Another winter sycamore

A friend found a nice grove with a variety of tree species, good size trees in woods along the edge of a big river in western Mass., some photos, click on a photo twice to get a nice big view...

Throwing!


120' American Sycamore


Up in the top


137' White Pine upslope from the sycamore, tallest tree on the site, sketchy split down the middle


Woods view from above the Connecticut River, 132' white pine on the right

-AJ

As always Moss..... great climb, tree and photos.

Your mid-throw picture is a good action shot.

Too bad about that split double pine.....

greenluck wrote:

As always Moss..... great climb, tree and photos.

Your mid-throw picture is a good action shot.

Too bad about that split double pine.....

Yep, the pine is the tallest tree in the grove but it will fall apart, who knows though, could stand for years before anything happens.
-AJ

Nice pictures! Thanks for sharing. One of these days I will have to try a winter climb. A bit of a challenge with cold hands I'm betting.

The cold its self isn't bad. A pair of Atlas type gloves and a couple of layers of clothing and you're pretty much set. You'll find that you generate a lot of heat getting up to the top. Just make sure you have a warm top layer to put on if you plan on staying at height for a while. I've found that the biggest challenge is in the tree conditions. Sycamores are slippery by nature, smooth bark. Coat them with moisture in any form and you have a whole different tree. Also, the leather rope savers are ok till they get wet/snow filled. When they do they tend to not stay in place too well. A conduit sleeve or piece of garden hose would be better for such conditions.

That'll get you started. Go slow and have a (snow)ball.

Ron

...anyone notice the snowshoes in the first picture? Nice!

Michael

michaeljspraggon wrote:

...anyone notice the snowshoes in the first picture? Nice!

Michael

I'm happy to say I've climbed at least once a week the entire winter, I may be climbing more than I do the warmer parts of the year. Winter climbing is special, forces a slow down, you think a little more carefully about what you're doing through each phase of the climb, mistakes can be more costly time and comfort-wise.

Snowshoes are absolutely needed to get around the woods, at least it's a huge energy savings, hiking in knee deep snow with unsure footing and a heavy pack can really take it out of you.

I tried throwing with snowshoes on, didn't work, I found out I need to jump up slightly at the end of the throw/follow through. I would fall flat on my face if I threw with the snowshoes on.
-AJ

I've never used them myself - the snow I often walk on is either too shallow or steep, hard snow, requiring crampons. What are they like on slopes?

Have you heard of Roycroft Snowshoes? They're hand-made from thin sticks: All you need is some cordage, a knife and whatever you can find on the forest floor:



Michael

The URL didn't appear. Oh well, try pasting the following into your browser:

http://naturallore.wordpress.com/2007/11/18/the-roycroft-snowshoe/

Michael