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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>
Ice Conditions Report:
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!
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 some 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.