2022 AMC Boston Ice Program, by Bill Clack Memorial Scholarship Recipient Natalie Reeder

2022 Bill Clack Memorial Scholarship recipient Natalie Reeder climbs at Champney Falls, New Hampshire.

I never actually thought I’d get into the Ice Program. I applied the first day the application opened, somewhat on a whim, because I have friends who ice climb. Armed with the knowledge of how to tie a clove hitch (and some bonus knots I didn’t even need to know like the alpine butterfly) I went to the skills day and was surprised by how much interest there was in climbing ice. It was inspiring to meet so many folks with the passion to learn more about ice climbing.

Before the program, I had ice climbed once with a friend at Frankenstein, a classic day that involved being cold, getting the screaming barfies, and having to dig the car out at the end of the day due to fresh snowfall. Coming into the program, there were many participants that knew more than me about different ice climbs in the area, different styles of climbing like alpine and waterfall ice, and basically everything else. I was lucky to not only have an extremely knowledgeable group of instructors and other volunteers, but to also be surrounded by peers with a wide breadth of experiences and stories, related to ice climbing and not. 

After getting accepted and going to the first lecture via zoom, I still wasn’t sure what to expect for the first weekend. I showed up at the cabin and was welcomed by a group of folks not only psyched to climb the next day, but excited to build community together.

We spent the first day at Frankenstein Cliffs learning everything from how to move safely on snow and ice approaches to practicing self-arresting from different positions. Thinking about how pumped my arms were after each climb that day, I am a little surprised they didn’t fall off. Besides the first climb of the day, which I was encouraged to do sans tools to focus on my feet, I was holding onto my picks for dear life as I teetered on the side of frozen walls.  Luckily, I had a lot of snacks and encouraged volunteers to help me learn as much as I could. Not only did I get a ton of climbs in, but I also got to learn about tool placement and cleaning as well as how to create a V-thread for rappels. 

I woke up the next day exhausted. I definitely questioned for a moment whether I would be able to lift my arms enough to complete anything but the most low angle of climbs. Imagine my joy when I was told that I was going to spend the day climbing at Champney Falls, so I would have to lug my sore body and a mess of gear the 1.5 mile approach to the falls before actually climbing anything. After chugging some coffee at the Junction and letting the enthusiasm from my more in shape peers rub off on me, I managed to psych myself up for another day of winter fun. I am so glad I did. 

Throughout the day, my tired arms struggled to sink good picks, and I spent a lot of time trying to force the crampons to work like rock shoes, shifting my weight and trying to balance on my toes. I did some really bad ice climbing that day, but I also had a few moments when it felt like the tips I had been given the day before, and the patience and support I continued to receive, were coming together. For the few moments that I remembered to maintain the triangle, keep my heels down, and set my feet well, I was surprised to find that I was actually ice climbing! It was a long cold day with a tired body where I mostly did the wrong thing, but all that time messing up made the moments when I was doing things right feel so much more rewarding. Headed home from the weekend, I reflected a bit about what adventures I might want to pursue the second weekend, but was mostly just looking forward to sleeping in past 6 the next morning. 

I came into the second weekend excited, but unsure how I would like the longer objectives I might embark on. I got paired with Sarge to climb Willard and we went right into assessing my gear and planning how best to prepare for our alpine ascent. Sarge was quick to point out that I had too much food packed, enough to feed myself, Sarge, Hannah, another program student, and Tom, Sarge’s climbing partner.  I begrudgingly edited my snacks and was grateful for it later in the day as I lugged my pack up icy cliffs. We got a later start than the other parties headed to Willard because I forgot my helmet at the cabin and falling ice + an unprotected head = not allowed. This ended up being fortunate as we didn’t have to wait behind other AMC parties to ascend the first pitch. I really enjoyed the approach up to the pitch, where I got to practice mountaineering skills like moving together tied into the rope. I also enjoyed it all in a tshirt…it was close to 50F that day. 

As I started up the first pitch, Lower Hitchcock, I realized that my backpack was not comfortable to climb with…I could barely raise my neck to look up. It was still a ton of fun; I especially enjoyed parts near the top of the pitch where I got to do some stemmy mixed climbing. We headed left toward Left Hand Monkey Wrench where I belayed Sarge behind a rock that offered protection in case he started an avalanche. Luckily, that didn’t happen. I followed Sarge up that pitch and another mini pitch, Upper Hitchcock. After a quick scramble we reached the summit of Willard and a beautiful view of the White Mountains. It was pretty fun to pop out of nowhere and surprise the people who had taken the traditional way up. Sarge and I ran back down to his car (because ice climbing wasn’t enough of a workout). We finished out the day with a beer at Ledges before heading to the Ice Program Close Out Party. 

After enjoying tons of good food, conversation, and free swag courtesy of Andrew’s tireless work to support the program, we headed back to the cabin to rest before another full day. My final day of the Ice Program was a great day cragging at Arethusa Falls, one of the tallest waterfalls in New Hampshire. My favorite part of that day was comparing my climbing to day one of weekend one. It’s amazing how I was actually able to apply some of the feedback volunteer instructors had been coaching me on since day one. I was getting to the top of the crag without my arms falling off. And I’m sure I looked cool doing it. The Ice Program wrapped up with some lovely goodbye pizza, but my climbing hadn’t stopped for the season. I quickly booked a spot at an open cabin weekend and ended up being the activity leader for that weekend. That weekend was fun in many ways, first of all because I got to crag with SendHers with a group of awesome folks. Many of them had done the Ice Program in the past. Knowing that we all had a solid background allowed us to climb together without having to establish baseline knowledge or safety practices. As the ice melts, I am grateful for all of the great days I have had this season and looking forward to more adventures in the future that can build off all of the knowledge I gained in the Ice Program.