Climbing Classics

A wise man once said nothing. So, suffice it to say, my father and i have spent three stupendously summery days sending some of the Northeast's super duper uber classic climbs. I'll get wise and just show you the pictures, how's that?!Mike, atop Thin Air ***, 5.6, 4 pitches, 300ft.!Nate enjoying some exposure on Thin Air's third pitch!
Mike running it out comfortably on Upper Refuse, 5.5 R.Mike nearing the end of his ~2000ft., 3-day climbing trip with another smooth lead!Mike smiles after belaying me up our last of 18 pitches in 3 days! Just a scramble to the tourist lookout and a hike down remain! And perhaps one more bike ride...

In other news, Mike treated me to a superb, inspirational dinner out at Nakonping Restaurant in North Conway on our second day, where we both enjoyed a well-spiced Thai Curry, mine with peanuts, pineapple, potato, and tofu! Great stuff if you're in the area!

More soon! Cheers,
-Nate

July oh July

Here's the update. July 28. Michael and Nathan Conroy climb "Standard Direct", a super fun 5.7 slab, 1000-foot, 9-pitch route up Whitehorse Ledge in North Conway, NH. Sorry, no photos! Lots of smiles! 3-1/2 hours! Exciting run-outs!

July 29. Michael and Nathan Conroy climb "Thin Air, another a mega classic, this time up Cathedral Ledge in 4 pitches. Lots of sun! Fun, exposed pitches. Today was supposed to be rainy. Nope! Clear skies!Nathan on Thin Air's Pitch 4.

After climbing today, we biked 1.3 miles uphill to the top of Cathedral Ledge, then back down! Then, I biked 4 miles back into town! What a great day!!! Now to figure out what to cook for dinner!

Recent dinners have included:

A) Tortalini with a Pancetta and Jalapeño red wine vinegar sauce.
B) Cayenne and summer ale batter fried tilapia (fish) tacos with guacamole.
To come: homemade gnocci, who knows?!

Recent salad:
Spinach, pine nuts, cucumbers, garlic bacon, and feta cheese. Served sin vinagrette.

More activities to come!

I'm Sponsored

By Salvation Army?!Apparently when their vans do not have enough space, they demand of the public that you do me good (rather than do me goods).Besides seeing a moose on our white water rafting trip on the Penobscot River in Maine, I ran into a very adorable set of blind baby birds who chirped their little hearts out when you whistled to them. This was while bouldering with my brother at Bradbury State Park near Freeport, ME. No idea where the birds' negligent parents were at - couldn't hear a party going on nearby...
In other news, there is a heron that frequents our waterfront at camp and fishes but does not share. I offered to make an excellent reduction sauce and sauté some asparagus to boot, but the heron declined. Can't blame him. Lemon would've been good, though.

More to come! What nature have you seen lately?!

Call it

being inspired, being in-spiration. Life's too short, to just write about climbing alone. For really, what's great about climbing is not just the act of one person approaching their goals and confronting their fears with their guts being wrenched and gritstone-ing their teeth. Nope. It's about more than that, like sharing your time with someone else. Making them laugh when they're about to fall, and giving them 2/3 the energy bar you brought for the day. Then harassing them for accepting it. Friendships are born of this comrade ship that brings you ever upward, that is, until you crash down to the belay, swamp of crashpads, or water.

I rediscovered an old journal I kept that I filled with what I considered to be jokes and riddles, some answered and many incomplete, but still intriguing. I hope to mix this in with the history-book-keeping of this blog to make it more anecdotal than mere journal.

So, last week I went to meet my soon to rebirth-day friend Wes in N. Conway, and we climbed 6 pitches in one day and had many good laughs, like him waiting for me to respond to him saying nothing, and trying to simul-climb for his never simuled self's sake only to find out that the normal two-pitches could be done in one smooth pitch with a 65-meter rope---easily! We also climbed a 5.9+, where the '+' meant business. It was great fun.

They say hindsight's 20-20. Those with Alzheimers and old-age say it's 50-50.

If you ever get in a situation where you think you might get mugged, spin around and around. You may not be streetwise, but at least you'll be clockwise. And that's a good defense, too.

A bunch of people got together to make the definition of gathering.

Addendum sounds like the dyslexic secretary took shorthand minutes for "add some at the end".

"Give me a minute" is a great demand for secretaries and deities.

If there really was an extra hour every day, our analog clocks would likely go to 25 and be divided into 5 bold sections of 5 hours rather than half a day at 12 1/2 hours with a.m. and p.m. because we like time to be neat, even if our use of it is messy. Even more likely still, digital would grow in popularity.

More to come!

If I Ever Feel Better

It's because of...White water rafting with my dad.

Cruising past corn fields on a Trek road bike.

Making my own lyrics to instrumentals.

Listening to If I Ever Feel Better by Phoenix.

Being inspired by other movies and directors to revisit and rework my own idea into being.

Dancing in front of large mirrors.

Receiving unexpected and obscure compliments from the likes of Joshua Cook such as, "You have M.C. Escher humor!" Maurits Cornelius happens to be my favorite artist. KiD CuDi and Mason Jennings are good, so are Roman Polanski and Michel Gondry, Franz Kafka and Kurt Vonnegut, Mitch Hedburg too, but Maurits had it goin on!

Getting deferred/rejected by awesome companies not because I'm not a good fit, but because there are currently no positions available.

Swimming across a lake I've known for years but never attempted.

Reconnecting with the best friends (Subset: family) and family (Subset: friends) a human could ask for.

Planning the next big (Read: BIG) trip.

What makes you feel better?

-n8