The 17th Annual Mount Washington Valley Ice Festival will take place this coming weekend, Feb. 5th, 6th and 7th. It will feature an impressive schedule of clinics and climbs for all abilities. Some highlights are advanced classes with guest climbers, guided mountaineering ascents, and women specific courses. Guest instructors include: Steve House (who was recently at the Adirondack Mountainfest), Mark Synnott,...

The inaugural Adirondack Ski Mountaineering Camp Sponsored by The Mountaineer, Dynafit and Mammut will take place February 5th through 7th. The two and a half day course costs $495 and will cover skills required to travel in more advanced mountaineering and ski terrain. Students should possess solid intermediate ski touring knowledge, advanced skiing ability and winter travel skills. We are serious about this–you...

The following is a list of Northeast dates for the 2009-2010 Banff Mountain Film Festival. Fri Jan 29 Burlington VT Sat Jan 30 Burlington VT Sun Jan 31 Lake Placid NY Mon Feb 01 Plattsburgh NY Wed Feb 03 Lebanon NH Fri Feb 05 Ellsworth ME Sat Feb 06 Ellsworth ME Sun Feb 07 Ellsworth ME Tue Feb 09 Bangor ME Wed Feb 10 Bangor ME Fri Feb 12 Rockport ME Sun Feb 14 Saratoga Springs NY Tue Feb 16 Portland ME Wed...

While searching for a list of dates for this year’s Banff Mountain Film Festival, which was a lot harder to find than it should have been (Banff marketing, please take note), I came across this amazing High Definition preview video. I am really looking forward to a few of this year’s films, and this preview video has me even more excited.

New Hampshire’s Mount Washington has lost its claim to the world’s fastest wind speed. A new world record was recorded on April 10, 1996 in Barrow Island, Australia, during Typhoon Olivia. I know what you are thinking… “Wait, typhoons are in bounds?” And maybe you are also thinking, “Huh? 1996?” As it turns out, typhoons are indeed fair game for this world record...

The other day I was reminiscing about our Northville-Placid hikes and I remembered one of the best days we’ve ever had on the trail. It was during our section hike in 2005. We were hiking in the West Canada Lakes region and stopped at a lean-to on West Lake for the night. It was a beautiful, warm August day. We spent all afternoon and most of the evening swimming in the lake and climbing on the rocks....

In 1924, George Mallory and Andrew Irvine set off from their camp high on Mt. Everest in a bid to become the first to reach the summit. Party members claim to have seen the pair only a few hundred meters shy of the top before clouds obscured the view. That was the last time anyone saw the men alive. Since then, the burning question has been… did Mallory and Irvine reach the summit before dying? If so,...

Apparently 50 degree weather and monsoon like rain is not the ideal environment for an ice palace. The melting ice will erase 4 days of progress on the structure, and it will need to be taken down and rebuilt. The palace builders, consisting of volunteers and inmate crews from a local state correctional facility, will have to start over from scratch when the temps return to more seasonably appropriate digits…...

Standing over a pile of empty boxes and wrapping paper, Jess and I looked at each other and we knew what had to happen next. It was Christmas morning. We just finished unwrapping our toys and couldn’t fight the urge to go play with them. It was like I was 9 again and needed to go run around the backyard with the football that Santa just left for me. Only instead of a football, our toys were snowshoes,...

It’s January 25… and it’s 50 degrees and pouring down rain! Yikes. This is the kind of weather you expect in March and April, definitely not January. Unfortunately, I am unable to share just how yucky of a day it is, since our camera transfer cable has mysteriously vanished. But it’s probably for the best. Just believe me when I say that the snow is melting fast – nearly all...