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I’ve been doing a lot of house-related stuff this past week. We had some damage to our vinyl siding in a big wind storm in mid-March that required re-sidning the front of the house and doing some patchwork in the back. It was kind of a big job. Because of what had to be done I had to remove the webcam wiring and reroute it into the house in a very different manner. That’s why the webcam was down for the past couple of days. I also found that there was a problem with the server that uploads the weather station data, and that is now [hopefully] resolved.
When I pulled the webcam out of it’s wooden enclosure, I was surprised to see just how rotten the mount it was attached to was. It was actually a real mess, and on top of that there was the remains of a squirrel nest in the insulation that we’d wrapped around the DotWorks heated dome. I gotta think that they probably had huddled there in the winter for the warmth. Here’s what it looked like when I pulled it out and the mess they made:
In addition there were bugs and a spider web that were inside the dome. If you look past the reflection of the house and at the bottom of the image you can see them:
Here’s some shots of the cam in its dome after I pulled it all off the tree, the new wire run into the house through the siding (I calked it with silicone afterwards), and the upgraded mounting system. Arguably I should have painted it, but it’s either PT or outdoor plywood so it should be OK
After I got it all working I also updated the various shots that it takes. While I was doing that I spotted a climber on the Recompense beast Flake pitch and got these 2 shots. Not too bad IMO.
It’s Gunks Time:
So I’m leaving tomorrow for George and my annual spring trip to the Shawngunks. We go every Spring and Fall and we’ve been looking forward to this trip for a while. George is climbing great tho I’m still nursing a badly sprained finger, but I’m sure we will find some fun things to do. If you see 2 old guys wandering around please stop & say hi.
Ice Conditions Report:
Selected Ice Conditions effective February 25, 2021
It really does feel a little more like mid-March than late February right now, tho this really has to do with a couple of sunny days with temps in the 40's. Of course that's not really a bad thing, as long as it stays cool at night and we don't get any rain. But stay tuned... In general tho the ice is in good shape right now, with a few exceptions where the climbs have been in full sun over the past couple of warm days. The thing to be aware of is that there are places where the ice is punky and snowcone-like or has become undermined. But as long as you are paying attention, you'll be OK. Frankly early to mid-March is really my favorite time to climb. There's nothing like those longer days, more moderate temps and plastic ice. And the occasional warm day when you can get out on some warm early-season rock! What's not to like?
Huntington Ravine
IN
Repentance
questionable
Standard Route
IN
Dracula
IN fat
For the full current conditions report, CLICK
HERE
Cycling Notes:
I’ve ridden almost all the local trails in the past 2 weeks, and all are reasonably dry and rideable. IMO the only mud is where it’s usually muddy. On Wednesday a friend and I rode up the Red Tail Trail, down the Cranmore Connector, down the back side of Cranmore and back to the water tank through Crown Ridge. Overall it was generally dry and very rideable, tho there was some mud on Cranmore and the Crown Ridge section wasn't great. In addition, there were at least 5 large trees down on the RT and 2 or 3 on the Connector. The latter in the section from Kettle Ridge to Cranmore. These are trees that will take a chain saw to remove. You aren't going to get them out using a folding saw folks! Here’s a couple of pix of the ride:
Instant Bug Report - BugCON 0:
Still no biting blackflies or mosquitoes up here, tho I’m seeing them occasionally. That said, I’ve been encountering ticks in a variety of places including Humphrey’s and some of the mountain bike rides I’ve been doing like the Red Trail Trail off Hurricane Mountain Road. You want to be sure to check yourself thoroughly for ticks if you’re out in the woods now. I’m sure that the b/f will be coming out as soon as we get some rain so prepare yourself. [sigh]
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 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:
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.
