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It’s incredibly amazing that we have gone throughout least 3 full ice-out episodes this winter. After 24 more hours of warm and drenching rain, over 2 inches Wednesday night, it’s hard to imagine things coming all the way back. I posted a video on Facebook taken of the Saco River this morning at 9AM. It looks just like the spring thaw that we normally see in late March! It’s over the banks into the field and the ice is banging on the bridge abutments. It’s incredible. I had to hang at the house until after noon, waiting for the fog to burn off so I could drive up into the notch to see what’s going on. And even at 12:30 the fog was too thick to see anything in the Valley.
When I took off I was skeptical that I would be able to see anything, so I was surprised when I got up near Sawyer River Road and all of a sudden it lifted, and for a bit was actually sunny! Needless to say I was surprised to see just how much ice was left after the rains, yet not too surprised to see the devastation. I’m not going to go into too much detail because you can look at the pictures for yourselves. I think that the reason things aren’t any worse is simply due to the lack of sun, It’s certainly not due to the temperature, ‘cause it was 52 at Elephant Head at 2 PM! SHEESH!!!
I don’t know how much rain they got up in the notch, but we got close to 2 inches in the last 24 hours. The Saco and Swift rivers are looking like something from the April thaws. At First Bridge the river was over its banks and coming into Hussey Field at 4:30 PM it’s expected to crest later. Stay tuned…
Ice Conditions Report:
Selected Ice Conditions effective January 16, 2020
These pictures and today's Report is actually from 1/15, Wednesday. I knew it was going to be snowing almost all day today and I would not be able to take any pictures, so I went up to the Notch yesterday, figuring that 24 hours would make very little difference. I was pleasantly surprised at how much ice survived the 3 days of record temps and rain. In spite of everything the weather threw at us, there is still ice to climb and while the Frankenstein Amphitheater looks even worse, there are still options. This is a time to be cautious due to possible delamination, but if you want to get out and climb, you can. Just be aware that the next several days will be VERY cold, so dress appropriately and beware of what will likely be some very brittle ice.
Huntington Ravine
options - beware avalanche danger
Repentance
OUT
Standard Route
OK but top is a mess again
Dracula
kind of OK but top out bad!
For the full current conditions report, CLICK
HERE
VALLEY CYCLING:
One day great riding, another a mess. After a lot of work by locals with snowshoes they were back to good, and now we’re back to slush. I got out Wednesday morning before the rains started at around 9 and took a quick lap around Sticks & Stones, with a side detour on a bit of Pillar To Pond. As I was coming back the rain started and now everything is fully SLUSH! I expect them to be that way at least until Friday, and maybe longer. Please stay off the trails until they, hopefully, firm back up.
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.
