New England Section. On March 6 the Section hosted its first “Old Timers Day” on the ice and in the rain at Willey’s Slide at Crawford Notch, New Hampshire, displaying and using ancient garb and ice gear from the 1970s and earlier: 10-point crampons, manila hemp rope, wood-shafted ice axes, and weird protection devices (“coat hangers,” snargs, army tubes, and wart hogs). Several parties actually “Frenched” their way to the top. In the evening we repaired to a local inn, where the gear was on display and where Randy Chatterjee presented an edited video of the day’s events, which had been organized by Bob Plucenik and Dale Jancic. The audience was also delighted with Ken Henderson’s recently restored film of the first ascent of Pinnacle Gully and Woodrow Wilson Sayre’s film “Four Against Everest.”

Eighty-five members and guests attended our 8th Annual Black Tie Dinner, at which Henry Barber offered an overview of “Significant Climbs of the Seventies” following a reception amid an exhibition of the 1930s Chamonix cartoons of Samivel. A cartoon auction netted the Section $1,000. Karen McLaughlin organized the elegant “tasting menu” meal and Steve Weitzler, as usual, organized the awesome door prizes.

In June we enjoyed a cookout and social at Nancy Savickas’s place in Albany, New Hampshire, which drew a record 30 souls. Among them were AAC President Mark Richey and family, fellow Everest summiter and former Section chair Barry Rugo, and 1972 Mt. St. Elias expedition leader Malcom Moore. Malcolm had a few stunning slides of the St. Elias East Ridge, and Joe and Judy Perez some images from Namibia, South Africa, and the Dolomites.

In September Sam Streibert joined parties on the Northeast Buttress of Higher Cathedral Spire in Yosemite. Sam says that his partners actually climbed the route, while he just “made it up.” In any event, we were impressed. Bob Wadja spent a week in Canada doing two routes on the north face of Mt. Fey and Yamnuska (7,349'), a limestone peak near Canmore in the Canadian Rockies.

We gathered again at Nancy’s on Halloween, but were able to materialize very few ghosts of climbers past. Henry Barber and Jack Reilly of the New York Section were among them.

Bill Atkinson, Chair, and Nancy Savickas, Vice Chair