Thursday, December 26, 2013

Ghosts of Christmas





Dawn came with a crimson scattering of high thin clouds and temperatures below freezing.  With my Cindy wrapped in a warm robe and lights twinkling in the window, we toasted our 5th Christmas together with mugs of strong mocha and breakfast brownies.

Two hours later, we parked on a quiet side road and gathered our gear to repeat a Christmas tradition, climbing a new line.

Christmas trees



Ready for another adventure.




Miss Pink Pants braces for the cold.


With temperatures standing at just below freezing, ice chandeliers hung over green moss in the shady corners of the cliffs.





The rock was frigid, the sun bright and the conditions perfect if colder than the Devil's heart.  We rapped in, cleared a small belay and I began climbing.  As I moved out of a corner onto the face, Cindy spied a pin I had climbed right by, set in a crack that had obviously been used for practice as shown by the number of previous placements visible.



I found three more pins set at regular intervals as I climbed the short, fun face and tried to imagine what it would have been like in a pair of infantry boots, with a pack and rifle, likely in the dark.

With numb feet and freezing fingers, I pulled the top and brought Cindy up in short order.  The rope was coiled, anchors dismantled and stowed and we hiked back out to the waiting vehicle.



 With tradition secured for another year and bellies rumbling in anticipation, we steered Icy Blue south, past Seneca Rocks, to rendezvous with our old friend Pyro and his family for a Christmas luncheon before heading home to our cozy next.

Hoping that all of our friends and family scattered across the country and the globe have a safe and happy holiday and a fantastic New Year.  Stay tuned to see what we put up and where we go to welcome in 2014!