Compiled by Adam Fornear
It was another epic weekend on the North Shore of Lake Superior. I met up with some friends in Grand Marias and we headed out to the trailhead for a North Shore classic ice climb on the Cascade River. Mark and I headed to the top of the climb, post holing through three feet of snow and began rigging two ropes for the climb below. Mark then rappelled down the climb and I went a couple yards over to rig another line down this snow-and-ice-filled gully for the rest of the crew to come down. It was a beautiful day; the frozen waterfall was fat and steep and the snowcapped pines in the river valley made for a beautiful scene.
We all rappelled down to the base of the climb. Everyone took their turns picking their way up Cascade Falls, and were having a grand old time. Laughing, kids playing in the snow, kids and adults both climbing, eating great cheese from Hill Valley Dairy and soaking up some vitamin D on a10-degree day. This was my first time to the Cascade climb and it was everything and better than what my friends described.
Some of our party of nine skied in to the base of the climb but those of us that rappelled in had to climb out of the valley back to our trucks. This meant trying to lighten the load for the trip out by eating all our food! Well, this is where it got a little interesting for some of us at the end of the day and some lessons were learned by me. First off, my big puffy jacket for belaying needs to be updated for climbing – too bulky and too heavy to have in my pack. The other lesson I learned or rather was refreshed on was that clear communication is always appreciated and necessary.
Ready for some climbing lingo? We’ve been belaying (a top rope set up) from the base of the climb all day. For the climb out though, after Scott and Mark got to the top of the climb, they switched the belay stations to the top. They would be belaying us from above. They are amazingly safe climbers and belaying from the top is no big deal in most situations. This day though, we had the sound of moving water just below us and Mark and Scott were out of sight, making for tough communication. There was also some running water on the frozen waterfall that would sometimes freeze the rope to the falls giving a false sense that the belayer had the rope taught. So, the key here was effective, loud communication to make sure everyone was as safe as possible.
On my last climb of the day, I was at this crux move, the hardest part of the wall… The crampons had a good bite in the ice and my axes were solid too (so I thought) but as I stepped up with my right foot, both axes came off the ice and I fell eight feet. Scott had me on belay and I found myself hanging there checking out the sights and wondering what the heck just happened. Then suddenly, both of my hands got the screaming barfies… fatigued and in tons of pain, for those of you who don’t ice climb. Of course, because of our safety double and triple checking, I was unscathed from the fall and took a minute to gather myself. I had Scott lower me back to the bottom so I could shake out my arms and get some blood flowing back to my hands! After a ten-minute break (and with some new gloves – always bring extra) I began my climb again. And on my second try, I got back to the crux move and conquered it! Up and up, I went and finally got to Scott and got a fist bump. Admittedly, I worked pretty hard on that last climb. But through encouragement from my friends, some extra communication, and a bit of perseverance, I was able to get to the top and was proud of the hard work it took.
In the end though, I was stoked for the great day out with friends and learned/refreshed the importance of giving it your all, having the right gear and having open lines of communication! Can’t wait to get back out on another sweet climb with this crew.
I trust all is well in your worlds and I’m hoping you are all enjoying the winter. I would sincerely love it if you could all help me out with some news of you! I’d love more alumni, staff and camper news. The Arrowhead will make you famous! Please send everything and anything to [email protected]. Till next time, keep on smiling’ and have a great day!
Seth and Brady at IMEA!
IT MAY INTEREST YOU TO KNOW THAT Brady Rivkin (Chicago) and Seth Lambert (Bloomington, IL) were involved in the Illinois Music Educators’ Association’s Illinois Music Education Conference in the Honors Band. Seth was fifth chair euphonium and Brady was second chair trombone!
WHERE ARE THEY NOW: Hugh Broder (Detroit/NYC ’66-’69,’74-’75,’16-‘19) and Jeremy Kotin (Chicago/NYC ’94-‘96) teamed up together to produce the film He Went That Way. Right now, the title is at the European Film Market in Berlin, Germany, and is slated for wide release in early 2023. Peter Blair (Memphis/Charlotte ’86-’90,’92-’98,’01) has been named President and CEO of the Lynnwood Foundation in Charlotte, NC. Heidi Serwer (Chicago) has released a new record called Palm Tree on the Drywall. It’s available for digital download on Bandcamp and iTunes, or you can check it out here!
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Finally, Nebagamon had quite the crew ski the American Birkiebeiner cross country ski race this past Saturday. This was no small undertaking by our fabulous crew! Zayla Asquith-Heinz (Duluth ’17-‘18), Jamey Sharp (Duluth ’05-’10,’12-’15,’17-‘18), Elizabeth Becker (Duluth ‘18) and Emily Prudhomme (Bend ’95,’04,’09) all skied the classic Birkie – A whopping 55K (34 miles). Mitch Cohen (Boulder ’79,’84,’90,’94,’04 & camp doc for a ton of summers) skate skied the Birkie – 50K (31 miles). Nice work team! And of course, the support crew gets a little shout out as well, they were Amy Mack, Andy Mack, Jim Koretz, Elissa Polan Koretz, Morgan Mack, Julie Seymour and Adam Fornear.
IN THE BIBS AND DIAPERS DEPARTMENT: It’s a girl, Sophie Kate, for Joel Saslawsky (Memphis ’02-’08,’10,’12) and Stephanie Saslawsky (Memphis).