February 5, 2004

Hi Folks,

I had thought we might get through this winter without any serious problems. Obviously this was wishful thinking, tho prior to last week, with the exceptions of a couple of non-climbing related incidents, nothing major had taken place. In fact I don't believe that the Mountain Rescue Service had been called out so far this winter! Well, things changed for the worse, starting in the middle of the week.

Hiker dies in Huntington Ravine:
I was taking a avalanche course at Pinkham on Thursday when a call came in to members of Fish & Game who were in the class, calling them out to search for a missing Massachusetts hiker. At that time he had been overdue since Tuesday night. His car had been found at the Pinkham Notch Visitor Center so a search was narrowed to Mt. Washington. Conditions on the mountain were brutal, with temperatures about -11 F and steady strong winds averaging ~75 miles per hour, gusting up to 100. Later that day, a local IMCS guide reported to searchers that he thought he had seen a red object at the base of Yale Gully in Huntington Ravine on Wednesday. The body was recovered from that area on Thursday afternoon. The thought is that he likely fell while trying to ascend or descend the Huntington Ravine Summer Trail with no crampons or ice axe. This is an extremely technical route during the winter season.

Climber injured on Pegasus at Frankenstein:
I was bringing my partner up on Bob's Delight around 10 am on Saturday when he heard some noise and shouting. I could see 2 people running down the tracks toward Bill King's, obviously going to call for assistance and get the litter. As best I can ascertain, the climber was leading from the ground and was up in the Pegasus column. This implies quite a large amount of rope out at this point. An eyewitness stated that they seemed to have an adequate amount of gear in place. When they fell they apparently ripped a screw. With that, rope stretch and the fact that they weighed 200 pounds they fell a significant distance, down onto the 2nd ledge. As soon as we got off we headed over, corralling additional people as we went to help with a probable litter-carry. By that time the injured climber had been packaged, was already being lowered down the trail and a crew had been assembled for the carry. Fortunately for him both EMS Climbing School Director Joe Lentini and EMS guide Seth Green were on the scene and efficiently managed the operation. Amazingly enough the injuries were limited to bruises and strains.

Central Couloir on Mt. Webster:
A party of four were simul-soloing the gully. One of the party fell on moderate icy terrain and fell over 200' before coming to a rest. One member of the party was about 150' below him and thought that he may have caught a crampon on his leg. In any event he was unable to self-arrest. When the other members of the group reached him he was conscious and able to speak, but was bleeding profusely from a major gash to his forehead. His helmet was fortunately still intact. They had a first-aid kit and wrapped his head in gauze to slow the bleeding as much as possible. They determined that his ankle was broken, but beyond that and the head injury they could not ascertain any further injuries. One of the group literally ran down the gully to contact Mountain Rescue. The other two stayed with the injured member wrapping him in their belay jackets to make sure he did not become hypothermic. They were able to lower him down three pitches and off the steeper ice and snow. By this time the person who had gone for help had raced back up the gully with a litter and one other person. Just as they had lowered him, Mountain Rescue showed up with about a dozen other rescue personnel headed by Joe Lentini. The injured person was then lowered down the remainder of the gully to the ambulance and taken to Memorial Hospital in North Conway. He was later flown by helicopter to Dartmouth Hitchcock Hospital for treatment in the trauma unit. The injured climber is expected to make a full recovery.

Wrath of the Valkerie:
On Sunday a party was attempting the Wrath of the Valkerie, a stout WI 4+ / M5 climb located left of Fang at Frankenstein. The leader was at a stance above the hard ice portion, placing a screw, when their tool popped. Fortunately they were able to walk out and drive themselves to the hospital, where they were diagnosed with a broken collarbone, presented with a sling and told to go home!

Touching The Void - the movie:
The movie of Joe Simpson's acclaimed book, has just been released. It has been opening in cities across the country to rave reviews. A close friend who is not a climber saw it in New York last week. She immediately called my and said that it is a MUST SEE! I saw Joe on David Letterman several days ago and it was very interesting. He was witty and entertaining, and Letterman was clearly impressed. Unlike most guest of Joe's stature, Dave kept him on for 2 whole segments. I came across Joe's web site the other day. It is interesting and fun. Here is a link to what is actually a chapter from his latest book which I reviewed here last year, The Beckoning Silence. If you climb ice, you should definitely read this one. The movie is opening in Boston on Friday at the Landmark Kendall Square Cinema, 1 Kendall Square in Cambridge. This is one of those times when I kind of wish I still lived in Boston. Well it will eventually get to DVD. Here's a link to the trailer.

Coldest Month Ever - from the Mt. Washington Observatory:
This was the coldest January on record, and in fact the coldest month on record. The previous monthly average temperature of -3.6 F was recorded in 1970, and the average monthly temperature for January 2004 was -6.5 F. This average temperature is 11.7 F below the normal for January! Although this type of event might not come as a surprise to most, considering the record cold of mid-January, this event was far from our minds during the first week of the month as temperatures were 15 to 25 degrees ABOVE normal. It appears that the jet stream is shifting a bit to the west. If this pattern takes hold, it would mean the bulk of the cold air will shift west over the Great Lakes. This would alter the storm track such that any storm development along the coast would have a better chance of tracking up the coast, instead of being pushed out to sea by a strong, cold high pressure systems over New England. More...

Selected Ice Conditions effective March 21, 2024
I can't actually say that there is nothing out there that can't be climbed. That would be foolish. But for the average, or a little above average climber, that's probably correct. That said, I did hear that there is climbable ice on Parasol in Dixville Notch. Not sure how that will be after we get a foot of heavy wet snow on Saturday. Regardless, here's a few pix I took today just to document things.
	Huntington Ravine	AVALANCHE
	Repentance	OUT
	Standard Route	OUT
	Dracula	OUT
For the full current conditions report, CLICK HERE

Remember - climb hard, ride the steep stuff, stay safe and above all BE NICE,