The Winter of 2011-2012 has been disappointing. Today, January 24, it is a balmy 50 degrees outside. Over the weekend we got a 3 inch dusting of snow (first snow since the freak late-October storm) and it has all but vanished.
I had been keeping a close eye on the weather waiting for a solid cold-snap to arrive and stay in place. The snow that came over the weekend was preceded by a decent spell of proper winter weather in the Catskill Mountains. Without hesitation, I contacted Alpine Endeavors to reserve a private guide. To my surprise, I was paired up with Ryan Stefuik who is featured in this month’s Rock and Ice and Climbing magazines on none other than Catskill Ice. Ryan brought me to a new area he was developing called “The Dark Side”. This was my third time Ice Climbing but it ended up being a fantastic day. I managed to climb a WI4 without too much difficulty and felt at ease with my movements and sticking my axes and crampons. The only downside of the trip was to leave wanting more, ready for more…and then coming back to an early Spring in the middle of Winter.
No comments:
Post a Comment