Plush

For anyone whose activities are conducted outdoors it’s a blessing and a curse relying on, and being at the mercy of, nature and the elements.  There’s nothing like spending a day basking in the warm sun or even being comfortably chilled in the peaceful serenity of a natural landscape, far removed from the hustle and bustle of the work week and the mindless distractions of our ever expanding digital world.  The curses are days like my entry “Forlorn Desperation” where soaking rain turns rock into a dangerous waterslide.  Or when I have to relentlessly check and recheck weather forecasts hoping for a succession of cold days to form climbable ice.  As long as I can get out, I’ll manage and I try my best not to complain even on oppressively hot/humid days as well as the brutally cold ones.  But rain, or lack of winter, can and will shut down rock and ice climbing and there’s really nothing to be done about it (except for maybe gym climb). 

Reflecting over this, I can’t help but hear Scott Weiland singing Stone Temple Pilot’s classic “Plush” where he says, “…and I feel so much depends on the weather”.  We’ve been blessed recently with a stretch of frigid weather and I had been hopeful that a bit of ice would form at a nearby crag on a grungy, wet, more or less featureless wall of chossy rock usually too soggy or vegetated to climb during the regular season.  As it turns out, I was right and would have a chance to sample a bit of rare Jersey Ice less than 30 minutes from my doorstep instead of having to make the two and half hour drive north to the Catskills.

The most obvious climbable formation was a gorgeous 30 foot ice pillar that despite its modest height would attract almost any ice addict with its aesthetic properties.  The pillar is wide enough for two variations; the right side goes at about WI2+ (mostly vertical ice, with foot rests near the top), and the center felt like it was WI3- (sustained vertical ice).  There was a third variation to the left (mixed, with lots of stemming) but the overhanging curtain looked a bit too weak the line itself seemed very easy and even a bit contrived.  I ran laps up and down this ice for nearly 90 minutes until my arms could barely swing, it was fantastic!  This wall is over 200 feet long but due to its poor characteristics only has two established rock climbs and there are no documented ice climbs.  Not sure if this is a first ascent, but I’m going to call this route Plush (WI2+/3-).

 

Plush



I should note that my wife had joined me to climb but had unfortunately ended up being my belay slave.  We thought that she’d be able to use my boots and crampons but it turns out my size 9 boots are 3 sizes too big for her (she would be a size 6, Men’s).  We were optimistic it would work, and she even wore extra socks, but the boots were just too wobbly on her as she tried to kick into the ice.  I give her a lot of credit for shrugging it off and willing to hang out and belay me for a little while (love you, babe!).  I recently ordered a second pair of crampons, Petzl Lynx, and will look into getting her a pair of Mountaineering Boots.

 

It didn’t too long for me to exhaust myself and we were home in time for lunch.  And I was able to return her the favor and look after our son so she would have the time to go on a 2-mile run that afternoon (she has been training for her first 5k race which less than 6 weeks from now).  I am very proud of her commitment to what she calls “her running start towards self-discovery” and am very thankful that she was such a good sport with letting me enjoy a quick ice session. 

 

 

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