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April 8, 2021
Hi Folks,
47 degrees at 7AM and 70 degrees at 5PM! WOW... Sure we've had some warm weather over the past week or so, but it's been cold at night. That's not the case now and if this doesn't feel like Spring, I don't know what does. I've had the windows open all day.
I walked down to Cathedral this morning for a change and interestingly enough the road was barricaded at the turn.
http://www.neclimbs.com/wmr_pix/20210408/RoadClosed.jpg
I don't know what they are doing, but they were cutting some trees on the road yesterday, so maybe it's that. The North End slab has totally fallen down and there is ice everywhere.
http://www.neclimbs.com/wmr_pix/20210408/NorthEndSlab.jpg
I also spotted some spray cans on the side of the road and noticed that the color matches some graffiti on the gate by the hill! There has been a real issue with tagging in the Valley this past year. There was recently a lot done over at the Redstone Quarry that has made a mess. [damn]
http://www.neclimbs.com/wmr_pix/20210408/graffiti.jpg
While there are still die-hards grabbing the last smidgen of ice to be had, most of my friends have shifted their focus to warm rock. In addition many of my pro-guide friends have headed out to Red Rocks or are at the Gunks. It's that time of year. Last Saturday I went over to Jockey Cap with Brad to get in some pitches to get the feet acclimated to rock shoes and the finger tips to rock. It was a gorgeous day, warm in the sun but just a tad chilly in the breeze. But as always it was a fun place to go to start the season off.
http://www.neclimbs.com/wmr_pix/20210408/JockeyCap_1.jpg
http://www.neclimbs.com/wmr_pix/20210408/JockeyCap_2.jpg
http://www.neclimbs.com/wmr_pix/20210408/JockeyCap_3.jpg
Then on Easter Sunday I headed down to Wolfeboro to hook up with George Hurley at Rines Hill. He had a project he was working on that he hoped we could send. It turns out that it was harder than either of us expected! He got close, but for me it was mainly because the rock was so sharp and rough I was very worried about my fingers. I have come to value my bass playing more than an obscure FA. [wry grin] After fiddling with that for a while, we walked back to the main wall and George led the Casual Crack (5.9). While the crack itself is pretty casual, the top out is definitely 5.9. Be aware...
http://www.neclimbs.com/wmr_pix/20210408/George_1.jpg
http://www.neclimbs.com/wmr_pix/20210408/George_2.jpg
http://www.neclimbs.com/wmr_pix/20210408/George_3.jpg
Coming back from a ride the other morning, I spotted a party on Last Unicorn, on the South Buttress of Whitehorse. I took a picture with my phone, but of course it was piss-poor. So I hurried home to grab my big camera. I have no idea who it was, but the pix are pretty cool. Enjoy...
http://www.neclimbs.com/wmr_pix/20210408/LastUnicorn_1.jpg
http://www.neclimbs.com/wmr_pix/20210408/LastUnicorn_4.jpg
While I have several paying music production projects on my plate, with the weather being so nice it's really hard tp stay inside. And since things are so dry right now, I've got to hope for rain sometime soon so I can get things done. Do be aware that we are in a pretty significant fire danger zone now, so be quite careful.
Hey everyone, welcome to our fundraising sale! A number of businesses and individuals have contributed gear and other products in an effort to help us fundraise for our opening. For that, we are grateful. We are offering these items at discount in an effort to help get some killer climbing gear into your hands at an affordable price, while at the same time making sure we hit our fundraising goal. Please pass this along to your friends and family!
https://www.mwvclimberscoop.com/product-category/fundraising-sale/
We now have over 550,000 deaths in the US from the pandemic and cases are going up everywhere, even in NH. It seems to be driven by younger folks, some states prematurely reopening fully and general Covid Fatigue. [sigh] Here's what Dr. Benjamin Chan, the state epidemiologist, has to say:
"New Hampshire is now averaging more than 400 new infections each day. The 515 new cases announced Thursday was the highest single-day total since Jan. 30. The latest death was not related to a long-term care facility. There have been 1,251 deaths attributed to COVID-19 in the state since the pandemic began. Hospitalizations are also continuing to increase. There are currently 102 people hospitalized for COVID-19. Hospitalizations have exceeded 100 for the first time since Feb. 23. It's important that people get vaccinated as soon as they can. Vaccination appointments are widely available in the state for any resident age 16 or older, and as of April 19, appointments will be available for anyone age 16 or older, regardless of residency."
SO PLEASE - WEAR A MASK, SANITIZE, CONTINUE TO STAY PHYSICALLY DISTANT!
REMEMBER - WE ARE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER
Thank you...
New Hampshire:
1 new death reported.
515 new cases reported.
The state's COVID-19 deaths total 1,251.
Active cases total 3,585.
102 patients are currently hospitalized.
US:
Confirmed: 30,987,371
Deaths: 559,965
Global:
Global Confirmed: 133,602,864
Global Deaths: 2,894,531
SO PLEASE - WEAR A MASK, SANITIZE, STAY PHYSICALLY DISTANT!
REMEMBER - WE ARE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER
Thank you...
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 been out several times on my regular mountain bike this week. Tuesday I did a shakedown ride with my regular mountain bike around Echo Lake and there were a number of large trees down in that area. Then on Wednesday I rode the back way through Birch Hill to Cedar Creek area and did Ultimate Single Track. That turned out to be a mess as well. 5 big trees down and still some ice/snow on the trail in places. Today I was planning to make a dump run and the continue out to ride Evans Notch. But when I went by Hurricane Mountain Road I decided to hit that instead while the road was still gated.
I always forget how steep it is on the Chatham side - 17% in places as opposed to 7% on the Conway side! [sheesh] I checked out several roads I'd never noticed before on my way up. A couple were fairly interesting. The Corridor 19 snowmobile trail that heads back towards East Conway was really quite nice. That will be a fun thing to explore later this summer when things dry out a bit more. I also ran into Curt, the man who owns the "bow house" on the left side of the road. He says that he's owned the house and lived there for almost 40 years! He has sold some of his land and there is now a yurt just uphill of him and some work being done to clear some land just below him. It must be quite something to live up there year around when you can only get up there via snow machine in the winter!
http://www.neclimbs.com/wmr_pix/20210408/Bike_1.jpg
http://www.neclimbs.com/wmr_pix/20210408/Bike_2.jpg
http://www.neclimbs.com/wmr_pix/20210408/Bike_3.jpg
http://www.neclimbs.com/wmr_pix/20210408/Bike_4.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
| Consider what you want to do in relation to what you are capable of doing. Climbing is, above all, a matter of integrity. |
| Gaston Rebuffat |
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