Another early season tour

Went out on my heavy backcountry skis this morning, fantastic
conditions, and great alpenglow on Algonguin. (Click on the photo to enlarge the picture.)

Lucy Turns 11

Here she is opening a present ... New halter for Birch.

The Season Started

A spectacular day ... I think the snow may last until Sunday!

First Nordic Tour

Except for the downed trees, and an occasional boggy spot ...
Conditions on the biathlon trails were excellent.

Ain't It The Truth!

From my favorite company ... Despair Inc ... check out their website its incredibly funny.

The Season Has Started!

The Black Dike ice climb was done last weekend in NH! October 20th ... amazing.

Lucy the Gnome

All dressed up for the NCS Halloween. (Click on the photo to enlarge it.)

Hock's Mountain Collection: fiction

Slowly but surely I will put the contents of my large mountain book
collection on-line ... as a Fossil or friend of a Fossil you have
unlimited borrowing privileges.

murder on Milestone Buttress ... the youth hostel murders
... First on the Rope ... kickland
... the ice soldier ... high trail
... adirondack heist ... the Wall
... Banner in the Sky ... shangri-la
... Going for the Gold ... mer de glace
... Pierre de Fiammes ... death under snowden
... the downhill racers ... icefields
... death finds a foothold ... calculated risk
... high time to kill ... the snow gods
... first rains of autumn ... medal of honor
... darkness and the azure ... lost horizon
... one step in the clouds ... eiger sanction
... miss pink at the edge of the world ... deva
... the Crevasse ... the ascent
... the ascent of rum-doodle ... the last climb
... a fine kind of madness ... Esau
... far, far the mountain peak ... Gabe's Fall
... The White Tower ... Mount Analogue
... The Ice Mirror ... North Face
... Climbers: a novel ... Angels of Light
... Nothing Gold Can Stay ... Trial By Ice and Fire
... The Edge of Justice ... Point of Law
... High Country ... Dead Men Don't Ski
... Season of Snows and Sins ... The Fall Line
... Northern Lights ... Atomic Winter
... Aspen Pulp ... The Lonely Skier
... Alibi on Ice (53 volumes)

First big storm

We had snow squalls this past two weeks, but this was the real deal. 10 inches of snow last night with 4 more inches expected today. The high will be 27 degrees with tomorrow getting up to 34 degrees. Larry and Nick got first turns on the NCS ski hill. I'll go out for a tour this afternoon ... the ice is coming soon!

Ewing gals

Hannah and Tori and the wet dogs out on a Sierra hike

20 Years Ago

Hock at the Yurt Boulder cruising the 5.10a problem in sneakers.(Click on the photo to enlarge the picture.)

Twenty Years Ago

Taking NCS kids on a campus bouldering tour!

Gorgeous Fall Day

I have been meeting with trustees for the past couple of days ... This
afternoon after our board chair left, I took a nap, and then hiked the
biathlon trails with ski poles.

The Cabin is Ready

Buttoned up for winter. Three sleeping bags in the loft. Climbing
magazines dating back to 1972. The library stocked with everything
from pot-boilers to existential philosophy. Libations are on hand.

Just a couple more weeks!

Another view of pitch six on Royal Arches.

Route Pictures

In the photo you can see Royal Arches, The Kor Route, and the classic sandbag route on North Dime.

Painting: Royal Arches

A watercolor from a gallery that I found on-line.

Mark Your Calendars

Hopefully we will get together to ice climb in December, however we
could also get together for the three day MLK weekend.

Hudson River School of Art

Looking for a nice framed mountain landscape for the Fossil Cabin. This 8 X 12 inch oil by Carmeincke dating back to the mid-1800s is on the market for 45K ... the dealer emailed me but clearly he was thinking of someone else ... Danny perhaps? (Click on the photo to enlarge it.)

Postcard Collection

Another fine piece (circa 1930) in my alpine collection ... Thanks to
Newly and Don.

Looking Forward to November 15

One of the classic pitches about halfway up Royal Arches.

Fossil Puzzle Challange

Can you name items #1-10 ... dinner on the house if you can name all 32 items! (Click on the picture to enlarge the photo.)

Tori and Greg?

Are you guys joining us on November 15th? (Click on the photo to enlarge the annotated topo.)

Hock weekly totals:

Another "maintenance" week with two modest bouldering sessions
(enclosed picture), a yoga session, and four modest aerobic sessions. This week is likely to be even lighter with an upcoming board meeting to prep for.

Homecoming weekend

A photograph of a collage in the art gallery in the Knott Memorial at
Union College. Hock was also able to play in the alumni lacrosse game,
watch Union's football team beat St. Lawrence, and attend the
Professor Byron Nichols retirement dinner. (Click on the photo to enlarge it.)

Post card collection

Thanks to my sister-in- law (Newly) I have some new additions. Few Fossils
know that Hock has an outstanding collection of antique mountaineering
post cards.

Potato Harvest

Harvesting thousands of pounds of spuds so we can put some meat on his
bones! Friend of many fossils - Larry - getting ready to carbo load
this Fall, and beef up a bit, so he has some adipose tissue to keep
him warm while Hock is dilly-dallying on the steep ice.

Pitch 9: the royal arches the pendulum

Fourteen pitches ... November 15 ... who is going to join us!

Our New Address

Due to the demands of Homeland Security, every road needs a sign and a specific numbered address. So my little rustic cabin, and Selden's barn, on a dirt road now have a sign ... your tax dollars are at work! (Of course, I have not memorized the street number yet.)

Crag-a-thon awards

A picture of all the prize winners, from best belayers, to best
scrubbers, to best photographers, to most persistent (Lucy), best
novice, and of course Sarah and Alex our top climbers. (Oh, and yes, Hock won the over 50 category, as the sole entrant!)

Another Fossil Checking In

Brian - taking a day off from High Peaks Cyclery - to do the Santanoni Range with Karen. Looking as fit as always. (Click on the photo to enlarge it, however if your bi-focals are not quite up to par, he is on Panther.)

Weekly Totals

Spurred on by the NCS Crag-a-thon, I climbed 15 moderate pitches on the crag, about the equivalent of 600' of 5.7. I also did four relatively short aerobic workouts.

New Route

Larry led a short new route on the crag called "Splitting Hairs (5.9+
X). Dave is following on a toprope.

Historian

While waiting for Gary - a card carrying Fossil - to arrive for some rock climbing I sat down to a bit of history.

I watched the first half of Storm Over Mount Blanc. It is available from Netflix, and it is famous and interesting on several levels. First it was produced and directed by Arnold Fanck in 1930. Aside from working during the period of incredible creativity in German film (during the time of Metroplolis and Cabinet of Dr. Caligari) he was the originator of the Bergfilm, and was the inspiration for everything from Warren Miller's ski films to the Eiger Sanction. Second, the film features dancer-actress Leni Rifenstahl who starred in all his climbing and skiing films. (She - however - is controversial, some would say infamous, for her work on Triumph of Will and Olympia that she did for the Nazis.) Third, the film was shot during the transition period between silent and sound, and as the sound equipment was so cumbersome, in this film it was mostly used in the non-mountain scenes. Fourth, there is some spectacular skiing and flying footage. (While we make take bush-pilots for granted now on our way to Denali, mountain flying and landing on glaciers was pretty new back in 1930.) Fifth, and finally, the mountain scenery is amazing.

I am even giving some thought to an article for a magazine with the working title, "Netflix: a history of climbing."

Fifty Classic Climbs of North America

November 15th is rapdily approaching:

Overview
With more than 1600' of climbing, Royal Arches is the easiest long route in Yosemite Valley. Short, 5.6 moves are mixed in with long stretches of 3rd and 4th class circuitous climbing. The only hard section, a 5.10b traverse, is easily bypassed with a fixed pendulum. That said, Royal Arches is committing and has benighted more than a few climbers. The climbing varies from 3rd class walking on large ledges and 5.4 friction to 5.6 finger and hand cracks. The climb is well protected except for a few easy friction-climbing sections.

Photo taken from Royal Arches

The north face of Half Dome in the background.

Birch

Lucy getting ready for a riding lesson ... she turns 11 on October 30.

The Last Days of Fall

What a glorious day, and on my last lap I took this picture of the
moon rising over Cascade.

Self Portrait

Geared up with his soloist, after a long day in the office, Hock does
multiple laps on "Perry's Corner" (5.5).

November 15th

The first pitch of fourteen ... Royal Arches 30 years later. Get
psyched Mark.

Farm Girl

Jack of all trades ... Selden sawing up the interior paneling.

Finishing Touches

The interior will be done tomorrow ... Come on up!

Fossil Cabin: the last step

Selden and Dean are insulating and paneling the inside of the Fossil Clubhouse ... no doubt you will be warm, dry, and comfortable after a day of ice climbing!

Day 1: NCS crag-a-thon

20 Climbs set up, 75 kids and 15 adults ... what a day! Kudos to Larry, Dave, Nick, and Mike for the great organizational work and
for getting the community fired up. Who will win? Alex? Sarah? Kyle? Babacar? Adam? The rumor is that Hock may have the lead in the 50+ division.

The Trophy

Larry is getting ready to fire up the children for the NCS Crag - a -
thon. The overall point winners (girls and boys) names will be inscribed in the coming
days. (To get a close up view of the Dave's Crag Cup just click on the picture.)

Gorgeous Fall Day

We had a dusting of snow on the ground this morning on more on the summits of surrounding peaks ... but what a day!

Limbering up for the Crag-A-Thon

Hock completing his third lap on a 5.6 route at the crag. Tomorrow is the Sixth Annual NCS Crag-A-Thon.

AAJ just came in the mail

It will be placed in the Fossil clubhouse library; come visit.

November 15

Mark and I have made tentative plans to climb Royal Arches - again - this ultra
classic Yosemite route. Who can join us? Who can help Mark climb 60 pitches in his
60th year? (As an aside, on the airplane yesterday I found out to do screen captures with the iPhone so I did this blog entry while waiting for my luggage!)