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I took a last ride up to Crawford Notch this morning, partly to see how much of the ice had come down, and partly to grab another early season road bike ride. It’s either been cold or raining on and off the past several days so I haven’t been exactly inspired to go rock climbing. Instead I’ve used the time to put in some extra gym hours and time on the road bike when I can grab an hour here and there. You have to take what you can get. [wry grin]
Tho it started off foggy and raining this morning, it was 56 degrees and sunny when I rode by Frankenstein. I was somewhat surprised that there actually were more fragments of ice here & there. Needless to say there was nothing remotely climbable, and the water was roaring. I could hear it from the road, in-between the cars. Here are some pictures for your interest:
I know I keep saying this, but I have to repeat it again - there is a lot of ice still hanging out here and there above the climbs on both Cathedral & Whitehorse. I would stay away from much of Cathedral Ledge and anything other than the South Buttress of Whitehorse for a while. Humphrey’s looks pretty darn clear, as does Sundown and of course places like Shell Pond and Longstack. Stick to those and you should be good. Here are some pix of some of the ice danger for your edification:
MAJAKA BURHARDT SLIDESHOW - NAMULI:
Join local climbers and filmmakers Majka Burhardt and Sarah Garlick at their hometown North Conway premiere of Namuli-- a community-backed film about the spirit of exploration and what happens when a team of rock climbers, biologists, and conservationists set off on an unconventional expedition into one of the world's least-explored and most-threatened habitats.
March 19 @ IME 7PM
See the trailer and learn more at www.namulifilm.com
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
INSTANT ICE REPORT:
This is the last ice report of this season. As I mentioned above, there is nothing left to climb anywhere in the lower elevations. While there is ice on the Mountain, it is rapidly degenerating as well. If you do go up there, you most certainly need to be very vigilant. In addition you should be aware that in many places the snowfields are like sheets of ice. There were two accidents over last weekend within 2 hours of each other that left both victims with life-threatening injuries and requiring helicopter evacuation! Even if you are just hiking, be cautious please.
VALLEY CYCLING:
Yup, the snow biking is done for the year. However we are rapidly moving toward regular mountain bike weather. All we need is for the trails to dry out a bit and we’ll be good to go. In the meantime I have been getting out every few days on the road bike while there aren’t a lot of cars around. Last week I rode around town, over in Jackson and up the Kanc. There was a lot of sand on the Jackson roads and some of the Kanc road was pretty funky. I got in a ride today up in Crawford Notch from the WIlley House to Mt. Clinton Road and back. There was no sand on that road and the pavement was in surprisingly good shape. I checked out Mt Clinton Road and it is rideable all the way to the Base Road. I also looked at bear Notch and it should be passable in about a week.
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.
