December 1, 2005

Hi Folks,

Well after 1.7 inches of rain on Wednesday there is no snow left in my yard here in the Valley. Temps were up as high as 54 and hung around the mid-40's until after midnight and as you can well imagine, the Saco is running very high from all the melt off in the upper elevations. Then of course the weather turns absolutely beautiful this morning. By beautiful I mean bluebird skies, but unfortunately not cold.

Funny how we adjust what we think of as "great weather" depending on the season and our location. Up here Spring through Fall we all love those dry clear days, but once winter comes it's "the more snow the better" and those sunny days aren't required! For me I could pretty much care less if it's clear or not, as long as there is ice on the cliffs and snow in the mountains it's a "great day".

This got brought home to me last week when I was talking with someone in Philadelphia about business related things. Running through the normal exchange of pleasantries of course the weather came up. They were having a generally nice day by almost any standard. When I put in my 2 centavos, I too said it was great. He had just looked at the East coast weather report and thought I was nuts. We had snow on the ground, temps were in the mid-20's and here I was chomping at the bit to get our conversation over with so I could go out & play. He just laughed at me. It made me remember talking to friends in upper New York State when I was living in Miami. I was at the beach on Xmas day and they were on the slopes. We both were happy folks. It's all in your personal perspective. Personally I'm happy with mine right now.

Woops, it's 46 & still sunny, gotta go - the road bike calls. <grin>

Selected Ice Conditions effective February 25, 2021
It really does feel a little more like mid-March than late February right now, tho this really has to do with a couple of sunny days with temps in the 40's. Of course that's not really a bad thing, as long as it stays cool at night and we don't get any rain. But stay tuned... In general tho the ice is in good shape right now, with a few exceptions where the climbs have been in full sun over the past couple of warm days. The thing to be aware of is that there are places where the ice is punky and snowcone-like or has become undermined. But as long as you are paying attention, you'll be OK. Frankly early to mid-March is really my favorite time to climb. There's nothing like those longer days, more moderate temps and plastic ice. And the occasional warm day when you can get out on some warm early-season rock! What's not to like?
	Huntington Ravine	IN
	Repentance	questionable
	Standard Route	IN
	Dracula	IN fat
For the full current conditions report, CLICK HERE

Survival & Survivorman:
If you haven't caught this show on the Science Channel, check it out sometime. In each episode Les Stroud is abandoned in a remote location and he has to survive for a week. He has his trusty multi-tool, no food or water, barely more than the clothes he is wearing and 50 pounds of cameras that he has to use to film the ordeal himself. While not perfect, it is entertaining and informative and pretty much every week I get something out of his experiences. Last week's episode he had a magnesium flint-stick. It was a very nifty item & one I think I'm going to pick up for my pack. Here's the web site.

I really enjoy this show, and so does my 6 year old. And YES, he does carry an emergency satellite phone, but as Les says; "I have discovered as I do random testing that it has only been operational 50% of the time!" And, oh yeah, he's not a bad harmonica player either!

Have fun and climb safe,