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I hope that all of you had a great Labor Day weekend. The weather up here was absolutely spectacular in every way. In fact it couldn't have been a whole lot better. The surprising thing was that there weren't all that many folks out on the cliffs, on any of the 3 days. I'm not sure where they were, but they weren't up here climbing trad on Cathedral or Whitehorse.
Maybe it was busier at Rumney, but from what I've heard it wasn't packed. Not that I'm complaining, mind you. You certainly could have climbed here and gotten on pretty much anything you wanted to climb at almost any time of the day. Kind of reminds me of the Thanksgiving day that my wife and I went to the Gunks and were able to walk up and climb every single mega-classic we wanted.
When we started climbing here a lot 15 years ago on summer weekends you couldn't find a place to park along the road by Cathedral. Besides the sport climbing craze now there are lots more documented places to climb moderates than there were then. Places like Sundown, Lost Horizon, Lost Ledge, Woodchuck, White's Ledge, Humphrey's and others all serve to help spread out the crowds. And even the Morning Glory and Echo Roof areas at Cathedral and Whitehorse respectively have sucked some of the crowding away from places like the Thin Air face and Standard on Whitehorse.
I suppose that the Routes section on NEClimbs.com has helped a bit in that regard. It's been quite a few years since the last comprehensive guidebook was published. I guess Webster's guide was released about 11 years ago and certainly the editing of it was done 6 months before. Not surprising that it is missing a lot of stuff.
I've been out climbing at some of the off the beaten track places lately. If you haven't done so I suggest that you do too. You too may find some climbs that you haven't done before that you you may like a lot. And besides, you'll help keep the crowds down.
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
P.S. After the big hike up into the Ravines with my son Lewis that I wrote about last week he expressed more interest in hiking. So last Thursday we did Mt. Chocorua via the Piper Trail. It's a 9 mile round trip and he acquitted himself very well and really enjoyed the journey - as did I. This weekend we're planning on ticking off Mt. Kersarge, weather permitting. And the beat goes on... [grin]
AMC Indian Summer Gathering September 5-7:
Come camp with us at Campton, New Hampshire, in the western White Mountains. Campton is located near wonderful and varied climbing, including Rumney, Cannon, Echo Crag and Artist's Bluff. For information on camping, Saturday night dinner and price contact Eric Engberg at eengberg@kronos.com.
A Service of the Boston AMC Mountaineering Committee
BUG REPORT:
Still lots of mosquitoes and biting gnats (blackflies?) in the woods. I got eaten up today at the Morning Glory Wall below the Barber Wall on Cathedral. Bring the bug dope with you unless you are in the breeze. Haven't seen much in the way of ticks, but I'm sure they are out there. Some animal cases if EEE have been found in the southern part of the state, so bug spray may be a smart move in any case.
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.
