Repentance!

Tom Sciolino on the first pitch of the New England classic "Repentance" circa 1980-81. Note the old school crampons, Whillan's harness, and Hummingbird hammer. My tools at the time were a Hummingbird hammer and Chouinard ice hammer, non-rigid crampons, and a tolerance for bloody knuckles. The crux of the route on this particular day can clearly be seen above, where 12 feet of thin ice leads to a 2 1/2 foot overhang created when an ice pillar sheared off. As I anchored both tools over this bulge, the 12 foot section of thin ice broke away all the way to bare rock. A fitting route to end a good season.