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The ice has really started coming in now that we have had some consistently cold temps just like everyone knew we would. It’s always surprising just how fast ice will build with cold nights, moderate days and some snow on the ground. While we had some climbable ice last Thursday, things are much better now. Of course things happen faster up on the Mountain, and there is lots of ice up now as well. In fact both Tucks and Huntington are in very good shape right now.
My friend Bobby Graver took the ride up through the Notch with me this morning to check out how things were coming along and overall we felt it was starting to happen. Things that weren’t there yet were mostly things in the direct sun, like Fang, the Frankenstein Amphitheater and the left side of Willard. Everything else is really starting to look good.
There were about a dozen cars in the Willard lot at the top of the Notch, and the same number at Frankenstein. That’s pretty good for a Thursday IMO. We walked down the tracks at Frankenstein and wisely decided to check out Walk In The Forest, rather than go down to fight the crowds at Standard Route. There was one party on the far left side and a second walking down as we got near the top. I asked the leader of the pair coming down the trail what they had done and they responded that they tried something in the middl, but bailed because it was too thin. We checked things over and Bobby decided that there was a line in the middle that looked pretty reasonable to him, so he gave it a go. There were some thin sections, but overall the ice was protectable and he managed it in good style. I lowered him and took a run on TR and it was good. I set up a line further to the right as a TR and he took a run. Another party with an EMS guide came up and decided to lead the line Bobby had done, By now the folks on the left, Larry and Tom, were done so after Bobby rapped off we moved to the left side and I led that. I thought it was good fun and well protectable. Near the top I spotted a black and white sling with 2 biners on a tree that to my eye looked highly questionable so I went all the way to the top. I brought Bobby up and as he went by the anchor he removed it. He has some other cordalet material so we left that on the rappel tree with the 2 biners and rapped off.
All in all it was a fun day checking everything out and getting in some good climbing. I’m a bit concerned about the predicted rain on Sunday, but even so it’s going to get cold next week and I’m pretty confident that this ice is here to stay and only going to get even better.
Ice Conditions Report:
Selected Ice Conditions effective April 24, 2024
It's all over for 2023/2024.
Huntington Ravine
OUT
Repentance
OUT
Standard Route
OUT
Dracula
OUT
For the full current conditions report, CLICK
HERE
VALLEY CYCLING:
If you’re into riding in the winter, especially on a Fat Tire bike, then you’re in hog heaven right now. Right now the trails on the east side of town rare in great shape. I rode them twice this week, Sunday and Tuesday, and both times they were a gas. On Sunday I started at the Thompson Falls trailhead and rode Sticks & Stones, Pillar To Pond, Muffler Trail, Grout Trail and the Pudding’ Pond loop. The trail was solidly packed. That said it was somewhat warm, 33 degrees, and there was some running water here and there, especially on the logging road that runs alongside the Grout Trail. I did the same ride with Bobby Graver on Tuesday when temps were around 9 and there was no open water at all! I haven’t checked out the west side yet, but I’m sure that there is at least some ridable stuff in the Echo Lake area.
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
Wilderness /n./ archaic word used to refer to the space that once existed between urban areas and which is now used as a proving ground for 4-wheel drive vehicles.
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.
