Electrojake

Glad you're finding the snow climbing stuff interesting. It seems like the folks on TCI and TCC ought to know a lot of what there is to know about this; we're not all southerners. The ones I'd really like to talk to are the northern arborists, but the nearest ISA arborists around here are an hour or more away (one of those is Jeff Jepson in Longville, MN). It's looking like the big issues have to do with keeping the climber OK, and those are mostly the same things that apply to any winter outdoors stuff.

Today was a fair weather climb. Three pitches to get 60 feet up a canopy emergent white pine. Temperature about 40, light breeze and sun. Dressed light and didn't need the gloves until the figure-8 assisted slide back down at the end of the climb. Even took a snooze on the tree frog seat for a while. About the best end-of-semester decompress I've had in years. The climb was easier than the 1 mile slog through wet snow to get to the foot of the tree. My last climb (Sunday) was a bit more rigorous at about 9 degrees.

Just out of curiosity, where's Smokestack NJ? It sounds like a good name for the industrial corridor around Elizabeth. If it's that, where do you find trees around there?

Smokestack, NJ... Not an actual city, a way of life.
You Sir are 100% correct! The industrial corridor around Elizabeth, New Jersey. That’s home to me.

Actually, if you stand anyplace in New Jersey that would allow you to have the Manhattan skyline in front of you and a rail yard or chemical refinery behind you... I would consider it my neighborhood. <spoken with typical blue collar pride>

As for me whining about the cold here in Jersey...
You stated in you post that your last climb was done in 9 degree weather.
I can not even comprehend how cold it must get in a place like Bemidji, Minnesota. Moss my be north of me but you Sir are north of America. I also know that you lose a few degrees of temperature with every 10 feet in altitude you climb. I would imagine it gets quite windy up there too, no?

Mild In Jersey
Electrojake

Oh yeah, I remember driving past Smokestack on the NJ Turnpike (I grew up just downwind of NYC in Connecticut). There are some trees around there, they're just very tough blue collar trees.

Not only is Bemidji north of America, it is also north of where most people live in Canada. The major city with a climate most similar to Bemidji is Moscow (not Idaho). There are lots of trees. If you aren't related to Nanook of the North, the time to come around here to climb would be late September to mid October - most years at that time it's sunny, cool but not cold, and bug-free. Check it out sometime.

"If you aren't related to Nanook of the North, the time to come around here to climb would be late September to mid October - most years at that time it's sunny, cool but not cold, and bug-free."

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Your definition, please, of "cool but not cold." Please remember, some of us are from someplace south of north. My personal definition of "cool" is a temperature in the neighborhood of 50-70 degrees fahrenheit; "cold" is below 50 degrees.

And, down here in Georgia, it ain't hot until you can boil an egg inside your undershorts.

Now, having written all that, I will admit that the other day I explored an area near the Appalachian Trail about 30 miles north of my farm, and I spent most of my time walking around in some funny looking, ankle-deep white stuff that was more than cool to the touch. And next week, just before I hop on that airplane to Panama, I hope to make it up to the Smoky Mountains about 90 minutes farther north for a li'l bit of snow skiing.

That's about the coldest it ever gets around here.

Keep on (night) climbin',
Wild Bill from Dawsonville
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Yankee Transplants & Trees in Jersey, <just slightly Off Topic>

Mark, you grew up in what is considered “The Tri State Area”.
Gee, your one of us after all! <obviously a quality pedigree>

And yes, trees, at least good climbers, are rare in New Jersey. The south and its pine barrens are worthless, the industrial central area doesn’t have trees and the northwest woodlands area is largely privately owned and readily posted “No Trespassing”. I have found and GPS marked a few good climbers in the north west sections of the state. I have to drive an hour to get to them, but what the heck, you can’t have all the Central Jersey urban glamour of crime, pollution, congestion, AND trees too, eh?

Climbing in Minnesota must be stunning. I can only imagine. Perhaps some day my leisure travel will bring me to points a tad more majestic than the lower Hudson River.

Electrojake

P.S. Wild Bill, the annual Panama trip, with Abe and company? I’m curious, how many times have you done that, or is this a first?

Just wondering,
Ej

I have done some great climbs around the Princeton area. Most of it was on private
property but a few climbs were held in near by state parks.

A bear came across us while we were climbing just outside of Hackettstown, NJ. The view from 80' up in a Poplar tree was grand.

In the Pine Barrens I have located a few large oaks, but they can be difficult to find. Grab the canoe and waders. The trees are out there but as civilization grows our wilderness shrinks.

I look at scouting for trees as the admission price to be worthy enough to climb.

Good luck - tree tracking can be fun. Just don't carry 600' of rope.