Summer Mountain Adventure Training Camp

I didn't travel out of the Northeast in April.  It was a strange feeling after being on the move all winter.  Although climbing was kept to the local crags, I did accomplish a lot-- I hired 10 new summer camp staff members and put some final details on the summer camp that I run, SumMAT Camp (which stands for SUMmer Mountain Adventure Training) through Petra Cliffs Climbing Center in Burlington, VT.  For the record, I tried to drop the T and change the name last year to Summa Camp, but met resistance. A little Bahston flair, what do you think?

Evan climbing in Acadia National Park, Maine, during an 11-day expedition

During SumMAT Camp, kids ages 6-16 participate in day camps and 4-11 day overnight trips involving rock climbing, caving, kayaking, ropes courses, backpacking, camping, and general Leave No Trace, environmental stewardship, and climbing ethics/etiquette.  I am so proud of all of the kids who come through our program, and I'm excited that they are exposed to the Mammut brand at an early age-- they love Stompy!  Some kids are naturals at the activities, some have to work hard.  All, by the end of camp, understand "challenge by choice" and "perceived risk vs. actual risk"-- and many of the campers stick around to become employees, and then friends. It's a great community and we're happy to be using Mammut gear all around!

Hanging out at home base.

The El Cap helmet is perfect for kids!

Vermont has some spectacular swimming holes, clear and cold.

Kayaking on the Winooski River. Mammut carabiners are essential for containing the guide's gear when the kids flip him.

The Mammut Gym Rental harness allows for maximum flexibility at the ropes course...

Camp often closes with a Friday afternoon Limbo session

Me and a favorite camper, Rory

The 2012 SumMAT Staff

Climbing in the neighboring Adirondacks

Vermont has some amazing views! Bolton, VT, with a view of Mt. Mansfield

Mammut harnesses & helmets emerge from the underground, Weybridge, VT (a 50' rappel into the cave!)

 

 I did manage to score the cover of Climberism Magazine this month though, climbing the classic Rose, an 80' overhanging handcrack in Bolton VT!

Hasta pronto~ Andrea Charest

Trying Out the Trion Guide in the Central Alaskan Range

From the Moose's Tooth on the Ruth Glacier to The Throne in “Little Switzerland,” the Central Alaskan Range is peppered with prime alpine objectives, making it an excellent location for Rainier Mountaineering's first-ever AlaskanAlpine Seminar, and the perfect place to put Mammut's 45+ liter TrionGuide pack through the paces.

With the Trion Guide on Mt. Francis's ice pitches.

Our crew of climbers set up a base camp in the shadow of Denali's massive girth, training and testing skills on all of the alpine options that the Southeast Fork of the Kahiltna Glacier offers. Not burdened by carrying around heavy loads, the Trion Guide was the perfect size for day-long alpine objectives in cold climates (daytime temps hovered in the teens and plunged below zero at night), amply accommodating climbing gear, first aid equipment, extra clothing, food and water, and spare rope when traveling on the glacier.

Our first objective was the East Ridge of Point 8670'. This peak is more commonly called the “Radio Control Tower,” probably due to the way it juts out of the glacier. Flanked on its western side by steep granite, the eastern side provides access via steep couloirs. In this more technical terrain, the Trion Guide moved well with my body and carried the load comfortably, and the pack design didn't inhibit head/helmet movement when scouting the route above.

The serpentine ridge on Pt 8670'

Our next objective was the East Ridge of Mt. Francis, a regal slice of snow and granite that stands over the Kahiltna base camp. Getting to the East Ridge required snowshoes, then transitioning to crampons, a transition made easy via the crampon-carrying front pocket's easy access. Ice on the ridge necessitates carrying two tools, and the smart design of the ice tool carriers securely holds modern tools in place, and the gear loop on the waist belt provided ample space for clipping draws, screws, and rock pro.

The opening "snice" pitch on Mt. Francis

Throughout the week, we traveled around the glacier, using it as our classroom for ice climbing, crevasse rescue, avalanche awareness, and other instruction—and throughout it all the Trion Guide proved the perfect pack. Anyone who wears a pack for large portions of their life inevitably develops some strong opinions about packs and pack features—I'd probably add a side pouch on at least on side of the pack to better accommodate pickets and I'd change the angle of the front pocket zipper, as the current angle impedes zipping a bit. Additionally, I've found that my needs are pretty minimal when it comes pack carriage systems, so after the ascent of Point 8670' I pulled out the Motion Butterfly stays, but I can imagine the innovative “body-movement-matching” design working well for those demanding a more sophisticated carriage system.

Refreshing on some crevasse rescue skills

Enjoying some ice pitches inside the Kahiltna glacier

Packs are a long-term and high-stakes relationship in the mountain world: With the exception of your boots, there is no other piece of equipment that makes or breaks a trip like a pack. Looking back over the course of my life in the mountains, I've had pack relationships come and go, some sweetly, others tumultuously. I can definitely say that the Mammut Trion Guide 45+ pack is now my long-term, committed alpine pack and I'm looking forward to our continued alpine adventures together later this summer in the North Cascades and the French Alps. Additionally, this pack is going to be in heavy rotation during my winter Northeastern ice guiding with Adventure Spirit Rock+Ice+AlpineExperiences. Fortunately, the ripstop/ballistic nylon is suited for hard play!

In a few days, I'll be heading back into the Central Alaskan Range for a climb of Denali/Mt. McKinley and I'll be bringing along the Mammut Heron Pro. Based on my experience with the Trion Guide, I'm expecting great things and I'll let you know about it when I'm back down in the valley in early June. Wishing you the best of times and climbs 'til then!

Southwest Montana Climbers Coalition: Spring Trash Clean-up

 As part of the Adopt a Highway Program, the Southwest Montana Climbers Coalition is responsible for maintaining a two-mile stretch of highway in the northern reaches of Gallatin Canyon—quite an appropriate location, as Gallatin Canyon holds much of the area’s sport and trad routes.

On Saturday, May 4 of this year, a bunch of climbers—including Bozeman Climbing Team members and their families, as well as the Junior Mountaineering Team—gathered to collect trash along between mile markers 67 and 69 of US 191.

It turned out to be a perfect day for picking up pee bottles: it was drizzly enough to make climbing impossible, but not so wet as to be miserable. After about four hours of clean-up, the crew managed to rid the road’s shoulders of nearly all trash.

Spring Climbing in Montana

Though I grew up in Bozeman, I left to attend college in New Hampshire in 2000. And because I started climbing in 1999, I had just less than one year as a (total beginner) climber in Montana before leaving.

In the years since I moved away, I’ve been back to visit Bozeman numerous times. However, in the last few years—during which David and I have primarily been “on the road” for climbing—we never climbed in Bozeman. We always figured that, when in town to visit the family, we might as well take a break from climbing, and do other stuff that is best done with access to a shower—like hiking, biking and the like.

So, since moving back to Bozeman about six months ago, we now consider ourselves lucky to have almost no prior climbing experience here. In other words, everything is completely new to us, and we have the entirety of Southwest Montana climbing to explore and learn!

This spring we’ve been trying to get out as much as possible. It’s been somewhat challenging with Montana weather and David’s demanding work schedule. Nevertheless, we’ve had a number of great days outside: making friends, killing (way, way too many) ticks, and getting some vitamin D.

Here are some photos of our recent outings:

The Hantavirus Cave in Gallatin Canyon

 Leslie unpacks her bag on a sunny March day

 Folks gather flock to this south-facing sunbowl in spring - a great training wall with humane early season conditions

Snow all around

Look who I found! Mammut athlete Whit Magro

Setting for Spire's Spring Fling competition; all told, this took the better part of a week, and much longer for the body to recover...

Then we had some of this...

...and then some more...

The Cube in Gallatin Canyon

David on the standard "warm up," a rather bouldery .12a... a great route, though!

A stare down. (The dog is not pleased.)

David doing Silver Surfer Suit, a cool-looking .13a with a techy start leading up to a crazy-looking dyno

Leslie on Über Ass

 David belaying, and the dog wishing he was more comfortable

David on Silver Surfer Suit

Jeff doing Silver Surfer Suit

Same

Jeff on Straw Man, an amazing-looking .13a that heads straight up the gut of The Cube's overhanging face

Indian Creek: a small, limestone area outside of Townsend with lots of weird/ short routes, but one really great wall

Erik roping up to send his project, an amazing 5.12 called War Path

The route... so much fun!

Looking through the dense shrubs up the very narrow Indian Creek Canyon

The requisite tools...