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March 3, 2016
Hi Folks,
Yup, it’s already March 3rd. Yup this week we had yet another warmup and rain/sheet/snow event. And yup, somehow or other we STILL have quite a lot of very good ice to climb. And in fact I would guess that this last event made things even better than they were before, and they weren’t actually to bad IMNSHO.
I think that what made things be OK from Wednesday’s event, was its short duration. The snow occurred mostly overnight, dropping 3-4” here in the Valley and 6-8” in the Notch. Fortunately there wasn’t nearly as much rain as expected. While temps got to around 40 on Wednesday morning, by 3PM they fell to below freezing and plummeted to the single digits overnight. That got the water flowing just enough and made more ice, just like what usually takes place in late March with warm sunny days and chilly nights. The current prediction is for the cold snap to continue through Friday and start to warmup on Saturday into the mid-30’s and warmer on Monday and Tuesday. On the good side, it looks to stay chilly at night which should continue the ice building. Another good thing from this event is that the wet snow put a more solid crust on top of what had been a pretty bulletproof ice later that was almost everywhere.
I rode the bike over to the North End on Tuesday afternoon to take a few laps on Thresher. Fortunately I had the wherewithal to take my regular mountain bike with studded tires, and not my fat tire bike this time. The road was a sheet of ice from beginning to end that looked for all the world like Echo Lake. Even with the studs it was very unnerving. I had to put on crampons right off the bike to get up the hill to the start of the little gully, and it actually required me paying attention, since a slip would have sent me all the way to the road! At the top of the gully I usually just casually walk in the snow to the base of Thresher, but this time it was more ice. The ice climbing itself was fairly casual as I have done it many many times. However the descent back down to the base of the pillars was more bulletproof ice. There was even a low-angle tongue of ice that went from the base of the pillars, all the way down to the road. It was even thick enough that you could have easily put in screws! At that time there was fairly minimal snow in the woods, but I went from crust to crust wherever I could. Back at the bike I decided to leave my crampons on for the ride back and I was glad I did. There were a couple of places where I had to put my foot down and I probably would have slipped if had hadn’t had them on.
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With the weather as variable as it’s been I have no idea what’s in store. I have to say that this looks like a fantastic weekend for climbing, so grab it while you can.
Legendary guide and first ascensionist George Hurley will be giving two slideshows on early desert climbing. I’ve seen this show several times and can assure you that it’s well worth checking out.
Tuesday March 8th at 10AM at the Taylor Community in Wolfeboro, 66 Taylor Street
Wednesday March 16 at 6:30PM at the Taylor Community in Laconia, 435 Union Avenue.
Join local climbers and filmmakers Majka Burhardt and Sarah Garlick at their hometown North Conway premiere of Namuli-- a community-backed film about the spirit of exploration and what happens when a team of rock climbers, biologists, and conservationists set off on an unconventional expedition into one of the world's least-explored and most-threatened habitats.
March 19 @ IME 7PM
See the trailer and learn more at www.namulifilm.com
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After the previous weather even all the trails we’ve been packing, turned to sheets of ice that only studded tires could traverse. I was pretty worried about what was going to happen after this recent event, but honestly it’s turned out for the best. I’ve talked to several people who were out today and apparently the East Side is in excellent condition once again. In addition the snowmobile club is grooming Bear Notch Road and it is really looking great right now. I walked up a bit this morning and it is absolutely good to go for fat tire biking. Woo Woo!
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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
| You can grunt and heave, sweat and strain, wear yourself out, and unless you simply forget about it and step up, you won't even get off the ground." |
| Mike Borghoff |
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