New England Section. The New England Section held its 13th annual Formal Dinner in March, once again at the elegant Henderson House in Weston, MA. New Hampshire legend Steve Arsenault was our guest speaker, whose topic was “From Cathedral Ledge to the Wind River Range.” Bill Atkinson stepped down as Chair after 14 years of dedicated service. Nancy Savickas stepped in as Chair, and Rick Merritt is now Vice-Chair.

June saw our annual BBQ, sharing the spotlight with past Club President Mark Richey, who celebrated his 25th wedding anniversary with wife Teresa Richey. Titoune Meunier hosted the event in North Conway. Prior to the party Bill Atkinson and Rick Merritt climbed with Nancy at Square Ledge, where a good time was had by all.

Despite the deluge a large crowd turned out for October’s BBQ, hosted by Henry and Jill Barber at their home at Cathedral Ledge in North Conway. Rick Merritt once again acted as grill master, spending the better part of the evening under a tarp manning the grill.

In November Chad Hussey hosted an open day of climbing at Ragged Mountain, where Nancy along with Yuki Fujita and Judy Bayliss got the grand tour of the awesome Connecticut stone. Also, in early November Bill Atkinson and Nancy went to the Gunks to support the Gunks Climber Coalition in a fundraiser. Prior to the evening’s festivities John Reppy lead Bill, now 84, and Nancy (no age deliberately given) up the first pitch of Andrew despite the frigid temps. Walt Hampton along with his wife Ann and son Luke made an assault on Denali. They were turned back due to bad weather but will be at it again this spring with another attempt on American’s tallest summit. Best of luck to them. Finally, Big Kudos to Yuki Fujita, who climbed the Walker Spur on the Grande Jorasses with his climbing partner, Paul Cleary, from Manchester, England.

Nancy Savickas, Chair