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Sometimes as I am driving by myself up to the
Notch when the road is dry and there is nobody out, it's as if
I am on cruise control. I think about the climb I'm going to do,
the tune that's blasting on the iPod or the computer project that
I'm currently working on. I don't "wake up" until I get
to the Davis Path parking lot at the Texaco area. Right about there
I snap out of it. Needless to say this definitely does NOT happen
when I'm climbing!
Even tho climbing is almost second-nature to me now, when I'm
out there I am just so totally focused on the job at hand. Every
crimper, jug, axe placement and kick-step are vividly in the forefront
of my brain's activity. There is no music running and thoughts
about work intruding. It's just me and IT. As I soloed the first
pitch of Standard this morning I was totally in the zone. Brad
White and a client were on the right side so I took a steep line
in the center, just right of a big hole that was running water.
The ice was candled but thick enough to take full swings and great
kicks, making me feel totally solid. It was a wonderful feeling
to stand there in the middle of a 20' curtain of vertical ice and
know that this was where I wanted and needed to be right at this
moment in my life. There aren't a whole lot of things that can
make you feel that alive.
Ice Conditions Report:
Selected Ice Conditions effective February 19, 2026
Just as you would expect following Ice Fest AND a week of truly balmy temps, going to be upper 30's today, the ice can be a mixed bag. I saw someone post about how things are terrible. But digging into it, I realized they were talking about places like the North End that are very well used. It probably gets the most use of all. There are only a few places that have really easy access to moderate climbing and where you can set up a bunch of top-ropes. So that's not unexpected. And of course the climbs that are getting a lot of full sun are getting somewhat punked-out. On my way back from Wolfeboro mid-afternoon a few days ago I took a look at Rainbow Slabs which look as if they are getting pretty funky. And I watched a hunk of the bottom of Way In The Wilderness fall down! IMO it's really the time to start paying attention to what you're walking underneath, any time of the day. Enjoy this weather, but keep paying attention...
Huntington Ravine
numerous options
Repentance
iffy
Standard Route
GREAT conditions
Dracula
IN & very fat
For the full current conditions report, CLICK
HERE
Mobile Version Of NEClimbs:
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:
Check it out and if you have issues on your specific phone, please feel free to let me know.
NEClimbs & White Mountain Report On Facebook:
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:
Climbing is a very dangerous sport. You can get hurt or even kill yourself. When you go climbing, you do so of your own free will. Everything on this site is to be taken with a grain of salt. Don't blame us if you get up some totally heinous route, in over your head and fall and hurt yourself.
