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April 24, 2008
Hi Folks,
So needless to say there's been a lot of snow in my yard. Well, everywhere if truth be told. It's gotten so annoying that I've taken to spreading the snow out so it melts faster. Once it gets less than a couple of inches thick it melts like crazy. I estimate that by the weekend or maybe sooner it will all be gone. Unfortunately that is totally not the case for the base of Whitehorse! While there is always lots of snow below the cliff in a normal. or even moderate year, this year is certainly different.
I was supposed to meet a friend over at the Ethereal Buttress on Wednesday afternoon so I parked at the Hotel lot & walked into the woods. I knew there would be snow but I was unprepared for just how much there was. When I say unprepared, I mean both that I should have worn high-top shoes and I was surprised at just how much snow was still piled up. You can easily walk all the way up to the Launching Pad on the snow!
the Launching Pad on Whitehorse
Not only that but there is a lot of crap on the slabs right now. Apparently the twigs and leaves that were embedded in the snow are just sitting there and until we get some rain they are likely to stay there too.
the very dirty slabs of Whitehorse
Speaking of rain, it's been weeks since we have had any precipitation more than a mere dribble and the woods are very dry, in spite of the snow-melt. While I guess we are not in as bad a state as the Southern part of the state, if we don't get some rain soon we will be. If you are camping or smoking in the woods please be careful of your flame. It wouldn't take much to set off a brush fire that could be a big problem.
I walked along the base of the cliff past Echo Roof and all the way down to the Ethereal Buttress looking for my friends. They were nowhere to be found (grrrr), but the rock was generally dry, except for the right side of the Echo Roof area. There was a party on Ethereal & it looked totally dry. Walking further down the cliff much was clean and dry and there was chalk on many of the climbs . I heard some voices toward the Gargoyle Buttress. Ray Rice and Pete O were working on Brad White's old climb Economy Of Force (5.12). It looked like quite a pump...
Ray Rice on Economy of Force
On the walk out past the hotel I looked back at the right side of the cliff and noticed that pretty much everything was clear of ice & snow above the slabs. Now if the snow at the base would just melt & we'd get some rain to clean off the cliff!
right side of Whitehorse
I was over at Humphrey's a day before and everything there was in good shape as well. There wasn't hardly any snow even on the hike to the climbs on the left.
Left side of Humphreys
All in all things are looking very good for early season climbing. There are mosquitoes out and some ticks, but it's not too bad. Heck, we had a great ice season, maybe we'll have a great rock season as well.
by climber, writer Majka Burhardt (www.majkaburhardt.com)
Vertical Ethiopia documents a climbing expedition to unexplored sandstone spires in northern Ethiopia. In March 2007, four women traveled to Ethiopia to discover if climbing might be the next frontier for this continuously evolving country. Told through a series of vignettes that reveal what it means to climb, to travel, and to explore, Vertical Ethiopia looks closely at the intersections between adventure and culture, history and opportunity.
May 7th, 7pm
Cabot Auditorium, AMC Headquarters, 5 Joy Street, Boston MA $5
AMC Boston Chapter, Mountaineering Committee In conjunction with WorldBoston (www.worldboston.org) and The Access Fund
For directions: www.outdoors.org/about/facilities/facilities-boston-directions.cfm
For more information: www.bostonclimbers.org
Jubilee is THE annual event for Kismet Rock Foundation! All are invited
to join in this festive springtime occasion which includes dinner, live
music, dancing, a very popular silent auction, and student presentations.
It's held this year at the Cranmore Mountain Resort in North Conway, NH.
Kismet Rock Foundation
Up on one of the Mount Washington Valley's finest crags and want to know what that climb you're looking at is? Or maybe you're on your way up from Boston and want to check out the Ice Report for your upcoming weekend plans. Or more likely, you're at work just want to daydream about your next adventure. Well if you have a smart phone handy, you can get to NEClimbs from anywhere you have cell service. While it doesn't offer every single feature of the site and it's not an "app", in mobile form, it does do a whole lot and is very useful. Here is the live link to the mobile version of NEClimbs:
http://www.neclimbs.com/mobile
Check it out and if you have issues on your specific phone, please feel free to let me know.
Join us and LIKE us on Facebook. I'll try and post interesting pix every Thursday and the latest Ice Report in the season, tho certainly not the whole Report. Here's where you can check it out:
http://www.facebook.com/NEClimbs/
Remember - climb hard, ride the steep stuff, stay safe and above all BE NICE,
Al Hospers
The White Mountain Report
North Conway, New Hampshire
| The rules of the game must be constantly updated to keep up with the expanding technology. Otherwise we overkill the classic climbs and delude ourselves into thinking we are better climbers than the pioneers. |
| Yvon Chouinard |
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