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Between the crappy weather last week and staying busy playing music for the annual Motorcycle Week celebrations down at Weir's, I haven't gotten in a heck of a lot of outdoor activity this week. The one exception was on Tuesday when I got out with my friends the Perez's. It started out quite sunny, but got a bit cloudy by the early afternoon. None of us had been climbing all that much over the past few weeks, so like last week we wanted to get in some more difficult stuff on toprope. I was feeling quite good at the start, but found myself a bit humbled by the end of the afternoon.
I've been climbing pretty well in the early part of the season. Some 8's, 9's and a few in the 10a/b range. Of course with one exception, these were all climbs I'd done before. This time I tried something quite a bit harder and found myself struggling quite a bit. Not unexpectedly, there's quite a bit of a difference between 10b and 11a, especially when it comes to steep-slab/thin face climbing. It really puts things in perspective to imagine how masters of the genera like Strand, Callaghan and that crew could find their way up routes with just the barest of crimper holds, faint dishes and minuscule edges. After an few modestly productive passes, the first visibly better than the second, I now know just how much work I have to do. While I managed Ego Trip 6 or 7 years ago, after a lot of effort and a brand new pair of shoes, I haven't attempted anything quite as hard since. Perhaps this is the challenge I need to get to another level. We shall see what the summer brings…
Tribute To Bill Holland:
A few days ago I got the following note from my friend Rob Adair-
"Bill Holland, a close friend of mine, perished in 1989 while descending Snowdome in the Canadian Rockies after climbing Slipstream. 21 years later his body was found a mile down the Columbia Glacier. His daughter, 6 at the time of his death, is writing a story of dealing with the aftermath of the tragedy, and dealing with the reality of his body recovery. She is trying to raise funds to complete the project. You can see her efforts and hopefully support her at this link:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/laurelholland/spindrift-the-memoir-of-a-climbers-daughter . Even if you can't afford to support the project I urge you to check it out and share it."
Here is a link to some more information about what took place -
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
Instant Bug Report:
The BugCON has remained at a 5 this week! White I was out one day when the bugs weren't too bad, with appropriate DEET, every other time it's been pretty awful. I would strongly urge bringing the bug dope everywhere you go for at least a while longer.
Peregrine Closings:
It's been a bad season for the Peregrine falcons in the area. As of last Friday closures for peregrine nesting at Rumney Rocks were removed as a result of confirmation of nesting failure this season. All of the posted closure signs should have been removed. That said, climbers and others will likely see and hear the falcons throughout the rest of the summer, but since there are no eggs or young to protect, there is no need to maintain a closure. That one was almost certainly due to heavy rains. The ledge they select for their eggs has failed in the past due to flooding. The nesting area at Dixville Notch was visited last Sunday and that pair has also failed post-hatch! Prior to that I visited the nesting area on Cathedral Ledge and that had been abandoned plus the pair at Woodchuck never did nest. Unfortunate...
This 2012 seasonal closures in New Hampshire are as follows:
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.
