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As you most surely know by now, we had another “weather event” over the past couple of days. We had 4-6 inches of snow, freezing rain, sleet, rain, up to 54 degree temps. It was brutal! And then - and then - we had a 20 degree night that turned that entire frickin’ mess into a solid mass that we lovingly call ice. Even after having a snowplow guy scrape my driveway down to the asphalt, my driveway (and all the other local roads) turned into a virtual skating rink. If it sounds like I’m getting a bit tired of this crap, well you’d be correct.
This is another short Report, because I’m tired and I know you guys want to read this. So here’s the short version of my morning taking pictures and climbing at Frankenstein. When I left the house at 8:30 it was bluebird and 26 degrees. When I paused at the Mt Washington viewing area near Arethusa Falls it was 21. At the top of Crawford Notch it was 20. When I got to the parking area at Frankenstein it was sunny, breezy and 14! When we got done climbing the far right side of Standard and back to the car it was still 14. As I paused at Sawyer River Road to take a pee, it was 24. And when I got back to the Frontside for a bit of coffee at 2, it was 31! The climbing was good. The ice was solid, tho dribbley and mushroom in places. There weren’t a lot of people there but everyone we saw that climbed Standard, except us, started from the far left side, under Standard Left. There were a lot of hikers going up to Arethusa.
There you have it. Here’s a picture of my friend Bobby just before starting up the ramp. He placed more screws than he usually does because the ice was hard.
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
VALLEY CYCLING:
Up until the rain & warmup we had what was probably some of the best winter riding I’ve experienced. Unfortunately right now things are OK, but not quite as good due to the crust and places where hikers have post-holed on the trails. However crews of us from the local NEMBA chapter have been out snowshoeing and packing them back down. Hopefully that will get them back into rideable shape n the next couple of days. Here are a few pictures from just before the weather event.
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
All ice is dangerous.
Grade 4 pillars are pumpy.
Grade 5 pillars are pumpy and dangerous.
Except for certain rare days of triple-high biorythms and favorable planetary alignments, grade 6 is beyond reach.
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.
