ECP ON THE WEB CONTENTS OFTHIS ISSUE

Transcription

1 ECP ON THE WEB Website: Group/Listserve: Facebook: Google Group: groups.google.com/d/forum/explorersclubofpgh JULY GENERAL MEETING Thursday, July 14 th 7:30PM Schenley Park, Camp David Lawrence Shelter, Overlook Drive.. Pre-Meeting (See Activities Calendar, below) Some reminders: Guests are always welcome Please arrive early to briefly socialize so meeting can start promptly at 7:30. Bring any loaned library materials or gear for return. Looking forward to seeing everyone there! CONTENTS OFTHIS ISSUE General Mtg Announcement p 1 Next BOG Mtg Announcement p 1 CONTACT INFORMATION Officers & Appointees p 2 Annual Tasks for uly p 2 Activity Coordinators p 3 TRIP & EVENT REPORTS TWO ECPers and A SWEDE TACLE THE HAUTE ROUTE p 4-18 ROCK SCHOOL 2016 GRADIATION TRIP SENECA Wrap-up p19 Trip Repot p Historical Note p 23 ACTIVITIES AND NEWS Activities Calendar p Recurring Activities p 26 NEXT BOARD OF GOVERNORS MEETING Thursday, August 18 th at Sarah Trafican's - Attendees: Sarah at:vicepresident@pittecp.org for address and directions Gather at 7pm; Meeting starts promptly at 7:15. All ECP Members are welcome to attend and participate in the discussions. We do request that attendees notify the host/hostess or VP Sarah Trafican of their intention to attend. Over the past several years it has become traditional for attendees to bring snacks, beverages, or covered dishes 1

2 OFFICERS President Ron Edwards president@pittecp.org Vice-President Sarah Trafican vicepresident@pittecp.org Secretary Dave Martin secretary@pittecp.org Treasurer Chris Ciesa treasurer@pittecp.org Activities Chair Jason Maruccio activities@pittecp.org Equipment Chair Derek Stuart equipmentchair@pittecp.org Editor Philip Sidel editor@pittecp.org SCHOOL CHAIRPERSONS Mountaineering School Chris Ciesa Rock School Nikki Nesbitt Backpacking School 2016 to be appointed APPOINTEES The ECP Appointees are persons appointed by the president to fill key positions in the club. In addition there are appointed Activity Coordinators and Special Committees Environmental Ginette Vinski ginette@vinski.net Historian Phil Sidel sidel.climbing@gmail.com Librarian Judith Scanlon judithscanlon@gmail.com Assisted by Bill Baxter billybax@yahoo.com Membership Kate Ekmann membership@pittecp.org Publicity Mike Schmitt schmittz@gmail.com Webmaster Tom George webmaster@pittecp.org BUDGET COMMITTEE Chris Ciesa, Michael Schmidt, and Paul Toth. ANNUAL TASKS FOR JULY Rock Climbing School Chair Rock Climbing School Final Report to the BOG 2

3 ACTIVITIES COORDINATORS Activity Contact Backpacking Bethany Melvin Biking Road Bill Brose Caving Doug Fulton & Teralyn Iscrupe Fly Fishing Bruce Cox Ice Climbing Jason Maruccio In-Line Skating Robin Kamin Mountaineering Sam Taggart Orienteering Matt Janick Paddling Flat Water Tony & Ginette Vinski Paddling White Water Barry Adams Rock Climbing Ron Edwards Rowing Bob Dezort Ultra and Trail Running Brian Ottinger Sailing Bill Baxter SCUBA Barry Smyda Skiing Downhill Greg Buzulencia Skiing Cross-Country Joyce Appel Yoga Allison Pochapin Elise Nolan We still have a number of Activities for which we are seeking coordinators: Adventure Racing, Mountain Biking, Rafting, Sea Kayaking, Triathlon Training, Geocaching, Skydiving, and others What does an Activity Coordinator do? General advocacy and point of contact for the activity by helping current, new, or prospective members get connected with others in the club also interested in the activity and any events planned for it. Some specific duties/expectations of the Activities Coordinators can be found in Section 1.5 of the ECP's formal policy statements which are posted on the club website. If you are a member interested in an activity, you should contact the coordinator for that activity and let him/her know of your interest. You can work with the coordinator to keep informed about trips and events involving that activity and to help in organizing and promoting events around that activity. 3

4 Two ECPers and a Swede tackle the Haute Route By: Felix Duvallet and Kevin Chartier The Haute Route is a mythical ski touring route that winds its way through the Alps between the towns of Chamonix and Zermatt. It covers over 100 kms (62 miles for the Yanks) of high glacier terrain, going over multiple passes and through three countries (France, Switzerland, and Italy). While early pioneers had to carry all their supplies (as we still do when ski touring in the US), the many huts in the Alps make it possible to tour without carrying sleeping or cooking gear. Kevin and Felix decided to ski the Haute Route April 15-21, Being purists, we chose the variation that passes over the Grand St. Bernard pass, which meant that we could avoid a pesky snow-less segment across a low valley that would have required taking a taxi. The plan was to complete the route in seven days, staying at huts each night as we progressively inched closer to Zermatt. Klas, the resident Swedish roboticist at EPFL, would join up starting on the fourth day. Day 0: Montana, USA to Lausanne, Switzerland to Chamonix, France Kevin left the mountains of Montana to fly to the mountains of the Alps. After a train ride to Lausanne and a brief stop at Felix and Erica s apartment to repack, we made our way to the train station to head towards Chamonix. Erica said goodbye to the only two morons carrying their skis onto a train in weather that felt like the middle of summer. We were pretty sure it would be much more winter-y in the mountains, but would come to realize this was a huge understatement. Figure 1 Actually it s not that unusual to see people carrying Skis in a Swiss train station. The train to Chamonix climbs impressive slopes through the Swiss and French Alps, and dropped us off in the center of Argentiere, a small town north of Chamonix where the Haute Route begins. We had a few hours to spare so we decided to head into Chamonix to check out the sights and we were not disappointed! It was all there: the great views of the mountains (the Mont Blanc, the Dru, the Aiguille du Midi, etc.), the telepherique of the Aiguille du Midi (perhaps the greatest skiing lift in the world!), and streets named after badass old-school climbers. Reading so many mountaineering stories that start with we took the cable car up to the Midi, it s just awesome to see the thing in reality. Psyched by the views and ready for our first day of skiing, we bought some croissants for the next morning s breakfast and crashed for the night. 4

5 Day 1: Chamonix to Refuge de Saleinaz Figure 2 Mountaineers, past and present. The Route starts in true European fashion: with a lift! Unfortunately, we arrived to find that it was closed due to high winds. The operators said to come back in an hour for a possible update, so we started off our Haute Route adventure sitting in a cafe crushing coffee and pastries unfortunate but civilized! Figure 3 Even the French coffee & pastries didn't quite prepare us for the bad weather ahead. 5

6 An hour later they still weren't planning on opening the main lift, so we decided to take an intermediate lift and skin the rest of the way. Turns out the lift was closed for a good reason; even though the weather in town was good, we reached the Argentiere glacier in poor weather: high winds and fast-decreasing visibility. We skinned up the glacier and towards the Col du Chardonnet, taking in what we could of the surrounding peaks. By the time we arrived at the base of the col, it was clear that making it over the col and across the Saleinaz glacier was going to be unlikely in such terrible weather. We considered our options and decided the best was to detour towards the Argentiere hut (further up the valley) and spend the night. This would put us in a much better position to get an early start the following day, to pass the col, and continue onwards. We spent a great night in a cool hut (it has a motorcycle on the roof!), and the weather even cleared for a few hours, giving us great views of the impressive Argentiere basin. Day 2: Argentiere to La Fouly Figure 4 The view from the Argentiere hut. Since we had not been able to climb much the previous day, today we would have to combine two days objectives into one: yesterday s planned col, up the Col de la Grande Lui (the namesake of this route s variation), and down 2000 m to the town of La Fouly. While spirits were high and we started early, the weather was not as excited as we were: it just started bad and got progressively worse. Figure 5 Part of the reason we turned back. 6

7 We managed to climb ~600 meters up to the base of the Col du Chardonnet, but the visibility was dropping down to 30 feet and the wind picked up to the point that we were getting knocked over. We decided that venturing into unknown invisible glaciated terrain was not wise, so we descended back towards Argentiere. Fortunately, we were able to catch three trains and a bus and made it to our scheduled night in the Swiss town of La Fouly. La Fouly is remote town at the end of a remote Swiss valley; there s a tiny ski resort (it was already closed for the season) and we were basically the only tourists. We stayed in a hotel (we had the place to ourselves), ate some fondue for dinner, and hoped for a good weather forecast Day 3: La Fouly to St. Bernard Monastery The climb up from La Fouly started fine enough, meandering at a low angle over cross-country trails, through forests, and on summer roads. The spring warming had clearly come through here, and there were many *huge* full-depth avalanche paths that we had to cross; we were happy to be early and that they had already slid! Figure 6 Huge avalanche slides, and some sketchy grass climbing. After roughly 500 m of elevation gain, we entered into the clouds. That would be the last we saw of anything, which was unfortunate because the real navigation challenge had just started. We were lucky to have a GPS with us, but as anyone who has done so can attest, navigating with no visible landmarks (even with a GPS track) is an incredibly frustrating experience. Somehow (neither of us is quite sure exactly how), we managed to climb a col to a plateau, go around several lakes (all covered in snow) without falling in, and climb up another col at the Italian border. There, we waited for the weather to show signs of clearing before descending on unknown terrain. Not surprisingly, we were the only ones in the valley for the entire day. 7

8 Figure 7 It's hard to stay psyched when this is your view for the entire day. The visibility improvements never came, leaving us with a very tricky descent into Italy. With about 50 cms of fresh snow, steep slopes, and a lot of cliffs and big terrain around, this was to be by far the most difficult problem of the tour. We had almost-zero visibility: we could not see our destination, we could not see the terrain above us, and we couldn t even see the contours of the terrain we were skiing. Imagine skiing with your eyes closed in some of the biggest mountains in the world. Get the picture? (hint: it s pretty much all white.) Figure 8 Arriving at the tunnel after a stressful blind ski descent. By some miracle and weird belayed skiing (and maybe some monks looking out for us), we arrived at the road up to the St Bernard Monastery and followed it to our salvation. We arrived at the Monastery late in the day where we were first greeted by our friend Klas and then by the Christian monks who had warm food and a nice bed for each of us. Klas had arrived at the monastery many hours earlier and was starting to get worried: the visibility had turned a relatively easy 5-hour day into a 9-hour epic that left our nerves frayed. 8

9 The St Bernard Monastery is normally accessible by road during the summer, but in the winter only by foot (or ski/snowshoe). It is a truly unique place that brings all the comforts of a huge pilgrim s hotel into a very remote inhospitable environment. There s even a nice museum, where the stories of early crossings of this pass made our day look like a day at the beach. Many people perished crossing this section of the alps, and the monastery came into existence around the year 1100 to help those early travelers. It still pursues its mission to this day, and it alone is worth the longer variation of the route! Day 4: St Bernard Hospice to Valsorey hut Today is the monster day: 1800 meters of uphill over 14 km and up several big cols. We started early under clear skies with hopes of it holding! The first climb started out super-fast due to good snow conditions, but when it got too steep to skin we switched to booting up the breakable crust; a soul-crushing endeavor as the snow wasn t strong enough to support body weight (protip: you can basically bear crawl your way up this, but then you re doing a CrossFit workout with skis on your pack). After several more ups and downs we summited the Croix de Tsousse, our halfway point. At this time two negative thoughts dawned on us: we still had 900 m of climbing left, which would be a good day by itself, and the clouds were closing in fast. Figure 9 Great views, finally! Sadly, it didn t last very long. We didn t make it very far before being enveloped by the clouds, and we skied down in a total whiteout by GPS (following the tracks as best we could). The GPS tracks took us through a really cool ravine that we couldn t see from far away. After this, just another 900 m of uphill skinning (which would be a strong effort by itself) to reach the Valsorey hut. In a whiteout. Saying that we all had to dig deep to reach the hut was an understatement. Back in the monastery was a sign that read "Happy are those who persevered," and this was definitely the theme of the day. Figure 10 Our next hut is across this huge valley, basically level with our current altitude 9

10 Figure 11 A sign hanging in the monastery: "Happy are those who persevered". Through sheer will alone, we reached the Valsorey hut, an amazing structure perched on a rock outcropping at the top of a huge slope. The bathroom (which is outside the hut) is... exposed. But the view is great! Figure 12 Happy are those who persevered. Since it's relatively high (3030m), the hut has amazing views of the Mont Blanc massif, where we came from just a few days ago. This is where the scale of our adventure really set in: we were covering a huge amount of ground, with more to go tomorrow. It's also where one of the "normal" itineraries joins up with our variation, so whereas we had been touring absolutely alone so far, it was going to be a zoo tomorrow. 10

11 Figure 13 The view from the next morning. The sunny peak is the Mont Blanc, where we started from. Day 5: Valsorey hut to Chanrion hut While yesterday was the fitness crux, today is the technical crux up the Plateau du Couloir with slopes up to 45 degrees that could potentially be icy. We ended up being the last ones out of the hut in the morning, so we just got in line behind all the earlier parties. We should have just had breakfast for another hour; after four days of complete solitude this was a huge change of pace. Fortunately, the weather was absolutely perfect: bluebird sky with just a little bit of wind. Figure 14 Quite the change from the complete solitude of the previous four days! The technical crux of the route: a steep traverse. The crux turned out not to be too bad, perhaps because about a dozen people ahead of us had kicked in really nice steps. But honestly, any experienced mountaineer will be fine if they focus. After this, our progress was much faster since it's almost all downhill until the Chanrion hut, and we could for once see where we were going! This was by far the best skiing day of the entire Haute Route. From the col, the skiing takes you under some of the highest peaks in the Alps, past massive icefalls, around crevasses. Best of all, this goes on for many miles. We even had some really nice creamy spring snow, making for a relaxed and enjoyable descent over mellow terrain, allowing us to focus on enjoying the views and to have a nice lunch break arguing about the finer points of Swiss vs. French cheeses. 11

12 Figure 15 Felix and Kevin inspecting possible future ECP meeting locations, such as the Bivouac Biagio Musso. We arrived quite early at the hut (for once), and had plenty of time to relax on their awesome patio, drinking beer and eating rosti (a Swiss delicacy that's basically the best hash browns you've ever had). This hut is far out there, without any easy access from any town or road. The hut was only about half full, and we figured a lot of people canceled on account of the bad weather the previous few days. We sipped beers, enjoyed the view, and were glad the hard work was paying off. Figure 16 Felix and Kevin coming down from the Plateau du Couloir under perfect skies. 12

13 Figure 17 Psyched! Figure 18 Enjoying a rosti and beers on a sunny terrace in the middle of the Alps; that s civilized ski touring! 13

14 Day 6: Chanrion hut to Vignettes hut We have several route options for today, and picked the most difficult option that climbs up the Pigne d'arolla via the Serpentine Glacier. The itinerary is a long gradual climb up a deep valley, then several steep slopes to gain the final summit at 3790 m, our high point on the Route. From the summit of the Pigne d'arolla, we could see both the Mont Blanc (where we came from) and the Matterhorn (where we're going)! Figure 19 On the summit of the Pigne d'arolla with the Matterhorn behind us. The snow down from the summit was some of the worst frozen chunks we d ever skied, but the view of the Matterhorn more than made up for it. Once we saw the Vignettes hut we could almost smell another rosti! Figure 20 Left: Kevin hungry for rosti. Right: about to be very very full. The approach into the Vignettes hut is very improbable, skiing across steep slopes and into notches that seem to go nowhere at first but take you right to the front door of a hut. The hut is perched on a steep rock promontory (it seems like the whole thing must have been helicoptered in), and was super large: it s basically a hotel in a really wild place. Because the route now joined up with the most frequented variation of the Haute Route, it was also packed. 14

15 Figure 21 The Vignette hut is on the rock spur in the center of this photo. We spent the afternoon playing Rumikub and eating the Mother of All Rostis; honestly, finishing the plate might have been one of the biggest challenges on this trip. Day 7: Vignettes hut to Zermatt Figure 22 The view from the Vignettes hut. Amazing! Today is another big day, but by now we're operating as a well-oiled machine. On the schedule today are three big cols with some downhill and lots of flat in between, then a loooong ski descent into Zermatt. We were early to breakfast, got ready quickly, and were one of the first parties out of the door. 15

16 Figure 23 Approaching the second col. The first col (Col de l'eveque) was pretty easy, and we established ourselves second in line. The second col (Col du Mont Brule) was a steep bootpack, so we donned our crampons and carried our skis on our backs. The third col (Col de Valpelline) was a long slog, and by now we were feeling a combination of altitude (3557 m) and fatigue (hey, even badasses get tired on their 7th big day). We also crossed some military guys who were setting up the Patrouille des Glaciers, a classic ski race between Zermatt and Verbier. While the race doesn't cover exactly the same terrain we did, good teams cover in 7 hours more or less what we did in four days. It definitely put things into perspective this far into the trip! Figure 24 Up to the final col and feeling the altitude. 16

17 After cresting the final col, we were finally face-to-face with the Matterhorn, THE classic Swiss mountain (look on your Toblerone for reference). We had a picnic with the best view in the world. The ski descent was amazing: the snow was good, the views of the Matterhorn were breathtaking, and we skied across a huge glacier with seriously cool crevasses. Figure 25 Can't beat this view from our final lunch spot. Figure 26 Kevin. Matterhorn. Powder. We arrived at the Furi station to get a lift down with some shenanigans across flat snow-less ski slopes that should have been closed long ago. Then, after seven days of solitude and many kilometers over passes and glaciers, after an 11-minute lift ride we were back in a bustling town enjoying our celebratory beers surrounded by posh tourists. 17

18 Figure 27 We are definitely not on a glacier anymore. We made our way to the train station to head back to Lausanne. As the train passed town after town roughly parallel to our itinerary (albeit many kilometers north of the mountains), we once again savored the enormity of our adventure. We felt like very proud and tired kids who just left the greatest mountain playground on earth. Figure 28 It's been scientifically shown that drinking beers in view of the Matterhorn makes it taste better. 18

19 19

20 Rock School 2016 Grad Trip Seneca Rocks As told by Doug Hake It was a Friday night. As I thought we were finally in the middle of nowhere, we kept on driving. US-33 kept on going and going. All I could think was I really should have stopped for gasoline in that last town we went through. Then, we reached a clearing in the trees and the end of the winding road you could finally see it: Y KUM S. YES! This place had EVERYTHING! Beer, ammunition, motels, chewing-tobacco except no gasoline. Darn. Oh, yeah, and slightly beyond the general store, you could also see this thingy Yep, that s right. With daylight left, we could all see the wonder and awe that Seneca Rocks could offer from afar. It was a great way to get us pumped for the morning climb! 24 instructors and an eager bunch of students all eventually converged on the campground for a camp fire next to our campsite marker, the totem pole. We all settled after a low key night, because SOME people wanted to get up at 6AM Everyone got off to an early start the following morning. To pump up our drive across the street to Seneca Rocks, Matt Tolbert blasted Shakira. Thankfully, it was only a two minute drive, but long enough to get Whenever, Wherever stuck in Garett s head all day long. 20

21 For those on their way to the summit, the day started with a nice Grade III or IV climb up the Stair Master. Those that made it to the rocks early got a straight shot up. Those who didn t, well, had to wait their turn in line. The students finally got to put the clipping-through that they learned to use. The routes were full of awesome crack climbs, multi-pitch climbs, terrifying climbs, and definitely pushed all of the students to new levels. The day was clear and sunny, with wind gusts at the summit of ~20 mph (well, at least it felt like that!). I hope I wasn t alone in wishing I had a second pair of underwear while trying to reach summit that level of exposure was likely a new experience for a majority of the students! But we all powered through the fear, the struggles, and the climbs, and eventually found out why people do this sport. The feeling of accomplishment and awe once reaching our goal was well worth the efforts: 21

22 We all returned to the campground in the late afternoon (well, all but one group who showed up after dinner ) after a long day of climbing (and possibly a cooldown at the local water hole). Everyone contributed to an awesome potluck. There was a wide array of food, from hot dishes to an array of candies & cookies and plenty of brews. Someone found chocolate candies that looked like little rocks! I wonder who was the lucky soul to get the surprise real rock I threw into the bowl! The night got a little crazy. Some group of misfits (not in rock school) decided it was time to steal back the totem pole that was located at our campground. Also, we all noticed this flyer around the next day: Our last day Sunday had fewer teams out climbing. Everyone was beat from a tough, long climb Saturday followed by a long night of eating. There were no day-long summit climbs that I was aware of, but it was a successful climbing day none the less! Although this was a graduation trip, the trip exposed all the students to a new form of climbing we not done in class. It showed us that the knowledge and techniques we learned can continue to evolve not only with top roping, but beyond. I hope the weekend was the first of many that I see you all out there! I speak for all of the students when I offer a special thanks to all of the instructors and directors that made the weekend possible! Rock on! 22

23 Historical Note ECP Expedition, 1953 We have recently been discussing "What constitutes an Expedition?" We don't have a concrete answer, but clearly the degree of planning and coordination involved is a major element. ECP's founder, Ivan Jirak, made/led many Expeditions, and his planning was astounding. In 1953, he coordinated two major climbing Objectives (Devil's Tower and Wind River Range) Into an Expedition. Ivan spelled out his detailed plan in a tenpage bulletin that was the July 1953 Newsletter.. The Goals were: 1. Development of greater climbers. 2. Ascent of Devil's Tower, Wyoming. 3. Ascent of one or more peaks in Wind River Range. (Gannett Peak first) ETD Pittsburgh 8:00 PM, 8 August 1953 ETA Pittsburgh 6:00 AM, 17August 1953 With a planned itinerary and specification of who and which equipment was to travel in each of 3 cars. Car One: Owner Hans Laumann, Others: Donna Mae Dangott, Hildegarde Stefani, Ivan Jirak Car Two: Owner Walt Vogel Others: Ed Coll, Ken Graves, Jack Lappla Car Three: Emma Graves plus additional personnel later added. Ivan laid out recommended Equipment recommendations for each Objective, down to the number of calories, oranges, sour balls and chocolate bars per person. And he didn't forget to include a Club Flag. Of the Devil's Tower Climb, he wrote: "It is expected that this climb will take longer than usual ascents because of the group of five and also because of the extensive picture taking." He evaluated each member of the party on which climbing skills he or she needed most work. "We must not let up in training" There followed about 5 pages of specific suggestions about the utility of different equipment items, skills, and physical strengths and abilities. ***************************** Your editor has been pleased to see rather similar lists of suggestions and plans in the Mountaineering School s to students for each outing and the Graduation Trip. 23

24 ECP CALENDAR OF ACTIVITIES & EVENTS Note: The Activities descriptions presented below have been radically abbreviated. Check the Activities List on ECP Website or the contact person for more details. Date / When Wednesday June 8 5::30 pm to 8:30 pm Tue, June 14, 5pm 9pm Wednesday June 22 5::30 pm to 8:30 pm Activity / Description Climb & Dine - Social The Climbing Wall, 7501 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA Climbing at the Wall, followed by food and drinks afterwards Top Rope Tuesday at McConnells Mill State Park This will be the first top rope Tuesday of the season. Events will be weather dependent so please check with the main coordinator for details / updates. An extension of the Rock School Program, these weekly events are open to all members and potential applicants Climb & Dine - Social The Climbing Wall, 7501 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA Climbing at the Wall, followed by food and drinks afterwards July (and September) 2016 Contact / Info Source & Sponsoring Organization Contact: Nancy Tran trancynan@gmail.com Sponsor: ECP Contact: Adrienne Zeiler agz.zeiler@gmail.com Sponsor: ECP Contact: Nancy Tran trancynan@gmail.com Sponsor: ECP Sat, July 9, 9am 10am Outdoor Yoga Benefit for Whitehall Public Library WhereWhitehall Public Library, 100 Borough Park Dr, Pittsburgh, PA 15236, United States (map) Outdoor yoga kicks off June 11th! Join Ashley, Kate, Elise, Ali, and Marylou this summer at Brennan Plaza every Saturday from 9-10a.m. near the Whitehall Library and Whitehall Pool. Only $5.00! Mark your calendars. (All Proceeds Benefit Whitehall Public Library). Namaste. Please contact PUBLIC-LIBRARY / Contact: Elise Nolan HALL-PUBLIC-LIBRARY / July 15 6pm 'til July 17 evening July Also Sept Rock climbing trip to New River Gorge. Camping at Ray's in Hico WV. Some experience in belaying and climbing required, but generally relaxed trip Chicks With Nuts Women's only Trad climbing events. At Seneca Rocks,WV Maintains a 2:1 student to instructor ratio, Focuses primarily on multi-pitch Trad climbing, Includes breakfast, dinner, & camping, Access to an indoor climbing facility in case of rain. Events are designed to bring women of all experience levels together to improve their climbing skills in an 24 Contact: Shane Shin shanesikshin@gmail.com Sponsor: ECP

25 effort to become more competent, confident, independent climbers. Opportunity to learn Trad climbing fundamentals, improve lead climbing skills, anchor building and gear placement skills, as well as invaluable self-rescue skills alongside other motivated, supportive Women. PRICE: $ includes two days of climbing instruction, climbing equipment, optional Friday night crack clinic, 2 mornings of breakfast, Saturday night dinner and slideshow! Spaces limited to 12-- reserve yours today at and be sure to find us on Facebook! " Fri, Aug. 26, 6pm to Sun, Aug. 28, 3pm Sep 16 Sep18 Sep 30 Oct 2, 2016 August 2016 ECP Floatilla A leisurely paddle down part of the Alegheny River or one of its tributaries Camping, dining, and socializing on the way. September-October 5 th Annual Craggin' Classic at New River Gorge A weekend awaits, featuring the REEL Rock Film Tour, climbing clinics taught by professional athletes and guides, stewardship and conservation efforts, gear demos, food, music, free beer (21+), games, bonfires, raffles, silent auctions and good times with great people! The festivities will take place at the AAC's campground with clinics taught at nearby crags in the Gorge. Further details and registration information TBA. ECP ANNUAL PARTY/ROAST At: Chestnut Ridge Park, Chestnut Ridge Camp Road, Bruceton Mills, WV, United States (Klaer Lodge) (map) Come join us for an awesome weekend of climbing, hiking, and fun events. We'll be staying at the Klaer Lodge which has 20 beds, a full size kitchen, fireplace and more. You can stay inside the lodge or you can opt to also camp out on the property. There will be a bonfire at the back of the lodge and lots of fun games. We typically do a potluck dinner Saturday night. November 2016 Contact: Tony Vinski tony@vinski.net Sponsor: ECP Contact: AAC Sponsors: Camp USA and American Alpine Club Contact: Nancy Tran trancynan@gmail.com Sponsor: ECP November 2016 Reminder to members: Himalayan climbing expedition. Intended major goal: Southwest Ridge of Ama Dablam We intend to climb unguided, with little to no outside support above base camp. Details are spelled out in an application for gear support under the MBEG program (published in March issue of this newsletter) Contact: Don Wargowsky wargowsky@hotmail.com Sponsor: ECP 25

26 The ECP Google Calendar online is becoming full of activities and more events are being added weekly. Please continue to check out what s going on with our club calendar and feel free to post activities that you are doing or community activities that you think membership would be interested in. Feel free to contact me with any questions or ideas you may have regarding posting activities, hosting activities, and all related matters. I d be happy to help out in any way that I can. ECP Activities Chair - Jason Maruccio RECURRING ACTIVITIES AND EVENTS Wednesday Evening Bike Rides in North Park, starting every Wednesday at 5 p.m. from the J.C. Stone Field.. Biweekly Wednesday Climb and Dine Social Events Toproping at The Climbing Wall, 7501 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA (starting at 5:30 or when you get there until about 8, followed by food and drinks afterwards These are listed on the calendar for June 8 & 22, bt will probably continue bi-weekly from then on. Check with Nancy Tran trancynan@gmail.com about these and later Climb and Dine events. Tuesday Evening Climbs at McConnell's Mill June 11 through the summer. An extension of the Rock School Program, these weekly events are open to all members and potential applicants - People start arriving/setting up climbs around 5P.M. Climb until Dark Climbing is weather dependent, so check list-serve or contact Event Coordinator Adrienne Zeiler agz.zeiler@gmail.com for updates. Outdoor Yoga Benefit for Whitehall Public Library Saturdays 9am 10am Starting June 11, at Brennan Plaza near Whitehall Public Library, 100 Borough Park Dr, Pittsburgh, PA 15236, Join Ashley, Kate, Elise, Ali, Marylou and others this summer every Saturday from 9-10a.m. Only $5.00! All Proceeds Benefit Whitehall Public Library. Namaste. Please contact Elise Nolan for more info. 26