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My goodness, hasn't spring come on with a huge rush? We've gone from winter to full-on spring conditions and I'm excited! Sure, I love winter and ice season, but this has been a long one and frankly I'm ready for the change. One fortunate thing is that we haven't had the torrential rains that sometime accompany the switchover to warmer weather. We all have been expecting a big mud season, but that may not happen. My back yard has gone from 5+ feet of packed snow to under 3 feet and it's all soaking right into the ground. And so far the streams and rivers have just gradually risen, without the huge jams and blocks of ice that we got last year. You know what? I'll take it!
And I'll take days like last Friday when I managed to get one of those rare 4-season- sport days that I so covet. I climbed the first pitch of Standard Route, rode the bike up to the top of Crawford Notch, skied Mt Clinton Road to the base Road and back and did an hour on the boulders at Humphrey's. It really doesn't get a whole lot better than that!
Although I knew what the ice conditions in Crawford Notch were, abysmal, I decided to run up and take a last series of pictures to round out the season. While I was there I figured I would get some exercise by hiking up to see what was up with Willie's. Just like I figured, it was a giant mostly-firm snow-cone! I figured that, unless I managed to get in a trip up to Huntington, it would probably be my last ice of this season so I said "What the heck…" and ran up it. As I went I used the opportunity to clean off all the v-threads I spotted - 5 of 'em! It made me feel like I was doing a bit of community service. Good excuse to go climbing, right?. [grin] All in all it was a perfect morning and I'm glad I did it.
As I was coming by Humphrey's on the way home I spotted a couple of cars and stopped up the road to see what was up. Turns out there was someone on the second pitch of Wanderlust. As far as I'm concerned, the ice season is over. It's been a great one for me and I hope it was for you as well. I can't say that I'm looking forward to next year 'cause I'm just looking forward to warm rock right now, and that's OK by me.
A quick note about the Report - I've gone up to the Notch every Thursday but open this winter and brought back pictures and descriptions of the climbs. I hope that you have enjoyed and appreciated them. If you did, and you haven't put in a donation to support NEClimbs and the White Mountain Report, perhaps this would be a good time. Just a thought - [wry grin]
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
There's pretty much nothing left to climb, but here's what I saw… There will be more on NEClimbs tomorrow and our FaceBook page later today:
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:
Remember - climb hard, ride the steep stuff, stay safe and above all BE NICE,
Al Hospers
The White Mountain Report
North Conway, New Hampshire
This is how they die, I thought. They pass out or freeze without caring. They die as spectators, believing it's all happening to someone else. I'd rather be fully alive and awake when I die, I want to be terrified. The last place I want to snuff it is on a slope no steeper than a beginner's ski hill.
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.