The White Mountains in 3.5

How long does it take to get to New Hampshire's White Mountains from the Capital Region (Albany, NY area)? 5 hours, 6 hours, 7 hours? Apparently, somewhere in that range for the uninformed and unimaginative.

Much to the chagrin of most, and after extensive route setting it is time for me to smugly gloat. I have it down to a very respectable sub 3:25 drive time to the Western Whites. Add in a gas stop and pee break and you are still at your destination in less than 4 hours.

I hear the bullshit calls, now go ahead and wipe the spit off your monitors because I have an independent witness, and my witness was also insistent it wasn't possible. As far as my speed, nothing crazy. I like having a drivers license, and some (however limited) money left in my checking account.

Why on earth would I blog about this? Simple, we met quite a few people on the trail this weekend, and each time where we were from came up, people said, “wow, Albany, that is a long drive to go hiking.” Well I agree (actually I don't but I hope others do and stay off my White Mountain trails, just like others hope I stay off their White Mountain trails), but 3:25 is very reasonable for a weekend of hiking. Bearing in mind that when I lived in the NY Metro area at times I drove to NH and/or the Adirondacks 3-4 weekends a month, and those drives were in the 5 to 7 hour range driving mostly on interstates at 65-75mph. We were talking 600-800 mile round trip weekends with 10-14 hours plus behind a wheel. It's been a long time since I had to do those, and I don't miss 'em.

As far as the route, well, it's too complicated to spell out. Honestly, there is no big secret except for my little shortcut at the end, which most people probably don't take because it's remote, extremely curvy hilly and moose territory. All I do is take the small curvy mountain roads that everyone else avoids like a case of herpes. Since I travel at the off hours (overnight and early morning) I am able to keep up my average speed on the back roads and I shave off many miles on the odometer. Moose and deer are my only significant impediments to arriving safely and quickly at the trail head.



Going via 90 and 91 like my kin from the NYC Metro, it would take me about 6 hours even though the average speed would be 20mph faster than the typical 45-55mph back roads. Cutting across VT 9 is faster and shorter but not nearly as good as going NE across VT. The total distance of my routes is less than 180 miles to Lincoln, so doing the math I'm averaging just over 52mph yet still getting there faster and using less gas.

Don't even get me started on my shortcuts through VT when I hike or ice climb in the Green Mountain state. Forget the pavement, go dirt and cut your mileage in half!

Bottom line, I've said it time and time again, if you live between Albany and Glens Falls, you like the outdoors and you like to travel, in my opinion you live in the best part of the Northeast. NYC, Boston and Montreal are all 3 hours from me. The Catskills and Gunks are just over 1 hour from me. Lake Placid is under 2 hours.Most places in Vermont's central or southern Green Mountains are within 2 hours, and of course, the White Mountains are between 3:30 and 4:15 depending oneastern or western end of the range. And no worries, I can ski, ice climb, hike, bike and paddle 5-30 minutes from my back door.

So break out a map, and enjoy the back roads of VT and NH as you head off on a drive to get to your favorite mountain destinations.

Absolutely Ridiculous, Good Bye Craig Leubben

I'm re-posting this blog from About.com which Stewart Green talks about Craig Leubben whom I didn't know personally, but had a great impact on my climbing safety and technical abilities through his books. Craig was competent enough a climber and a writer to keep me and my rope mates safe over the years.

Knots for Climbers, How To Ice Climb, and Climbing Anchors are a few that come to mind as being well worn, with Climbing Anchors probably being the most influential book on my shelf aside from Mountaineering: Freedom of the Hills.

News of a highly skilled and competent climber being killed is always sobering, but we are lucky that Craig was a climber, teacher, writer, and photographer even if the end result was tragic. A lot of us learned through his books and articles, others learned first hand through his guiding. I'm certain Craig has had an immeasurable impact on climbing safety and the progression of novice climbers, he will be missed.

Details are emerging about the death of Craig Luebben, a well-known climbing guide and author from Colorado, who died yesterday in a freak climbing accident on the southeast face of 8,120-foot Mount Torment in North Cascades National Park.

Leubben and partner Guillermo “Willie” Benegas were climbing the Torment-Forbidden Traverse route, a mile-long Grade III rock and ice route that connects Mount Torment and Forbidden Peak. The long moderate route includes technical snow and ice up to 50 degrees, rock climbing, and scrambling on easier terrain.

As the pair neared the top of the Taboo Glacier below Mount Torment’s southeast face at about 6 a.m., they encountered a bergshrund or huge gap in the glacier. While leading, Craig climbed onto the upper part of the bergshrund when without warning an immense slab of ice broke away from the glacier. The chunk of ice, approximately 100 feet high, 20 feet wide, and ten feet thick, swept Leubben about 45 feet into an ice moat. Large pieces of ice hit and critically injured him, leaving him hanging on the rope. Apparently a cam he had placed kept him from falling further. Benegas immediately climbed down to Craig, pulled him onto a ledge, and called 911 on his cell phone. Luebben, however, died before rescuers arrived by helicopter. Rangers then rescued Benegas and removed Luebben’s remains.

Craig Luebben was not only a genuine person, but also an incredibly experienced and careful climber. He was the author of seven books about climbing, including Advanced Rock Climbingcoauthored with John Long, and Rock Climbing: Mastering Basic Skills, which won a 2004 National Outdoor Book Award. Craig, a fellow author for FalconGuides, knew all about climbing technique and safety, and taught lots of skill classes in setting up anchors, climbing safety, and self rescue techniques.

Last evening when I first heard the news about Craig, I was sitting on my front porch talking with my son Ian Green. We didn’t have any details about the accident but both agreed that it had to have been rockfall because Craig was just too smart and cautious and experienced climber to mess up.

Whenever we venture into the high mountains, there is always the possibility of stuff happening that is simply beyond our control. That was the case here. A terrible event happened to two extremely experienced and competent alpinists. There was nothing they could do. It was the mountain—taking Craig home.

Details on Craig Leubben's Tragic Climbing Accident by Stewart Green

Goodbye Caney "Wonder Dog" Serpico

Born: January 20, 1999  Died: July 31, 2009 at 5:25pm

Justin was his person:  June 8th 1999 - forever.

Love you, and thank you for showing us Wonder Dog one more time last weekend. You are indisputable proof that no matter how bad things are that there is no such thing as a bad day on the trail.

I miss you already but I know you are arrogantly leading the pack somewhere. Go play with your best friend Russell. Say hi to Mom (just try to pretend you know/want to heel when she walks you).  Go find Madi, she wanted a white dog, and now she has a really good one.

I always felt like you were a person trapped in a dogs body. If that is true, I will gladly be your dog next time around.

Right now I can't imagine having to go so long till we spend time on the trail together again, but we will always be closest to you when we are in the mountains.

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