Sorry Banff, you too Cody. Colorado, you weren't even in the running...
Lake Willoughby, VT takes its rightful spot as the best ice crag in North America. Over the length of about two miles ice spills off Mt. Pisgah forming many sustained difficult ice climbs. There's no contrievance at Willoughby. Most are independent lines on independent features... and they're proud. Essentially everything is harder than Wi4 and many are harder than Wi5. A few of the prouder features fall plumb-line for three rope stretching pitches. The best part might be the approach: a ten minute stroll up a hillside.
Don't get me wrong, there is more proud climbing within a three hour radius of Banff than there is within three hours of Lake Willoughby but on a crag-to-crag basis its the best and is a lot of room for futuristic lines on par with anything that the Stanley Headwall or Trophy Wall have to offer.
Given its easy access from urban centers and major international airports, for my money, I'll be back next year for sure...
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| Andrew about to top-out on a Willoughby Pillar. |
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| This is the NE's worst year in decades... and there were still about ten individual lines in. |
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| Cruising up an Underwood Canyon classic... |
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| The NE: Climb Free or Die! |
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