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I woke up this morning to more rain after a solid day of rain, a day of dense warm fog and another night of rain. It was Xmas eve day and frankly I was in no mood for what I was seeing. Clearly Santa wasn’t going to be bringing me what I most desired, winter! [sigh] I know I’ve been trying my best to put on my best face about the weather we’ve been having, but it’s getting hard to do now. Sure I have things I can do outdoors like riding, hiking and rock climbing, but like you folks I’m definitely ready for the ICE!
That said, in spite of the weather some folks have managed to eat out a little ice, and even a bit in the lower elevations. The couple of days of chilly temps made some ice form up in Huntington and Tucks on Sunday & Monday. It was interesting was ice formed in the Black Dike, Fafnir and on some of the gullies on Franconia Ridge.
But even more interesting was that although there was barely a speck of ice at Frankenstein, Shoestring Gully came in for a day! Go figure… And if you are really Jonesing, you can grab something in Cathedral Cave like Shawn Bunnell and Ben Maxfield did!
Of course on those “cold” days the temps here in the Valley were just above freezing! [sheesh] I propose that we all to genuflect in whatever direction the ice gods live in, perhaps making an offering of a burnt ice ax instead of a fattened cow. Regardless, there WILL be ice sooner or later. Let’s just hope that it happens sooner, rather than later!
Ice Conditions Report:
Selected Ice Conditions effective March 21, 2019
It's been a wonderful ice season, but Spring is officially here folks. Thus the sun is strong so it's warm during the day, but it's cold at night. And of course that means that climbs in the full sun are crap, but anything in the shade can still be good and maybe even building a bit. Sure, Standard Route is still massive, but the ice isn't all that good IMO. I was up there today and thought the ice above the cave was punky! Climbs in the reflector oven that is the Amphitheater are a mess now and honestly in my mind it's not a smart place to be. We're entering a time when the best climbing will be up high in the Ravine. And of course the longer days make it a great time to be up there. From here on out I'm only going to be posting pictures of things I think are in climbable shape, and that's a dwindling supply.
Huntington Ravine
IN mostly
Repentance
OUT
Standard Route
climbable, but getting punky
Dracula
IN - bring your snorkle
For the full current conditions report, CLICK
HERE
Ice or not, I want to wish all of you a HAPPY EVERYTHING, to steal a turn of phrase from Adam Sandler.
VALLEY CYCLING:
I rode on the east side of town a couple of times this week in between the rains, and in general it was still good. Two great rids are the Rattlesnake Ridge and Sidehill. Both have some leaves, but you can still make out the trail with ease and the roots aren’t bad. Just keep on riding that singletrack until the snows come! And then break out the fat tire bike.
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:
Al Hospers
The White Mountain Report
North Conway, New Hampshire
Lightly hazed in blue mist, the tiny, clustered town - pale pebbles and mica flashes of light - was no more than stony shingle at the bottom of a deep pool.
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.
