Don and I set out to climb Granite Peak, the highest point in Montana. We summitted on August 12, 2008 at 11:33am. Along the way we ran into some friendly goats who also love to drink pee.....interesting. We flew into Jackson Hole, WY and drove through Yellowstone and took the Beartooth Highway into Montana. The Beartooth Highway is spectacular!!!! Anyway, we spent our first night camping 3 miles in at Slough lakes. We then hiked up to and across Froze to Death Plateau and set up camp at 12,000 feet! DO NOT GO TO FTD PLATEAU WITHOUT A GPS! NAVIGATION IS CLOSE TO IMPOSSIBLE WITHOUT IT! It was very windy, sunny, cold, hot, and beautiful! Definately not the kind of place you would want to stay long, but it is worth seeing!
The altitude affected us both a bit. We had slight nose bleeds, nausea, a resting heart beat of 100 BPM! (mine is usually under 48), and headaches with lightheadeness. This didn't stop us!
We had perfect weather and motivation! We woke up at 5:30am and caught up with a party of 3 people (one of which now only has one more summit to complete his quest of hitting all the US highpoints!) It was super fun climbing (I even led the first pitch while Don led the rest!), downclimbing, and scrambling. We even saw a goat cross the snowbridge and we saw one on the summit! We got back to our tent and moved camp down to the Rosebud Divide. We had a wonderful night and hiked out the next day. On our drive back to Wyoming we saw wildfires. There were firemen camping on the side of the road in tents and a helicopter across the street! It was an exciting few days and we were very proud!
Check out pics at http://www.flickr.com/photos/kfolcik/sets/72157606834207690/

We climbed the Grand Teton and summited at 2:30pm on August 16, 2008.  On Thursday we waited in line outside the Jenny Lake Ranger Station at 7am.  They opened at 8am and we were able to get a permit to camp.  That night we met up with a friend who gave us awesome advice on the climb.  He talked us into bringing only one 60 meter  rope.  We used just one of our 8.8 double ropes where one of us tied into the ends and the other tied into the midpoint, effectively making it a 30 meter climbing rope.  Our small rack consisted of a full set of nuts (no doubles), and BD camelots sized .3, .4, .75, 1, and 2.  We also brought only 6 quickdraws and 3 long slings and a cordellette.  We left our tricams behind as well.
We started by hiking up to the Meadows on Friday where we set up camp.  We had an early night and went to bed at 5pm.  We woke up at 2am to a full moon!  By 2:30am we were on the trail and even saw a bunch of people hiking up from the Lupine Meadows parking lot.  By 4:30am we were at the lower saddle freezing our butts off.  We made our way over to Briggs slab (12.200 ft) and climbed up.   Shortly after we saw a beautiful sunrise. By 6:30 am we were on Wallstreet waiting in line for the climb.  Don ended up leading the entire technical climb.  We stayed roped up from Briggs slab to the summit.
Around 8:30am we were finally on deck to cross wallstreet and climb the golden staircase.  HOLY FREAKIN EXPOSURE!!! It was unbelievable and the move off of wallstreet made you dizzy.  The staircase was really fun.  Then we climbed over to wind tunnel, which is windy!  I was having trouble climbing with the pack and ended up crying my eyes out on the friction pitch.  Don led some variation that no one else was doing (because of the crowd of people waiting to get on it) and that was when I broke.
Don took the pack off me after that and we climbed up the V-Pitch which took us to a couple more technical pitches that led to a scramble to the summit. 
We hiked down the Owen Spaulding Route to a monster 120 foot rappel where the last 60 feet was overhanging.  We met up with another party that had only one rope and we tied our ropes together for the rap.  It was a freaky rappel.  If we did not hook up with the other party we would have hiked out to the 70 foot rapell that took us to another 70 foot rappel.
We hiked down the rest of Owen Spaulding and got back to camp at 6:00 pm.  It was a long but fun day.  We made dinner and went to bed.  We couldn't have been prouder (or stinkier)!  On Sunday we found a river that Don did some cliff jumping in and then we tried to climb the rock wall he jumped off of but it was just too tricky for us, but we did see other people climb up it.  That night we finally got a shower and a big dinner that came on a plate instead of in a bag!  It was a great trip!
Pics can be found at http://www.flickr.com/photos/kfolcik/sets/72157606838988424/

 Don and I took a 6 day mountaineering course in Alaska with Alpine Ascents.  Our guides Eric and Jason were wonderful!  The professionalism and skills demonstrated by our guides were top notch. 

We started our trip by spending the night at the Fireweed Inn in Talkeetna and it was by far the nicest place we ever stayed!  Tom and Hobbs were wonderful to us and spoiled us rotten with great hospitality and awesome food!  It was a great way to relax before meeting our guides the next day and flying onto the glacier.

We all met at Fireweed the next morning and took the van to the hanger and sorted our gear and made all sorts of prussiks.  Then we headed off to Talkeetna Air Taxi and got on a small plane that took us onto the Kahiltna glacier.  I was petrified of the airplane ride but the scenery was amazing!

We had a fun group of people.  We learned so much and got to do it all in an amazing place!  We got to practice carrying sleds, setting up a base camp (where we got to eat great food!), self arrest, glacier travel on a rope team, setting up a z-pulley system for crevasse rescue, summited Control Tower, went ice climbing on glacier ice, got to see a big avalanche go right over something we hiked across and hear avalanches letting loose the whole time, Kristina fell into a crevasse by mistake and got out with just a scrape on my chin while my rope team did a fine job with self arresting (Eric fell in it first while leading his rope team, I just accidently stepped around his hole and made my own!)   We had everything from smokin hot sunny days to cold windy snowy days and even got stuck on the glacier for an extra day due to bad weather!  It was really fun stomping out the runway for the planes to take off when we were waiting to be picked up.

 The coolest part was that it never got dark on the glacier!  It was sunny from 3am-11pm and dusk between 11pm-3am!  You kind of loose track of days and time out there!  It was so much fun that we are already planning our next trip to Alaska for next summer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Check out the pictures at http://www.flickr.com/photos/kfolcik/sets/72157605122772812/

So, we went up to the Adirondaks for a day of climbing.  We got off to a rough start, oversleeping, etc.  We hiked into Pitchoff North climbing area and were pretty intimidated.  Neither one of us wanted to climb what we were looking at and planned to turn around until we found our friend Steve and his buddies.  We walked up the hill like we were walking to our deaths.

Once we got up close to the climbs they weren't so intimidating.  We asked for advice on what to climb and a reccomendation or two came for Blue Chute, a gully climb.  It looked fun and was a grade 3.  Don led up to a belay station and I followed.  The bottom of the climb was pretty unpredictable.  We went up to the second pitch which looked like really nice climbing until Don pulled down a car hood sized piece of ice.  I quickly jumped out of the way, keeping don locked off.  You should have seen the avalanche he caused!  He climbed up to the top and belayed me up.  It was more fun on the second pitch.  Of course I was scared to death on the rapell.

We then hiked over to a climb called Arm and Hammer.  We misunderstood what we heard and began climbing the left side of the climb because there was another party on the right.  We thought we were on the grade 3+ portion of the climb, besided it didn't look too bad.  As people walked over and started talking to me they asked me if Don knew he was leading a grade 4 climb.  Neither one of us knew it! So, up Don went.  It was a crazy climb!  The bottom was at a decent angle, the top was a never ending bunch of vertical pillars.  Don used all of his ice screws and could have used some more.  It was a very long but fun climb!  We were so excited to climb something hard and actually feel comfortable on it!

2008 started out with some amazing ice climbing, and then the thaw came.  I have been spending my free time mountain biking, running, going to the climbing gym, carrying a heavy pack every time I hike (to train for our Alaska trip), and trying to keep busy until the ice reforms.  I have gotten out snowboarding a couple of times, but winter in New England is pretty grim this year.

At the end of February we are going to hike the Pemi loop in New Hampshire, we are really looking forward to it!  It is about 32 miles and we are hoping to do it in 3- 4 days.

  We have plans to go ice climbing in the Adirondaks this weekend.  I am finally learning to lead and did my first official ice lead a couple of weeks ago!  Very exciting!

Hopefully winter returns and gives us some more snow and ice.  I will keep my fingers crossed!

Now that the fall is here it is the time for my sports to change for the season.  With the lack of water kayaking has been a distant memory this fall.  I have been mountain biking and running.  This past weekend we headed to Mount Washington and did some camping and ice climbing in Tuckermans Ravine.  I am going to be attempting to climb mount Katahdin in Maine Feb 14-18, 2008.  This has been on my list for years now and this year we finally pulled a permit!  I also just got a split board that I cannot wait to use!

 In May of 2008 we are taking a 6 day mountaineering course in Alaska on the Kahiltna Glacier.  Here we will learn mountaineering skill neccessary to tackle some of the peaks we hope to do in the future.  In August 2008 we hope to head out to Montana and attempt to summit the highest point in Montana, Granite Peak.  In November 2008 we will be headed to Moab Utah for some rock climbing, mountain biking, and dirtbiking.  In between I will be competing in some trail running races and doing lots of mountain biking and rock climbing.  I will also be brushing up on my swimming skills.

In 2009 we plan to attempt to climb Aconcaqua, the highest point in South America, unguided.  We plan to climb it unguided.  In June of 2009 I will be attempting my first Iron Man competition.  I am unsure yet of what the rest of 2009 will bring, but in 2010 we will attempt to summit Mount McKinnley unguided.  In 2011 we hope to hire a guide and attempt to summit Cho Oyu, an 8000 meter peak in the himilayas.

I have a few exciting years coming up and will post pictures and trip reports regularly.  Enjoy your holidays!

So, we had beautiful weather. Don pedaled the course in 7 hrs 36 minutes. I was on pace for a 9hr 40 min finish until mile 42.5. When I arrived at that aid station I was so excited! I ran a 9:40 pace for 42.5 miles! About a half mile from the aid station my knees and stomach became slightly unhappy. I kept telling myself that it was only pain, it was only pain. I began to fade quickly and with 5 miles to go knew I may not beat my old time of 10:59. When I got to the aid station at mile 47 Don was there and he ran with me to the finish. I hobbled a lot. At the one mile to go marker I only had 15 minutes to beat my old time. It hurt, but Don kept talking me through it. I sprinted the last half mile and crossed the finish line in 10 hrs 53mins. I beat last years time.



I was unable to train for the race this year due to my sinus and lung infections lasting over 2 1/2 months. I was pretty excited to pull off a decent finish without training! I am extremely happy and proud of the fact that I held a 9:40 pace for 42.5 miles! That was a personal achievement!



Well, as insane as this sounds I am looking for a fun 100k to run next year. I think with some training I may have a shot at a really good finish. Don said that pedaling the course was much harder than he expected but very fun! We are both very sore today but in great spirits!

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 So, I am planning on running the VT 50 again this year.  I was hoping to be able to run it in 10 hours but I have gotten sick and can't train.  My dr thinks I either have a nasty lung infection or lyme disease.  I am on antibiotics and the fever and aches and cough have gone down.  Hopefully I will get better soon!  I am planning on running anyway and hope to finish the race.   I will post how it goes!  :)

So, we went away for 2 weeks this past August.  We ended up doing a bit of mountaineering and a bit of rock climbing.  The first part of the trip was Gannet Peak.  This year we ended up making summit.  We hiked in 15.5 miles and set up base camp at the bottom of Bonney Pass.  We woke up the next morning at 2:30 am to find a marmot eating our food that we hung from a rock!  We took down the food and went to bed for 2 more hours.  At 4:30 am we headed out for our climb.  We got up an over Bonney pass to find that the glacier was very different this year.  The crevasses were enormous and very tricky to navigate.  We roped up and carefully made our way through the maze of crevasses.  When we approached the berchshrund there was a lot of rock fall and the snowbridge was on its way out.  We belayed each other across the ice bridge and onto a class II/III ice climb.  When we got over the top of the ice we headed up towards the summit ridgeline.  On our way up it began to hail and there was a lot of thunder and lightning.  We dropped our packs, took a quick peek over the ridgeline and saw blue skys behind the storm cloud.  We hid in a litte rock cave and ate lunch until the storm passed through.  As soon as we had a clearing we made a mad dash for the summit!  It was beautiful!  We took some pictures, signed the summit registry at 1:37pm and ran back down.  When we got to the rap anchors we soon realized our rope was a bit too short and we had to down climb the first rappell.  Fortunately we had enough rope to rap down the last two parts and over the berchshrund.  I managed to punch a hole through the snowbridge on my rap down and was saved by my prussik rope.  We also saw that a boulder the size of a small car had slid down the ice, jumped the berchsrhund and went right over our tracks.  We hurried out of there and made our way back over to the crevasse field.  To our surprise the crevasses had changed significantly during the day.  They were huge and the navigating was extremely difficult.  We made it through the maze and had a small dinner at the start of Bonney pass.  We also ran out of water at that point.  We had 4 more hours to go to get back to base camp.  The two of us were delerious and dehydrated by the time we reached camp (at 9:30pm)and immediatly began pumping and drinking water.  We got a great nights sleep and hiked out the next day.  We could not have been prouder!

The next day we headed to yellowstone to recover and then made our way over to the tetons to climb the grand.  We had a perfect forecast!  We spent our first night camping in the meadows.  The next morning we hiked up to the lower saddle and set up camp.  It was a bit windy so I built a giant rock fortress around the tent to keep it from being damaged.  By the time we went to bed the winds had picked up significantly.  By 2:30 in the morning the weather station reported 102mph winds on the lower saddle!  Our tent took a beating.  It was raining, hailing, and extremely windy.  Our friends had to hold the sides of their tent up all night and we just held on for the ride in our tent.  Both of our tents sustained signifcant damage from the winds, but stayed standing.  Some others on the saddle were not so lucky.  Their tents were shredded and they had to seek shelter under rock caves.  We hiked out the next day because of the wind and rain.  We will be back next year to give the grand another try!  It was by far the most exciting night I ever spent in a tent!

So, we then headed out to climb Devils tower.  The place is absolutely amazing!  We were nervous, but went for the climb.  We got up the first pitch of the Durrance route and were excited about the second when a giant thunderstorm showed up and forced us to rappell down.  For some reason I always seem to be rapping down in thunderstorms!  Again, the day had called for perfect weather and things changed!  I must just be a beacon for bad weather!  We will conquer Devils tower next year!

We left Devils tower and headed out to see Mount Rushmore (which was freakin cool!) and then went to Custer state park to do some rock climbing.  It was a beautiful place, but unfortunately it rained the entire time we were there so we packed up and drove home early.  The needles are definately on our list of places to come back to.

Our next big adventure may be a mountaineering course in Alaska next May.  I will keep you posted! :)