Ben and Krissy: 2011

taking a spin the night before the wedding

Ben and John - the best man

Wedding cup cakes after Josee walked across them

Outside of our Cabin

Our cabin in North Conway during Irene

D'Acres Farm

Outhouse/treehouse

Outhouse at D'Acres

D'Acres outdoor kitchen

Solar Shower

Baby pigs, less than 24hrs old

Rope after Ben took two big falls on it...


Retaliation (5.9) on Cathedral - Krissy's second trad lead ever, during one of her most impressive climbing days to date.

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So we are finally home in Halifax. It's been an incredible last few weeks, we're not quite sure where to begin...

Let's start with the wedding. We are so fortunate to have such loving and supportive friends and family. If it weren't for our parents, we would have gotten married on a stump somewhere, wearing shorts and t-shirts! Thank you guys for all your help planning, preparing and paying for the wedding.
Jane Bowden and her team of decorators made our venues look incredible; John Hughes and his amazing flower arrangements and bouquets for the wedding party/family; Matt Keays played beautifully as the wedding party and Krissy walked down the aisle; Andrea and Justin Stoodley catered the reception (soooo delicious!!!!); John Beesley http://hilitegallery.com/ and Donna Just http://www.donnajustphotography.com/, the immensely talented photographers; Krissy's dad, Kevin Richardson, and Roderick Beers for their help BBQ'ing; Michael Edwards (with the help of Aunt Mary Katherine i'm sure) created an excellent playlist for the evening; John Kodama created our Mokume wedding bands; Sherry MacFarlane designed and created Krissy's beautiful wedding dress (sherrymacfarlane@hotmail.com); Justing Fudge who is Krissy's favourite hairstylist in all the world, traveled to Quispamsis from his salon in Minto NB to do everyone's hair; Wendy Paul for the most delicious and fanciest cupcakes either of us have ever had; the NS climbing crew for the surprise fireworks display; and last but not least, Pastor Leo Gallant for the ceremony and Pastor John Dunnett for adding a special climbing-related touch to the ceremony (the 4 C's of climbing and marriage - communicate, cherish, care, celebrate - we will never forget!).

Now onto the Honeymoon: We left the day after the wedding to head down to one of our favourite spots to climb/camp- New Hampshire. On our way down we stopped in Calais, Maine so that Ben could climb in some new Shamans! We stayed in the Snowy Owl Inn for the first week of our trip (thank's Claire and Nancy!). It was so different sleeping inside with electricity and having running water and a pool/hot tub on a climbing trip. Usually we camp and try to live as cheaply as possible, so this was such a nice change!

With hurricane Irene setting her sights on NH, we decided (well, we really didn't have much choice) to rent a cabin for a couple of nights to wait out the storm. We stayed at The Old Red Inn & Cottages in North Conway. It was a good choice as Campton, our usual camping destination, was evacuated due to the breached dam and flooding. The whole area was devastated and almost all of the campgrounds were closed and remained closed for the next week! This made us explore other areas to stay. D'Acres was pretty cool. Krissy got to pay lots of attention to the farm animals, talking to them as if they were babies and taking pictures. The outdoor facilities there are wicked. Solar Powered shower, 3-walled outhouse with a pretty cool view (especially if you're a tree hugger), and an open kitchen with wood stove and hammocks. The staff are all super friendly. We definitely recommend this place, especially during the week when it's not so busy.

Climbing

This trip was full of "firsts" for Krissy. Right away, she was super stoked to climb lots and to climb hard. Warmed up on the usual then right away began onsighting 5.10's (Millennium Falcon, Underdog, and Sweet Polly Purebred) and Know Ethics, a 5.11a. It was pretty cool to see her try hard and not "take" when a little scared, nervous or unsure. Krissy worked a couple 5.13's (Dyno-Soar and Suburban) and realized that working two 13's and climbing some 12's all in one day is pretty hard on the body. She was wrecked for a couple days after that and decided to pick one to really work. She chose Dyno-Soar. This route had some pretty big/powerful moves...some of the hardest she's tried on a rope. She sounded like Sharma, and later stated that the yelling was completely involuntary...that's how I knew she was trying hard.

Ben climbed awesome as usual. Here are his most memorable climbs this trip. On-sighted Flying Monkeys (5.12c) and redpointed several hard climbs including: Dyno-soar, a 5.13a (on his second try); Beat Junky (5.13b) his second attempt after watching local strong man Tim Deroehn climb it; and TABDITO (5.13c), in one session working it.

Our last week climbing was fun, but also very hard. The heat was a major issue and we were both getting a little worn down. We decided to change it up and head to Cathedral Ledge to trad climb, something we haven't done in a couple years. It was awesome. Krissy led Trad for her first time ever. She started with Fun House (5.7), Retaliation (5.9), and Bombardment (5.8) and got them all clean with solid gear placement. It was quite impressive! Then Ben led Upper Refuse (5.5) and the Lookout Crack (5.9). At the top an older gentleman and his wife were quite intrigued with what we were doing. They had so many questions about the sport, it was cool. Krissy hoped that our q&a with them would plant a seed and get them to try it out someday.

Well, that's it for now. Back to the real world. Ben starts school this week, and Krissy is looking for work.

Later!
Mr. & Mrs. Blakney