I do mean to get to hickory someday. I always look at it from Rt. 9, that trail on the left looks very interesting. Plattekill is on the list as well.
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Happy Caesar Crosses the Rubicon (49 BC)! "alea iacta est" 🎲
Winter has arrived
- Thread starter Alan Gage
- Start date
We're having a nice little warm up here with temps above freezing. Sunday was beautiful with sun and no wind. I promised the dog we'd spend the day outside and we walked many miles and worked in the yard splitting wood. For our afternoon walk I did something I always mean to do but rarely do do. Grabbed my little tin cup, knife, and fire steel and after walking a few miles up the river bank cut through the narrow band of woods along the river to a hillside with a SW exposure that harbors a tiny sliver of remnant prairie in a small clearing amongst the oaks. It's not long for this world as it's somewhat shaded as-is and the woods are constantly creeping in on it. But it's a nice little spot on the edge of a ravine that catches the afternoon sun and is blocked from the wind on all sides. There I collected some downed oak and built myself a little fire, enjoying a cup of tea and dark chocolate as the sun set behind the trees before walking home.
Alan
Alan
That's really nice Allan. I like the sound of that.
Those two in NY, as well as Magic, and of course Mad River in VT all have similar skiing and skiers. All have open woods policies, ski wherever you wish, as long as you think it's safe. I have ski friends that regularly ski from Plattekill to the access road, hitching back to the base lodge to do more loops!!
Mad is doing OK so far, it always gets good snow. The others are suffering...WE NEED SNOW!!
It is raining in southern Manitoba tonight.
Around here, Old Man Winter is playing dress up, dancing around our environs arrayed in springlike temperatures, looking like, feeling like, even smelling like spring; but I know better. The old man is just playing with us. Winter wants me to believe he's really young Jack-in-the-green, and all the while he's welcoming warmer winds to wake up hedgerows and woodlots still slumbering under a winter spell. I've even seen fresh buds forming on hopeful shrubs, wanting to get on with a new season. But I know there's nothing to get on with just yet. We still have a future of more plummeting temperatures and killing frosts to endure. This teasing rain is cruel, more cruel than any February blizzard can be. Soon these premature buds on my roses, lilacs and clematis will be cold shocked with the harsh reality that spring, the real spring of a youthful Equinox in March, is still many weeks away. These January rains are washing clean the city's winter grime, and reminds me of the April showers I'm really longing for. The Old Man arrived some time ago, and is playing hide and seek with us mere mortals, a little snow here, a little rain there. I wish he'd just act his age and throw all his might into January and be done with all his horse play foolishness. The depths of winter last year with 3' of snow and -30'sC were hard to live with most mornings, but at least they became predictable by late February. Or maybe I'm just not feeling playful when the days are shorter and the nights grow colder, and a mischievous Old Man plays "make believe it's springtime" on a grey January day.
After avoiding winter I finally went and participated in it at the request of a friend. Picked him up in Minneapolis last weekend and then we were off to Grand Marais on the north shore of Lake Superior for some ice climbing. Strange to drive 8 hours north and find open water. I was hoping my canoe build would be to the point I could haul it along for a test paddle but no such luck, though the weather would have been perfect, or at least as close to perfect as you can get in mid-January.
It was my first time ice climbing and it was pretty fun. I think we'll be doing it again. Was just shy of 100' tall. I'm the guy in orange.
20150124_018 by Alan Gage, on Flickr
20150124_027 by Alan Gage, on Flickr
20150124_029 by Alan Gage, on Flickr
20150124_032 by Alan Gage, on Flickr
20150124_036 by Alan Gage, on Flickr
Alan
It was my first time ice climbing and it was pretty fun. I think we'll be doing it again. Was just shy of 100' tall. I'm the guy in orange.
20150124_018 by Alan Gage, on Flickr
20150124_027 by Alan Gage, on Flickr
20150124_029 by Alan Gage, on Flickr
20150124_032 by Alan Gage, on Flickr
20150124_036 by Alan Gage, on Flickr
Alan
Alan,
Looks like a great time!!
Did that lead climber set ice screws as he went up? Or was there a top rope that was secured in advance of your climb?
I've always wanted to do some ice climbing, but I'm too cheap to invest in the gear...
Looks like a great time!!
Did that lead climber set ice screws as he went up? Or was there a top rope that was secured in advance of your climb?
I've always wanted to do some ice climbing, but I'm too cheap to invest in the gear...
It was top roped.
My friend has all his own gear. He tried it about 5 years ago, loved it, got all the gear, and hasn't done it since. So he was pretty excited to finally use it. Since we're both newbies we hooked up with an outfitter in Grand Marais for the day. It was $150/person and that included all the equipment, a guide, and lunch; which I thought was very reasonable considering it was just the two of us.
So now my friend is pushing me to get my own gear so we can keep going. Some things, like rope and axes, we can share and a harness and helmet aren't too expensive and I could use them for rock climbing as well. But the boots are the big expense. They start at around $400 and, unless I start mountain climbing (fat chance), ice climbing will be my only use for them. So I'm dragging my feet in hopes I'll find something used or some great end of season deals.
Although it sounds like they're not ideal some people use AT ski boots and get along fine, which perhaps you already own?
It was an interesting experience to be face to face with a vertical ice wall with your brain telling you there's no way you can climb it. But sure enough, up you go!
Alan
My friend has all his own gear. He tried it about 5 years ago, loved it, got all the gear, and hasn't done it since. So he was pretty excited to finally use it. Since we're both newbies we hooked up with an outfitter in Grand Marais for the day. It was $150/person and that included all the equipment, a guide, and lunch; which I thought was very reasonable considering it was just the two of us.
So now my friend is pushing me to get my own gear so we can keep going. Some things, like rope and axes, we can share and a harness and helmet aren't too expensive and I could use them for rock climbing as well. But the boots are the big expense. They start at around $400 and, unless I start mountain climbing (fat chance), ice climbing will be my only use for them. So I'm dragging my feet in hopes I'll find something used or some great end of season deals.
Although it sounds like they're not ideal some people use AT ski boots and get along fine, which perhaps you already own?
It was an interesting experience to be face to face with a vertical ice wall with your brain telling you there's no way you can climb it. But sure enough, up you go!
Alan
Yeah, I do have AT boots, and alpine boots and X-C boots...
The AT's are Garmont Adrenalines, extremely comfortable for all day skinning and/or hiking. They ski only OK, too soft for me to use at a lift served area, but good enough for 3 or 4 thousand vertical at a time. (the boots being soft don't allow me to rest my shins against them, forcing me to use my quads. I spent the entire day in the trees and steeps with my alpine boots on Friday, and my legs never knew that I skied! Technique makes a huge difference, lower level skiers can't relax in deep snow, tight trees, steeps, etc.) BTW, the vertical is measured in one direction, up OR down, only.
Maybe I can talk my son into ice climbing with me, he rock climbs, both free and technical. I might be able to mooch some of his stuff.
We would both need ice axes and crampons, and he has the rest!
The AT's are Garmont Adrenalines, extremely comfortable for all day skinning and/or hiking. They ski only OK, too soft for me to use at a lift served area, but good enough for 3 or 4 thousand vertical at a time. (the boots being soft don't allow me to rest my shins against them, forcing me to use my quads. I spent the entire day in the trees and steeps with my alpine boots on Friday, and my legs never knew that I skied! Technique makes a huge difference, lower level skiers can't relax in deep snow, tight trees, steeps, etc.) BTW, the vertical is measured in one direction, up OR down, only.
Maybe I can talk my son into ice climbing with me, he rock climbs, both free and technical. I might be able to mooch some of his stuff.
We would both need ice axes and crampons, and he has the rest!
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