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January 28, 2021
Hi Folks,
This week and last were busy weeks for me. Lots of video and music work happening right now - who knew, right? Couple that with a day in Wolfeboro on business, plus grabbing every possible day to ride and that fills up the time. I have managed a little climbing as well, tho likely not as much as I would prefer.
So in addition to business in Wolfeboro, I stopped by to wish George Hurley a happy 86th. I've known and climbed with George for almost 25 years and consider him a mentor as well as a dear friend. He's still climbing and putting up new routes and is most certainly one of my idols. Kudos George...
http://www.neclimbs.com/wmr_pix/20210128/George_Jean.jpg
Some folks have been asking me if the classic ice climb Black Pudding Gully has come in, so I figured that it would be worth the time to wander up the hill and have a look. I was able to park right below the gully because it was not snowing. If it is snowing, or if it has very recently snowed, do NOT park there or anywhere on that road as you WILL be towed. It has happened! It's a steep hike up the hill and it didn't look as if anyone has been up there in a while. I noticed a rope tied off at the Pigpen, the overhanging wall on the left. I have heard that folks have been dry-tooling there this year, but I don't know who.
As you get up near the top you need to climb some easy low-angle ice to get up to the main flow, so I geared up, left my pack and headed up. Before that you can't really see the detail of the pillar. Unusually this time there was some rock showing in the bottom of the gully and there wasn't as much snow as is often the case. I brought my spare 7 mm rope to make getting back down an easy affair. Just for something to do, I decided to climb the mushroom that the column attaches to. It's a unique hunk of ice and is always entertaining. Right up close to the column it really didn't look like it would be something I would want to climb, even if I'd had a partner and screws - which I did not. So I traversed off left to some trees where I downclimbed to a large tree and rapped off back to where I'd left my pack. All in all it was fun break from the music I'd been practicing all day. I think it will be climbable by mere mortals pretty soon, so stay tuned.
http://www.neclimbs.com/wmr_pix/20210128/BlackPudding_1.jpg
http://www.neclimbs.com/wmr_pix/20210128/BlackPudding_2.jpg
http://www.neclimbs.com/wmr_pix/20210128/BlackPudding_3.jpg
http://www.neclimbs.com/wmr_pix/20210128/DryRiver_temp.jpg
http://www.neclimbs.com/wmr_pix/20210128/CathedralLedge.jpg
http://www.neclimbs.com/wmr_pix/20210128/Repentance_Remission.jpg
http://www.neclimbs.com/wmr_pix/20210128/Diagonal_Mordor.jpg
http://www.neclimbs.com/wmr_pix/20210128/Unicorn.jpg
http://www.neclimbs.com/wmr_pix/20210128/Frankenstein.jpg
http://www.neclimbs.com/wmr_pix/20210128/LHMonkeyWrench.jpg
http://www.neclimbs.com/wmr_pix/20210128/MtWebster_slabs.jpg
http://www.neclimbs.com/wmr_pix/20210128/MtWillard.jpg
http://www.neclimbs.com/wmr_pix/20210128/Gully_1.jpg
http://www.neclimbs.com/wmr_pix/20210128/MtWillard_UpperTier.jpg
http://www.neclimbs.com/wmr_pix/20210128/Shoestring.jpg
As always the full set of pictures are on Facebook and NEClimbs.
NH has now totaled over 1,000 deaths from Covid 19! Needless to say this is a record that no one wanted. In addition in the past 10 days more than 6 local restaurants closed due to the virus! Some are reopening, but for many this is an ongoing issue. The infection is stamped out in one, only to pop up again at another. Many are saying that they are encountering patrons that are refusing to wear masks and being belligerent! We know that we live in a tourist town, but it's a problem for everyone. When we had 6 of the most popular dining establishments closed at the same time, crowding at the remaining ones caused lots of problems. If you're coming up to climb, please take it seriously. Asking you to wear your mask is just a part of their job and they don't want to get sick and have to close. Just have respect for the owners and employees of these establishments.
Thank you...
New Hampshire:
16 new deaths reported
721 new cases reported
The state's COVID-19 deaths total 1,022
Active cases total 5,337
222 patients are currently hospitalized
US:
Confirmed Cases: 25,721,273
Total Deaths: 432,127
Global:
Confirmed Cases: 101,283,542
Total Deaths: 2,185,550
The Johns Hopkins COVID-19 tracking map:
https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/us-map
I find JHU's Daily COVID-19 Data in Motion report to be very informative. It shares critical data on COVID-19 from the last 24 hours in a short 1 minute animated video format.
https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/covid-19-daily-video
WEAR A MASK, SANITIZE AND STAY PHYSICALLY DISTANT FRIENDS!
REMEMBER - WE ARE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER
I've gotten out several times over the past week. I've enjoyed the East Side riding around Puddin' Pond and other east side trails, the Marshall trails and today on Sawyer River Road. I was surprised that there were snow machines on Sawyer RR and it was well packed out. It's a great option. I did look at Mt Clinton Road, but it didn't look like it would be good at this time.
http://www.neclimbs.com/wmr_pix/20210128/Bike_PuddingPond_1.jpg
http://www.neclimbs.com/wmr_pix/20210128/Bike_PuddingPond_2.jpg
http://www.neclimbs.com/wmr_pix/20210128/Bike_SawyerRR.jpg
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
| There are all kinds of values to be gotten out of climbing. Sometimes you can take a girlfriend up a climb and get laid for it. |
| Steve Wunsch |
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