Like reading the White Mountain Report every week? Why not get it delivered to your e-mailbox every Thursday? All you have
to do is subscribe. It's fast, painless, and best of all it doesn't cost you
a dime!
I didn't realize it was going to be as warm today as it got. If I have I would have gotten the bike out when I rode up into the Notch this AM. I was completely blown away when I looked at my car's outside thermometer and saw it was a very balmy 44 degrees at Frankenstein. Now at 12:30 at the house it's all the way up to 47! Can it be spring already? At this rate it's cooing to be multi-sport time of the year very soon - maybe it already is....
I noticed a couple of friends who live in the Valley posting that they were bummed about the warm-up. I have to say that I feel completely the opposite. maybe its' that I'm getting older, but frankly I will be happy when we swing back into a more moderate time of the year. I do love the ice and the snow, but I also like the rock and road just as much. The neatest thing about living up here is that we have these times of the year when we can do it all. Last spring I managed several 3-sport days (ice climbing, road bike and x-c ski) and am hoping to be able to add in some rock for a 4-sport day this year. All I need is to find a nice warm and dry place to rock climb and an appropriate partner. Usually Humphreys or the South Buttress of Whitehorse are the best options for the early season rock. I've got my fingers crossed...
When I stopped at Frankenstein for my pics at abut 10 AM everything on the Standard/Dropline wall was in full sun. There was someone on Dropline and they couldn't have picked a better time of day to do it. By 11 the sun has gone around the corner and is off the climb. I got a few good shots and I wish I'd been a little closer or had a longer lens. Check 'em out:
After taking the obligatory Thursday morning pix I went up to Crawford to xc-ski down the tracks to Willies & back. One thing I did notice as I went by Snot Rocket and the other climbs along the way, was how punked out they all look. I had noticed that things have been getting desiccated a bit and now with the longer days and full-on sun the ice is getting baked and turning to styrofoam. It's just a heads-up that climbs like Cinema, Great Madness, Gully #1, Bob's, Chia and Smear all get loads of sun at this time of year. If you have the option to climb something that is in the shade at least half the day, it will be better.
We can all feel the changes in the air and it will be Spring in more than just name in a surprisingly short time. I guess the point of all this is that while we are certainly going to have another good 3+ weeks of ice in the lower elevations, you want to get on it.
Ice Conditions Report:
Selected Ice Conditions effective February 19, 2026
Just as you would expect following Ice Fest AND a week of truly balmy temps, going to be upper 30's today, the ice can be a mixed bag. I saw someone post about how things are terrible. But digging into it, I realized they were talking about places like the North End that are very well used. It probably gets the most use of all. There are only a few places that have really easy access to moderate climbing and where you can set up a bunch of top-ropes. So that's not unexpected. And of course the climbs that are getting a lot of full sun are getting somewhat punked-out. On my way back from Wolfeboro mid-afternoon a few days ago I took a look at Rainbow Slabs which look as if they are getting pretty funky. And I watched a hunk of the bottom of Way In The Wilderness fall down! IMO it's really the time to start paying attention to what you're walking underneath, any time of the day. Enjoy this weather, but keep paying attention...
Huntington Ravine
numerous options
Repentance
iffy
Standard Route
GREAT conditions
Dracula
IN & very fat
For the full current conditions report, CLICK
HERE
Here's a few other interesting shots from the morning:
Liquid Flight at the Lizard Lounge in Boston:
If you live in the Boston area please come out and check out my band Liquid Flight at the Lizard Lounge in Cambridge on Friday February 18th. For the second time this winter we have an opportunity to "open" for the Club d'Elf band. The last time we were there it was a special night and we had a blast playing for a very responsive audience. Liquid Flight is a modern jazzy jam band and it's hard to describe what it sounds like. The best I can come up with is that it's got a rock sound over hip jazz chords with a groove. There was a recording made the last time we played at the Lizard and I put one of the tracks on our web site.
Laconia Jam Session:
I'm playing at an open mic/jam session with my friends Tony Sarno and Jared Steer at HEAT in Laconia every Sunday evening from m4-8 pm. The last couple have been a great time with a lot of good music being played. If you play or just enjoy watching you should definitely check it out. The place is almost right across the street from the Broken Spoke. They have good pizza and beer and I recommend the Caesar chicken salad! Come on out...
NEClimbs & White Mountain Report On Facebook:
Join us and hopefully 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:
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.
