Ice Climbing in Adirondack Park

Just got back from three days of ice climbing in Adirondack Park. Amazing - if you're into the whole torture for fun thing. I used the guide company Rock and River, which also has a nice lodge with rooms for a great price. Nice rooms. Good food, too.

So days one and two my guide was Matt. He is the one Asian ice/rock climber, at the very least in Adirondack Park and probably a larger area as well. I "died" (started to fall but was caught by the harness) twice the first day and once the second day. And we did this crazy climb the second day. Ice had formed over an actively flowing waterfall, so below the surface of the ice you could see water rushing by. In some places the ice was very thin and actually open, such that water was splashing out. Its a bit freaky digging an ice axe into that and walking across it. But, amazingly enough, it held. At one point I expressed a bit of concern that the ice looked "soft", and Matt helpfully suggested, "don't hit it hard". Sage advice.

The third day my guide was Bill. Bill has been climbing for thirty years. We did three climbs, the latter two of which were part of a multi-pitch climb that totaled 350 feet. It was relatively easy ice though; but the distance is the killer. It's like standing on your toes, flexing your calves constantly, the whole way up. And I didn't "die" even once the third day. The ice was less technically challenging, but they were longer climbs, which probably played a big part in my not falling.

The past two nights I've woken up half a dozen times each (at least that I can remember), from my leg jerking because my hold slipped while climbing (in my dream), or the ice axe started coming loose so my legs tensed up. I hope these dreams won't turn into an expensive set of trips to a psychiatrist.

If you're in to the whole sadism thing, I highly recommend you check them out. Also, I lost four pounds. And not four pounds of fat, I suspect. Annoying.