2009 Climber’s Holiday Awards
Rain Gods Awards
The Gary Award
Rope Management Award
Pathfinder of the Year Award
“I need more draws” Award
Most Meaningless Bushwack Award
Mr appropiate car Award
Old Dogs with 9 Lives Award
Most Enthusiastic New Climber
Slip Sliding Away Award
The Flakiest Moves Award
Climber of the Year Award
Scott Sandberg Volunteer of the Year Award
Craigen Bowen Scholarship Award
Rain Gods Awards - Eric Engberg and Simon Kozin
Zeus (or our first recipient) was new to his job and apparently needed some attention. So he started his first year reign overseeing one rain event after the other. Half of New Seconds rained out, Rumney late summer weekend rained out, October Harvard Cabin rained out, Fall Frolic rained out and who knows what to come next? Hopefully not the ice program, enough is enough! Thor (our second recipient) is Zeus foremost and most experienced executer. Not to be overshadowed he too excelled beyond everyone’s expectations! He has now arranged a rained out Rumney weekend three years in a row! So who you gonna call when rain is needed?
The Gary Award - Mike Mullins
For some time we have been going on trips with this recipient. He has never been known to be the first one up in the mornings. He enjoys life as some would put it. However recently things have changed. New elements in his life have stirred up his habits. It all started at a Gunks trip last July. Gary suggests to get up at 6:30am. Kind of late for him, but he could live with that. Our recipient kind of hesitate but hoped to at least get out of the tent by 7am.. Well, as it turns out , he what not only up in time for once but also ready to go right away. What happened? Then a couple of weeks later we go to the Adirondacks, this time without Gary. We didn’t set up a meeting time in the morning, as Gary was not around. We figured we wake up whenever and go from there. First people crawling out of their tent at 7am got a shock!! Our recipient was already up and ready to go. However he was totally confused of what to do! Yes, what happened!?
Rope Management Award - Victor Lum
This recipient went to Quincy Quarries to practice multi-pitch climbing. One may wonder which wall? Most would choose the G wall (Boardwalk etc) as it’s one of the longest routes. Well, as he is who he is, of course he chooses the J wall (the layback wall). And not only did he manage to find a belay ledge there, he found three! Thus turning this 55ft cliff into a FOUR pitch climb with a full 60m rope!! He claimed it was to practice multi-pitch climbing with his second. I think what he really needed was a crash course in rope management!
Pathfinder of the Year Award - Ben Gill
A bunch of people including this recipient made a nice little trip to Lake George, NY. Beautiful weather, beautiful cliffs, beautiful routes – you just gotta pick one. So he decided to climb the Upper Washbowl – and that’s where he was heading. Well, that was where he thought he was heading. The short approach kinda didn’t quite end. Then the trail was actually bushwhacking, which would have been ok, if he wouldn’t be barefoot. After two hours of bushwhacking he finally came to the conclusion that something must be wrong, so he turned and hiked back for another 2 hours, barefoot… Finally back, he found (1) Omar and (2) the other side of the road, meaning the cliff… Having located the cliff was enough achievement for one day, so our recipient hopped into the car and drove off without climbing that day at all.
“I need more draws” Award - Amanda Goeman
Girls trip to Rumney: This recipient was getting ready to lead. She scored a rope as hers was “busy” on a fairly long route, she scored some draws and even scored a belayer. On top of the route, the only thing left to do was to build an anchor. The problem – no more draws left… so she asked the guy, who was leading the route next to her, whether she could borrow some of his draws. In the meanwhile – Lilly’s climbing on her rope, got to the top and about to be lowered. At that moment she realizes that Lilly was climbing on her 50m rope – which is too short for that climb…
A few weeks later, yet another trip to Rumney. Again, our recipient leading… on her 50m rope, equipped with an interesting mix of quickdraws, slings, lockers and so on. Again, 2/3 up the route, about to clip the next bolt, she realized that there were no more draws left. But no big deal for her (she’s been there before – you get used to it) – like a pro, she used lockers and all kinds of other beaners instead and finished the route smoothly and her belayer (Jamie) could lower her. Well, not quite all the way. As it turns out – a 50m rope was too short… again! Jamie then, climbing up (barefoot) to lower her to the ground. Bottom line: Buy tickets for the raffle, you can win cool stuff such as a 60m rope, or biners, or slings… ;o)
Most Meaningless Bushwack Award - Ran Glennon
Richard Doucette hoped to climb the Black Dike on Cannon Mtn. for the first time. He sought out the partnership of the more experienced Ran Glennon, for this important ascent. Ran had done the route some years before. They geared up in the parking lot on the east side of the highway, and the junior climber remarked to Ran "Dont you think it would be better if we parked on the other side of the highway...since the Mountain is over there? Sure looks like a nice parking lot and trailhead over there. That's the one Ive used in the summer anyway." Ran indicated this is the way he's done it in the past. You park here, scamper across the highway, bushwack to the trail and head up to the base of the climb. It's a more...direct route..."
As they looked for good spot to begin their "scamper" across the highway, two young guns appeared in a car to do another route. When told that our two intrepid climbers were planning to do "The Dike", one of the guns said "Dudes, the mountains over there", and pointed across route 93. Ran, being the consistent thinker that he is, said "This is the way I've done it before". Off they went. As soon as they crossed over the guardrail on the other side of the road they were up to their nipple in loose snow. As they got down to the creek bed, the snow drifts got deeper. The occasional spruce trap and river crossing further bogged them down. After an interminable time on their "more direct route", they found themselves on the trail below the mountain. The "normal" approach could now commence.
It turned out Ran had first done the route before the highway was extended through Franconia Notch over 20 years ago. He and some of the more "mature" climbers ignore the fact that a whole new highway, parking lot, trailhead and paved trail system have been established on the other side of the road. By God, it was good enough then, it oughta be good enough now!
Mr appropiate car Award - Ron Birk
What car would be best suited for an outdoor / mountain enthusiast? Right, a sports car! And exactly this one got a whole lot of abuse when it faced the task to get Ron to Pawtuckaway State Park. Probably, it didn’t quite help that his navigator wasn’t quite sure what to do with the recommendation of bringing a “high clearance” vehicle. Despite never arriving at the actual cliff, the car needed some serious service after this trip…
Old Dogs with 9 Lives Award - Darryl Sargent
This leader took an unsuspecting new ice student up to Odell's on leader's choice weekend. After leading up a steep ice slab, the leader set up a 2 screw anchor at the top of the slab and the base of an 18 feet high vertical section, and brought his second up. Confidently ascending the vertical start of the next pitch, the leader had placed no screws when, at the top of the vertical section, he pulled on a tool stuck in chandeliered ice and suddenly came off. He free-fell 15 feet to the ice slab, striking it with his crampons, and tumbled another 15 feet plus rope stretch down the steep slab until his rope pulled tight. His new second got yanked hard downward with him, but commendably held onto the belay. The fall had separated the leader from one of his gloves and ice tools, which remained stuck in the ice above, so up he went again, with tools borrowed from his second. Again he climbed the vertical section *placing no screws*. He made it to his glove and tool, and after securing them, began to downclimb when he came off a second time for another 30 footer. Because he didn't learn to put in a screw the second time, even after taking the first whipper from the same position just minutes before, and because he survived essentially a 30 foot, factor-2 fall on a 2 screw anchor, twice in a row, striking his crampons on the ice after an initial freefall of 15 ft., *and* taking the second fall with 3 ice tools and a full rack of screws flailing about his body, all without suffering so much as a scratch, Darryl Sargent gets the "Old Dogs with 9 Lives Award"! Just about the only casualty was his horrified, new ice second, who should at least get an honorable mention!
Most Enthusiastic New Climber - Matt Meuse
Prior to this year's spring class, this person had never climbed before. But something about climbing seemed to fit him well. Over the course of the summer and fall, he joined us climbing at various locations including Rumney, Echo, WhiteHorse, Square Ledge, the Gunks, and Crow Hill. At some point the climbing turned into a passion. He started leading trad. He started leading sport. And, since he's something of a record keeper, he kept track of all of his climbs. He can tell you that he's climbed more than 100 unique climbs this year. He's led more than 30 pitches, including both sport and trad. He's clearly hooked on climbing at this point. Please join me in congratulating Matt Meuse on his achievements.
Slip Sliding Away Award - Sharlene Sallet
Oh here is an idea for a funny one – the “Slip Sliding Away Award” goes to Sharlene Sallet. “We are proud of you for becoming the fastest inline skater in the universe – like greased lightning some say – but hope you would get out climbing more in 2010.”
The Flakiest Moves Award - Tom Bielicki
Since he started leading shortly after he took the class in 2003, Tom Bielicki has pushed himself to excel in climbing. I would like to nominate Tom Bielicki for the Flakiest Moves Award for having successfully lead all the 5.1 climbs in the Gunks. He completed the second and final 5.1 climb "The Flake" on Labor day weekend with no less than two 5.6 moves. He has since completed all the Gunks 5.2 climbs as well.
Climber of the Year Award - Yuki Fujita
The Walker is not just a local test piece, not just another 50 classic or so on. It is THE epitome of a testpiece Alpine Climb. It has the location, the history and the granite. Paraphrasing the immortal Kanye West – “The Walker is the greatest OF ALL TIME’ Even Taylor Swift would agree.