbing and mountaineering to children who, because of financial limitations, would not otherwise have access to such an education. Based in North Conway, New Hampshire, (Kismet) accepts emotionally stable and well-functioning youth from both urban and rural areas into its programs. (Kismet's) goal is to offer children an opportunity to benefit from the immense value inherent in a climbing education."

Kismet was founded by Mike Jewell in 1999. By himself he introduced four students from New Jersey to rock climbing in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Today, although Kismet has grown immensely from that first class, Mike is still directly involved with every student who comes through the program.

Climbing has been a central focus in my life for the past 15 years, and therefore I could not honestly think of a better venue for kids to learn valuable life tools. There are so many parallels between climbing and life -- as my good friend Eric Hörst highlighted in his Mental Wings program -- that the concept of growth through a multi-year climbing program just makes perfect sense to me.

On my first day with Kismet I arrived at a house buzzing with activity. Breakfast being gulped down, dishes rattling in the sink, bags being packed. Excitement because we're going CLIMBING!

Below Mike Jewell runs through final checks before embarking with two students on a multi-pitch climb on Cathedral Ledge...


Below a student tackles pitch 3 of Thin Air, a classic moderate climb on Cathedral Ledge...


Bags packed, ropes coiled, off to another great climb and lesson...


Half way up Refuse on Cathedral Ledge, two students share a laugh with me. Proof positive that regardless of financial means, home life conditions, etc., at their root, kids will be kids. Laughing, joking, having fun in the great outdoors.


I love the focus in this young man's eyes, as well as the exposure beneath his feet. I have always said how exciting it is that climbing allows you to go places that less than 99% of the people in the world will ever go. This is one of those places, and he ought to be proud!


A student prepares to be lowered after completing a strenuous climb. She crushed it, and an ever attentive staff member lets her know it!


Half way up and still a long way to go on a multi-pitch climb on Cathedral Ledge...


Portrait of a Kismet student...


"What hold," she says. While clicking away I also embraced the opportunity to coach students through tricky cruxes and thought-to-be-impossible moves. In all instances the students succeeded. Sometimes you just have to look at the situation from a different perspective. The impossible can be possible if the problem is viewed differently. And don't hesitate to ask for help, either!


Each day we ended with a dip in the Saco River. It was great to watch the kids splash and play. Kids from all around New England -- rural towns, inner-city, all over -- splashing in a river...


When I showed up at Kismet I did not know the background of any of the kids I would be hanging out with for those two days. I still don't know any particulars, but I know most of these kids have overcome a lot to get to this place. I grew up playing in the mountains as a Boy Scout, ultimately earning my Eagle Scout and guiding in the Adirondacks of New York. At the time I accepted this as normal, as the way things were for kids. What Kismet offers disadvantaged youths for a week each summer is far from their "normal." I am grateful for the opportunities I have been afforded in my life. This summer I was grateful to be able to spend a couple of days sharing some of those same outdoor experience with a dozen kids who may otherwise not have had the opportunity. My two days spent with Kismet were fantastic. I had so much fun getting to know these kids, and the staff, and I am already looking forward to next year.

Learning something new...

Experiencing new things, and therefore learning new things is pretty much what gets me out of bed in the morning. For the past couple of years that has been super easy, what with a 20 month old in the house and all. I find it harder, though, to keep up with all the things I want to learn about. That is, things that will help me move my work and my career forward, or that I just find interesting (not that my daughter is not!). Slowing down and taking a little time for yourself is important, even if it's hard to do some times.

Growing up I always enjoyed art. I learned to paint and throw clay and all sorts of other things, but pencil drawing was my favorite. I became a perfectionist. Alas, this was my downfall because as I began to work and have less and less free time I grew more and more frustrated with my drawings. I just couldn't put in the time to produce what I envisioned. I didn't abandon pencil drawing, but moved on to something else. Enter photography. Starting something new is always exciting. The learning curve is steep. Every roll of fill was discovery. I was hooked, and have been fortunate to do many different things with my photography.

Now, I don't see putting down my camera any time soon, but I must admit I was very excited when Canon began incorporating video and HD capabilities into their DSLR cameras. Here was an opportunity to learn something entirely new utilizing a tool I already had! Time is still a huge challenge, but I learned quickly that video capture is really just one piece of the pie. Post-production is an art unto itself... and a rather technical one at that. So after a year+ of shooting clips of my daughter and general randomness, I finally decided I needed to try to learn post-production. And boy is it exciting! Daunting, but exciting.

Below is my first ever edited video. It is a compilation of video that I shot one evening training in my climbing gym this past winter, combined with a silly video clip that my friend Mike shot. As far as videos go, this is rather pointless, but like my daughter who is so proud of the blob she just finger painted, I am pretty psyched to be starting to get the hang of it. With wedding season about to kick-off I am not sure when video experiment #2 will happen, but I have a lot of footage from our recent family vacation to Mexico to work with when the time comes!

Video Experiment #1: Training for mixed climbing from Eric McCallister on Vimeo.

Danger: Falling Ice

A week and a half ago Bayard Russell climbed the long coveted Painted Wall Icicle off of the Kancamangus Highway in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. The photo at right is of Bayard during the first ascent, taken by Kevin Mahoney of Mahoney Alpine Adventures.

Four or five years ago Jim Ewing and I wanted to check out the huge pillar that regularly formed and then fell off, but on my closest attempt we simply drove by and went to climb Omega on Cannon instead. Jim went back once in the following years, but no real attempts were made, at least by us. Others, however, were scoping the line too, and a couple of years ago a true effort was launched to dispatch the line by Bayard, Josh Hurst and Doug Madera, among others. Bayard wrote about it here, but long story short, when the ice was there the rock moves proved too challenging, and once the rock moves were sussed out there was no ice. Murphy's Law, right?

So, this year during a very early form-up, Bayard snagged the line and opened the door for the rest of us. Two days later Josh Hurst and I were standing at the base eager to climb the second ascent. The previous day the route was baked by the sun, as most Painted Wall routes are on bluebird days, but the forecast was for overcast skies and flurries... perfect conditions. The forecasters got it wrong, however, and shortly after reaching the base of the route (after a much earned approach from several miles away because the river was not frozen and the Albany bridge was under construction!) the skies parted and the sun came out in force. This did not bode well. The pillar was huge, as can be seen below, but pieces of ice were constantly raining down from everywhere above us. Josh started with a burn on the M9 mixed rock pitch to refresh his memory of the moves.


While on route, the pillar left of our objective crashed to the ground. Prior to that collapse our guts told us that there was too much sun and not enough adhesion holding the ice to the wall. Following Josh, I took a burn up to the mid-point anchor to learn the moves and acquaint myself with the climb. Such cool movement!


After a short rest Josh geared up for a redpoint attempt on the rock pitch, as seen above pulling the first crux. Slow and strong, Josh was crushing it. Near the top of the pitch Josh had an axe shift and skid out of a crack, resulting in a fall. As it turns out, this was a rather good thing.


Just a few minutes after getting back on-route and climbing higher, Josh heard the pillar groan. He chose to back-aid away from the pillar, and then, out of the blue, the pillar detached and plummeted to the ground. It simply ripped from the wall and fell straight to the ground, and then disintegrated on impact. Josh described it as if a semi-truck tore by 5 feet behind him. And like that, our hopes of a second ascent, at least until the route has time to form up again, were dashed.

I took the opportunity to take two more training laps on the rock pitch. Not only was I able to better suss out the tricky sequences down low, but also get a little extra workout. The Painted Wall Icicle is definitely a plum line, and an instant classic. I am looking forward to getting back to it some time very soon!

Happy Holidays!

A quick note to say happy holidays to my family and friends. It's been a great year, and we look forward to an even better 2010!


And a special thank you to my good friend and uber-photog David for taking our holiday photos this year!

Rebecca and the Seacoast half marathon

Yesterday Rebecca ran the Seacoast half marathon, which runs a 13.1 mile course starting in Portsmouth, NH and winds its way to the ocean through Rye and Newcastle. A lovely course, and generally considered pretty flat. Pretty flat is relative though, since the other race that Rebecca ran is the Chicago Half in September, which is SUPER flat (i.e. runs along the edge of the lake the entire way). She did awesome yesterday, and only missed her time goal by 47 seconds, which to me doesn't even count in a 13.1 mile race!

I was super psyched to be there cheering her on at several spots along the course with our daughter. Taking the day off will probably bite me in the rear end since I am currently trying to wrap up editing on 3 weddings and an engagement session, but it was much needed and tons of fun!

Here is Rebecca legging it to the finish line, which is about 50 yards away. She was looking strong!


Abby was far more interested in my hat and hamming for the camera than the race -- until she saw mom!


And finally, here is mother and daughter right after the race. I love this photo...


Way to go Rebecca! I am so proud of you!

Surgical Air Strike '09 (aka my Fall climbing trip)

Prior to "lift off," I calculated that it had been over 17 months since I'd last taken a Western climbing trip. In those 17 months my life has been made infinitely richer by the birth of my daughter. My climbing has suffered, but seeing as she is now showing an interest in scaling the climbing wall in the cellar that may be changing! Anyhow, it was with great excitement that I booked my $0.40 ticket to Las Vegas (I love credit card points!) for a climbing trip with my good friend Eric Hörst. Reality is still a 15-month old girl at home, and two working parents, so this trip was not the 12 day climbing fest that I so often try to book. This was a four day blitz of all-new climbing locales!

Three AM Wednesday morning I was up and coaxing myself out the door for a 6:00 AM flight out of MHT. By 10:40 AM we were both wandering around LAS baggage claim trying to find each other. A Crackberry is a useful tool, but it won't help you locate someone amongst a throng of eager, soon-to-be gamblers and night crawlers. By 12:30 PM we were parked at Red Rocks and ready to climb!


Several routes later we were exhausted -- more from our early flights than the climbing -- and departed for dinner and our drive up to Mesquite where we would be staying. Our agenda was a couple of days in the Utah Hills. For anyone traveling to this area, I highly recommend staying at the Falcon Ridge Hotel. It's super clean, comfortable and cheap ($60/night including taxes).

Thursday morning, still on East coast time, we were out the door way to early and headed to The Cathedral. Cold fingers on the warm-up led to a fantastic send for Eric with a redpoint of Space Shuttle to Kolob 5.13a.


Space Shuttle is a little out of my pseudo-retired-league (well, that's how it was beginning to feel!), so I enjoyed shooting photos and getting on other climbs. The routes here are steep and sustained, and therefore loads of fun. Around mid-morning, we met up with Misty Murphy and her husband Bill Ohran, along with John Star. Super-nice locals; I benefited greatly from their beta!


Resurrection 5.13b was on Misty's agenda. Rad looking climb, and strong showing Misty!


Friday was another early start, but instead at the Black & Tan Wall. B&T is a much sunnier crag (The Cathedral does not get any sun this time of year), so it was nice being in shorts and T-shirts. This was a mileage day, and I was excited to climb as many or more sport pitches on Friday as I had climbed all season back here in New Hampshire!

On Saturday we headed to Mt. Charleston outside Las Vegas. I loved the pocketed climbing at The Hood area, but even more so the Aspen trees that were starting to turn!


We climbed several routes at The Hood, and then chose to end the day at a smaller crag called Pirate's Cove. The climbs were shorter and fun, but I would like to add also the sharpest stone I have ever grappled! I hear Robber's Roost is similar, but I hope not since there are climbs there that look like fun for future trips! We finished on two side-by-side, steep, pocketed 5.11 routes that were a perfect end to a fantastic day, and trip.

That's right, the end of the trip. Saturday night Eric and I had red-eye flights back to PHL and MHT, respectively. As I mentioned before, I would have loved to have had a much longer trip with rest days thrown in, but if you are going to do a four day climbing trip, I love the efficiency of actually only being gone four days and getting four full climbing days in, even if the travel was a little exhausting. I was back in NH by 9:30AM Sunday, and home with Abby and Rebecca by 11:00AM, having been climbing in Vegas less than 12 hours earlier!

Go West young man...

It's been awhile since I took a climbing trip. Seventeen months actually, but who's counting. Sure, I've had some great days at the local crags, but nothing beats a climbing road trip. I've been training regularly, including running, and am feeling pretty good. It's not going to be a long trip, more of a blitz really, but child care is not allowing for much more. It's alright though, since I'll probably miss my daughter fiercely anyway. So, with a couple of workouts left, and in just a few short days, I will be landing in Vegas and pulling down on and photographing glorious sandstone at Red Rocks and limestone in the Utah Hills.

Helping Layton Kor

My good friend Stewart Green has been helping to spearhead a project to raise money to cover medical expenses for legendary climber Layton Kor. Stewart started selling limited edition signed prints of Kor earlier this year, and has recently helped launch a website promoting the efforts called LaytonKorClimbing.com. One of the great new fund raising ideas is a raffle for a day of climbing with other great climbers. Steph Davis, Jimmie Dunn, Tommy Caldwell, Conrad Anker and another great friend Eric Hörst are all donating a day of guiding classic Kor routes to raffle winners. I am very happy to have one of my photographs from the New River Gorge featured on the site for this great cause. Check it out, and consider buying a raffle ticket.

Garden '09

My wife maintains a fantastic garden in our backyard. When we first moved in I built one raised veggie bed for her, and this Spring I put a second one in next to it at her request. Lettuce, tomatoes, squash, various herbs, peas, and a bunch of other stuff depending on the season. Nothing beats my wife's buttercrunch lettuce.

The garden has been hit hard this year by see-sawing weather. So much rain caused the pea plants to rot, and an inundation of slugs due to the overly saturated ground has been nothing other than gross. Now we've had a week of upper 80s—90s the past two days—and our little garden instead of drowning is hurting for some H2O. Go figure.


But the garden this year has been more than veggies on the table. It's been a mini exploration with our daughter. Her curiosity has found us sitting in the garden bed plucking tomatoes and peas, feeling the texture of basil leaves, and generally discovering the vastness of such a small space. It's been awesome. And then we turn around and do the same thing in the flower garden too. So cool!

The other day I brought my camera out during our "dig". Below are some of the simple but wonderful things we've found in our two 6'x12' veggie beds, starting with the texture of the fence surrounding it all:


Here are our squash plants. They are not getting very big this year, probably due to the rain, but they are perfect Abby-sized


And some of our cherry tomatoes.


And after spending a little time exploring, the fruits of our effort ready for dinner tonight.


Kids sure do help to change your perspective in so many ways.

Happy belated birthday, Abby!

I am about a month late posting this, but I have a good excuse... I used the image below on our cards so I couldn't give it away beforehand! They were finally all in the mail a week ago, so my post may actually be timed perfectly. And with my excuses out of the way, HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY, ABBY!

Somebody likes the camera too...

The American Cancer Society's Relay for Life

This weekend is the annual American Cancer Society's Relay for Life fundraiser event in Portsmouth, NH. I've been involved in Relay at some level for the past 5-6 years, and on the planning committee for the past two years providing website and design support. Thank you to everyone who has contributed their time and donation dollars to this event. We've not yet met the monetary goal for the year, but have surpassed all of our expectations for community involvement and team participation, which is huge success in these challenging economic times! Learn more about Relay here.