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The Crux is a longstanding newsletter published by the AMC Boston Chapter Mountaineering Committee. All news, stories, and photos come from the Boston climbing community and we welcome any submissions to crux@amcbostclimbers.com.
It is often called "the Matterhorn of the Southern Alps." A two-page spread of the winning photo in the 2018 Climbing magazine photo contest went to a picture taken from the South West Ridge. That ridge is a snow and ice climb that would be out of season, but the long North West Ridge is a great late season option. It is a moderate rock climb up a sharp ridge with many gendarmes, culminating in a summit ice cap.
Read MoreAfter a long flight, we spent a couple of days in Kathmandu, getting to know the group members (15 from England, 3 from the US) and our trekking guides. It’s a short flight from Kathmandu to Lukla (2845m/9334ft), a small, bustling mountain town where all groups in the Everest region begin their trip. Look up “Most dangerous airports” and you will see why Lukla always makes the top of the list. The 1730ft runway slopes at a crazy angle, and ends at the top of a huge cliff. Our ultimate objective was Island Peak (6189m/20,305ft), and we would also climb a few smaller peaks and passes.
Read MoreLisa Fernandez who took the Rock Program in the spring of 2016 tells her tale of how she went from learning knots at Quincy Quarries to summiting 14,000 footers in the High Sierra.
"So there I was on a wet Saturday at Quincy Quarries just outside Boston, in a mix of sleet, rain, and snow, trying to embrace a piece of vertical rock. It was brightly bedecked in enamel paint graffiti which, in the icky conditions, made the climbing that much harder. Not that it mattered in my case, because I had come clad to follow a leader in my new mountaineering boots, which I was trying to break in for the Palisades trip. My guide for the Palisades had insisted they were the right footgear for the technical climbing we would be doing: up to 5.7 or so, over multiple pitches on rock and potentially ice and snow, at 14,000 feet with lots of exposure. I felt like Sisyphus at QQ..."
Read MoreOur first foray to Patagonia was so rife with anticipation, my five compadres and I gave the trip its own hashtag: #teamfrey. Despite our skillful use of the hype-machine, make no mistake—we aren’t qualified in any way to climb in El Chalten (most of us anyway). Lacking the skill and vacation time for that, we concocted a Patagonia-lite adventure to Frey, Argentina.
Read MoreMost parents that climb have thoughts – usually more fantasies than real hopes – of how great it would be to share climbing adventures with their kids. The daydreams start out with thoughts of teaching the kids and sharing some nice times. You start imagining – “what if my kid got so good they could rope gun for me? - wouldn’t that be great?” Well sometimes daydreams do come true and I’m here to warn you to be ready when they do.
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