Four Classics in Three States

Will Mayo led a tri-state romp across the Northeast’s best ice, bagging four classics in a single long day of climbing and driving. Starting in beautiful sunshine, Mayo began the day in North Conway, New Hampshire, climbing Repentance (NEI 5) on Cathedral Ledge in two long pitches with visiting Canadian Sean Isaac. The two then drove to Cannon Cliff and did the Black Dike (NEI 4+, four pitches) in a rising wind. Isaac then headed toward home and Mayo drove north alone to Lake Willoughby in Vermont, where he soloed The Last Gentleman (NEI 5, four pitches) in fierce wind and light snowfall. He had started up the first pitch of the neighboring Promenade but didn’t like the looks of the rock traverse to The Gentleman, so he downclimbed, restarted on the left side of The Gentleman, and climbed that route’s thin left variation. Stoked on Red Bull, nicotine, and adrenaline, Mayo drove across the state, crossed Lake Champlain to New York aboard the ferry, and soloed the steep, one-pitch Waterfall (NEI 5) at Poke-O-Moonshine, finishing in a heavy snowstorm just before midnight. Totals: 1,500 vertical feet of ice, 222 miles of driving, 6 Red Bulls, less than 16 hours accumulated time.