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• Seneca Rocks Fall Trail Work Day

  • When
    Saturday, November 03, 2018
  •  
    8:00 AM - 4:00 PM
  • Location
    Seneca Rocks, WV
  • Spaces left
    14
  • Registered
    2 registrants

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  OPEN TO THE CLIMBING COMMUNITY
  (PATC-MS Membership encouraged, but not required)
  

   

  On 03 November we will hold a one-day trail work day to improve the climbing access trails and repair damage from summer rains.   We have several areas of concern that we will work depending on the size of the overall crew.
  

  We will meet at the Gendarme at 800am on Saturday morning.  From there we will gather and load up tools and carpool over to the crag.
  

  
  

  If you want to come out for even just a half-day, please sign up and we'll work it out.  We can use all the help we can get on this weekend as there is plenty to be done.
  

  Please be sure to wear good sturdy boots and bring a helmet, gloves a small pack and food/water for the day.
  

  
  

  As the work will be taking place in a busy area, we will need to be aware of others wanting to use the trail while we carry out repairs.
  

  
  

  Questions?  Please contact Andy Weinmann (rocclim78 at gmail.com) or Edwin Bachetti (edwin at bachetti.net).
  

  
  

  
  

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• November Monthly Meeting - Gear Swap and First Aid Clinic

  • When
    Wednesday, November 14, 2018
  •  
    7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
  • Location
    PATC-HQ, Vienna, VA
  • Registered
    1 registrant

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  PATC-MS Monthly Meeting

  Gear Swap and First Aid Clinic. This month in Vienna, VA.
  

  
  

  
  

  Join us Wednesday, November 14, 2018, at 7:00 pm as we conduct our monthly meeting.

  
  

  The Annual Gear Swap followed by Adam Muldoon first aid clinic.

  
  

  Come early for our annual gear swap. Bring stuff you'd like to give away, swap, or sell. Clean out that gear closet. Adam Muldoon, who attended a Wilderness First Responder course on a PATC-MS grant. Adam will present the second of our clinics, intended to cover the key climbing first aid situations of leader falls and hypothermia. 

  
  

  This meeting will be at PATC-HQ in Vienna, VA. Join at 7 PM for pizza and drinks along with the gear swap. 

  
  

  The meeting will be recorded and live-streamed here: https://www.youtube.com/user/iamsylvainla/live (if this link doesn't work, check back on this site for updates)
  

  
  

  This meeting is open to all, members and non-members alike. Registration is not necessary; just show up.

  
  

  PATC-HQ

  118 Park St, Vienna, VA 22180
  

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• Alpine Skills Weekend 2019

  • Start
    Thursday, January 17, 2019
  •  
    12:00 PM
  • End
    Monday, January 21, 2019
  •  
    12:00 PM
  • Location
    North Conway, New Hampshire
  • Spaces left
    0

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  PARTICIPANT REGISTRATION IS CAPPED AT 10.
  

   

  The Potomac Appalachian Trail Club-Mountaineering Section (PATC-MS) organizes an Alpine Skills Weekend each winter to share our member’s mountaineering experiences from Mt. Rainier, Denali, Aconcagua and more.

   

   

  This sign up is just an application; all participants will be notified of acceptance to ASW soon after the application is filled out.  Detailed information on the weekend will be provided once you've been accepted. 

  
  

  Previous years we have split the group with some camping and some staying in the Harvard Cabin. This year, the entire team will camp outside.   

   

  Participants must also be an active member of the PATC-MS prior to October 8, 2018. 
  

  
  

  Consider the dates and training carefully.  This is one of our most popular events.  There will be a waiting list.  If you drop out of the course it may affect the other participants.    

   

  Remember, climbing, and especially mountaineering, is a dangerous sport. Mt. Washington has recorded many of the worst winds and coldest temperatures on record - anywhere. Climbers have died on this mountain before (this year!), and they will in the future. Do not underestimate what -20 degrees F air temperature feels like, especially for days on end.

   

  
  

   

  Basic list of skills covered: 

  · Introduction to general mountaineering equipment (crampons, ice axe, ropes)

  · Ascending a snow slope in boots

  · Use of crampons (climbing foot techniques)

  · Use of mountaineering ice axe

  · Self-arrest and glissading

  · Roped travel

  · Anchors (focus on deadman anchors, use of tools, snow pickets and ice screws)

  · Descending (focus on walk-off (plunge step, side-step, downclimbing, etc); rappelling (v-thread, bollards, etc) if time

  · Basic full process of ascending and descending a snow (and ice) gully (putting it all together)

  · Intro to ice climbing (optional—time and weather permitting)

  · Use of avalanche gear (optional – time and weather permitting)   

   

  No prior experience is required for ASW. Participants must obtain (rent, borrow, buy) general mountaineering equipment and winter clothing for possible extreme severe weather conditions.  Some equipment (axes, boots, crampons, avy gear) is available for checkout from the Club gear locker.  Rental gear is available in North Conway at International Mountain Equipment (IME) and Eastern Mountain Sports.

  
  

  A program guide will be distributed to all participants detailing all of the required gear and other logistics for the course.

   
  

  
  

  Lodging / Camping-

  This year all participants and mentors will camp outside, and will be required to share a tent (unless you bring your own 4 season tent).  Camping space is available outside the cabin for $10/night. These are first come, first serve spots.  Last resort is to stay at Joe Dodge Lodge and hike up each morning (approximately a 2-hour hike).

  
  

   

  Course dates: 17 -21 JAN 2019 (MLK Weekend)  

  You must plan to arrive at the Pinkham Notch Visitor Center no later than 12pm on the Thursday, 17JAN.  Several leaders will be going up to North Conway on Wednesday evening (motel stay) to allow for plenty of time on Thursday to take care of any last minute things; recommend participants strongly consider this option.

   
  Training - 

  There will also be at least Three training hikes in Shenandoah National Park where all participants will carry a full pack over a long day of hiking.  The goal of the hikes is to help you understand the rigors of a good deal of elevation change and negotiating rugged terrain in colder weather.  Some (if not all) of these hikes will be mandatory for participants.

     

  
  

  Send all questions to Bill Kessinger (wkessing@gmail.com)
   
  

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