Community

Some friends you only see once a year.

Author

Joe Klementovich
February 06, 2025

Icefest

Not that anyone is keeping track but I’m a week late. Embracing flexibility and improvisation.

Every year for about 30 years ice climbers from near and far come to town for clinics, slideshows, demo gear, and apres fun. I’ve photographed the event over the years, for a couple magazine and even one time for The Wall Street Journal during the “Polar Vortex” a couple years ago. This year I got the be an instructor for “Ice Climbing Photography & Rigging” alongside Athe Torri Cervantes. The best part of the event is the ever growing community it brings together, even if it’s just once a year. I’ve been lucky to live in a place where the climbing community is strong, imperfect but evolving. It been a blast to see and be a part of.

Adventure of the week

Keith Sidle climbing some variation right of “Cave Route” It’s a weird thing, to climb on something that will break when you smash it, yet we continue to smash it and kick it.

There are lots of climbers that have migrated away from the vertical to chase fish with a fly rod. I don’t pretend to know why but there is a common thread. When climbing nothing else matters but the 3 feet in front of you. Fly fishing shrinks your focus to the 3 feet around your dry fly. I really enjoy photographing both. They take place in vastly different worlds, but the people in both worlds are great to spend the day with. Thanks Grant and Keith for getting out and on some beautiful climbs and letting me get a lap or two in. More images here to dive into: www.Klementovichphoto.com

An Org Worth Checking Out

A big part of our climbing community here in North Conway, advocating, and educating. They have been super helpful wrangling climbers on access issues, like the train tracks through Crawford Notch. They also put in a ton of effort replacing bolts with newer safer ones.

People

Researcher, Wendy Leuenberger measuring ice accumulation during Ice Storm Experiment at Hubbard Brook Research Forest, NH.

Dusting One Off - Into the Archive

January 5, 2018 On assignment for NH Magazine with writer Jay Atkinson, and a bunch of friends he convinced to play pond hockey in howling winds and single digits. (Non one was harmed in the making of this photo…..)

Jay writes much better than I do, so here is a link to the online story at New Hampshire Magazine here: Trail’s End - Pond Hockey

Thanks to everyone that recently signed up, it’s great to see new names popping up and a big thank you to the people that have emailed me with thoughts and ideas. I really appreciate the conversations.

-Joe