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Sometimes things around us just serve to remind us about what's important and what's not. Over this past week one friend ruptured his Achilles tendon in a family game of frisbee, another acquaintance had a mild stroke while out riding his bike and the local football coach who was in his early 50's had a heart attack and died!
I was over at the house of the guy who has the bum tendon and we were talking about how this was going to change his plans for the summer. I agreed that it was a real drag and he was going to have to work at finding some creative ways to get exercise over the 3 months before he's going to be able to walk again. I was surprised by just how good an attitude he had about the whole thing. I have a feeling that I would be pretty PO'd about the whole thing. Of course he had just recently come back from a family vacation out west. I'm sure that he was happy this happened afterward, and not before.
The person who suffered the stroke is apparently going to be OK pretty quickly. Thank God! As he was only about 50 I'm pretty sure that this was a real wake-up call. This is someone who is very active, not sedentary at all, so I'm not too sure what he could have done differently. That said, I'll bet dollars to doughnuts that he looks at his life very differently now.
Our local football coach had some heart problems for some time, but no one suspected it was that bad - not even him. It was a real shock to the entire community when he kicked-off so quickly. Better, I suppose than, dragging out for months or years in a hospital room somewhere.
Sure, in many ways it's kind of depressing to think about all this stuff. Maybe it's just 'cause I'm older now, but it really makes me all the more aware that I have to really enjoy my life right here and right now. Hanging out with my kiddo, going out to dinner and a movie with the wife, playing bridge with my friends, climbing whenever I can and riding the bike. Anything can happen at any time, so putting the good things off until some "later date" just won't cut it. There are just too many things that can happen to us, from a blown tendon all the way up to the full switch-off. We have to enjoy the life we have right now. So get out there & do something fun right now. I am...
Bug Update:
Well I thought that I had overstated the bug situation recently when I said it was getting bad. Then I was at top of Cathedral a couple of days ago and decided to sit on the slab at the top of the Airation Buttress for a snack. Not exactly a good idea. There was no wind and within a couple of minutes I was enveloped in a swarm of biting blackflys. I'm not generally all that affected by them, but this was pretty bad. A day or two later I rode the bike up over Bear Notch & paused for water at the top and again was swarmed over. Maybe it's just my pheromones, who knows. Your mileage may vary. Unless we get a hard freeze to knock them back I guess I'm going to have to break out the serious DEET.
Ice Conditions Report:
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
Rumney Ruckus 2006:
Climbers from all over North America will be gathering to meet other climbers, become friends and enjoy a weekend of climbing. Some will be climbing in the Notch, others at the North Conway crags and others at Rumney. Trad, sport or bouldering … you are all welcome. Below are directions to the free camping.
From Rumney's parking lot (and surrounding area):
Turn Left on Buffalo Road
At Stinson Lake Road, turn Right
At Rt 25, turn Right (North) and go for 4.2 miles
Turn Left onto Rt 118
Follow 118 for 11.1 miles where you will see signs at the Stevens Road turn off.
Turn Right on Stevens Road and go for .8 miles and Colleens house will be on
the left, after the Quonset Hut.
From West or from Interstate 89:
Take Exit 17 (Rt 4) and go East toward Enfield - Canaan - 16 miles
When you reach the center of Canaan, right after the only blinking yellow light, turn
left onto Rt 118.
Go 4.1 miles and the turn onto Stevens Road, which is on the Left and is a hair-pin
type of turn. Go for .8 miles and Colleens house will be on the left, after the
Quonset Hut.
Contact - Alan Emery - jammer@rockclimbing.com
Rain And Floods:
2 weeks of rain has really taken a toll on all of New Hampshire. While we've just been getting inch after inch of rain and the cliff has been turning green with moss, the Southern part of the state has been getting hammered by floods. If you are a paddler you should be in hog-heaven right now. Every time I ride by the Saco, Swift or Wild River it looks like it's white water time. Maybe it's time for me to get a kayak. Nah...the wife says I have enough hobbies right now.
Jim Gagne Everest Update:
According to the IMG web site 10 climbers from their team have reached the summit and made it down safely. After several days recuperating below Base Camp, Jim has returned and is readying to go to Camp 2 on the 19th. The weather has been good and hopefully it will hold. Keep pushing Jim those positive thoughts.
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.
