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Over dinner I watch the weather on the nightly news almost every evening. Living up here it's really hard to relate to what's going on with the heat wave that has apparently engulfed the rest of the country. We have had perhaps 5 hot days this entire summer, and by hot I mean in the 90's. Mostly we've had a lot of days in the mid-to-upper 80's, with a fair number in the 70's. But what's kept things very livable have been the 50 degree nights. In fact camping out in Great Glen on Saturday night it was in the very low 50's. The air already has that hint of fall about it, and we've just touched the middle of August.
Of course it's that time of year when it seems as if everyone is locked in a mad dash to the end of summer. The tourists have totally invaded North Conway. You can't hardly get a seat at Flatbreads or the Thai restaurant next to IME, The Moat is always full and traffic up and down 16 through town and the traffic is horrendous. The intersection at 16 and River Road at the Eastern Slope Playhouse has become one of the major sticking points in town in spite of the widening that went on. Well the good thing is that Labor Day isn't that far off and after that things will slow down for a while. At least until the foliage season cranks up!
More Road Work and Some Useful Detours:
There has been a T O N of work going on in the area over the past month or so. The North South Local Road, the one which goes between Town and Walmart avoiding the traffic on the strip, has been seeing some paving around the new rotary. There is construction at Intervale Crossroads and the road there is torn up, not to mention all the work that's going on in and around the Scenic Vista. Work is also being done on the Kanc near Rocky Gorge and up near the Sugar Hill pulloff at the base of the climb and you may encounter some delays. Bartlett has been tearing the road up in the village on Bear Notch Road and every time I've gone there in the past month I've had to stop. Evans Notch was closed for a while due to a road washout that took place during some intense rains about 6 weeks ago. That has been fixed, at least temporarily. In between Glen and West Side Road the State has been tearing up the bridges over the river and the railroad tracks. This has made a real mess of traffic coming down 16 with lots of stops for trucks & general construction.
Since the traffic has been abysmal all over the North Conway area for the past 6 weeks you want to use all of the possible short cuts or you may get stuck for quite a while. Kersarge Road is a good choice when moving North and South parallel to Route 16. This allows you to avoid the River Road intersection which sees traffic backed up past the Hospital every day. Couple this with the North-South road and you can pretty much avoid the Strip, which I do pretty much at all costs. Of course West Side Road is a good way to avoid the strip all together, when you are coming in from Conway. If you are coming to the area from the Kanc you can avoid major traffic tie ups by using Passaconaway/Dugway Road. Look for the Albany Covered Bridge. If you are coming up 16 from the South there is a shortcut where you take a right at Coleman's, the first left onto a dirt road and then wind your way around until you get to Tasker Hill Road. A left there & you are at the light in Conway. It's a funny thing but if you need it you will see other folks doing the same thing. Hope that this helps...
Ice Conditions Report:
Selected Ice Conditions effective April 24, 2024
It's all over for 2023/2024.
Huntington Ravine
OUT
Repentance
OUT
Standard Route
OUT
Dracula
OUT
For the full current conditions report, CLICK
HERE
And on the trail-work side, the National Forest has announced that there will be trail work taking place on the Boulder Loop Trail off the Kanc for three weeks starting on August 20th. This may have an impact on access to climbing in that area.
Rumney Gathering & Fundraiser:
The first annual Rumney Climber's Association fundraiser is THIS SATURDAY Aug 18th in the AM in the Rumney Parking Lot around 8. It will run till people are fed. Rain date is Saturday the 25th. Donations are suggested w/ all proceeds going to the RCA anchor and bolt replacement fund. Bring friends and appitite to feed on some organic blueberry pancakes.
AMC/AAC August Gathering 2007:
The AMC and the American Alpine Club are co-sponsoring a gathering in August. Everyone is welcome! Great climbing opportunities abound! Beautiful bolts at Rumney; tranquil trad in Franconia; true alpine on Cannon; exploration at Owl's Head. Catered dinner for those who respond to Eric or Bill before the 23rd. Cost is $15.00/person (est. max.) Otherwise: BYOB!
Fri.-Sun., August 24-26, 2007
WMNF Campground, Campton, NH
Camping fee: $5.00/person/weekend
Group site "B" for 40 reserved
Rain or shine (bring tarps to keep the beer dry)
(Drop in; no need to sign-up for camping)
Must reserve with Eric Engberg or Bill Atkinson for catered dinner:
Bill Atkinson: watkinson@compuserve.com
Eric Engberg: eengberg@kronos.com
Bug Report:
It's been chilly almost every night for the past week. This has knocked down the bug population considerably. I was camping at Great Glen while participating in the 24 Hours bike race this weekend and only saw some gnats in the early morning and the was out watching the meteor shower a few nights ago and didn't get bit by a single mosquito! Enjoy...
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.
