NEClimbs - information for New Hampshire, Maine and Vermont rock and ice climbers
IceCON 4. Climbs are IN at the usual places and generally at consensus ratings.
4 out of a possible 5
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March 17, 2016

Hi Folks,

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:

dracula.jpg
pegasus.jpg
standardRoute.jpg
willies.jpg
MtWashington.jpg

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:

Cathedral_NorthEnd.jpg
Whitehorse.jpg
Whitehorse_middle.jpg

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 February 19, 2026
Just as you would expect following Ice Fest AND a week of truly balmy temps, going to be upper 30's today, the ice can be a mixed bag. I saw someone post about how things are terrible. But digging into it, I realized they were talking about places like the North End that are very well used. It probably gets the most use of all. There are only a few places that have really easy access to moderate climbing and where you can set up a bunch of top-ropes. So that's not unexpected. And of course the climbs that are getting a lot of full sun are getting somewhat punked-out. On my way back from Wolfeboro mid-afternoon a few days ago I took a look at Rainbow Slabs which look as if they are getting pretty funky. And I watched a hunk of the bottom of Way In The Wilderness fall down! IMO it's really the time to start paying attention to what you're walking underneath, any time of the day. Enjoy this weather, but keep paying attention...
Huntington Ravine numerous options  
Repentance iffy  
Standard Route GREAT conditions Click to see route picture.
Dracula IN & very fat Click to see route picture.
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.

Bike_BearNotch
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:

http://www.neclimbs.com/mobile

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:

http://www.facebook.com/NEClimbs/

Remember - climb hard, ride the steep stuff, stay safe and above all BE NICE,

Al Hospers
The White Mountain Report
North Conway, New Hampshire


Being out on lead is like having a loaded gun pointed at your head all day !
Russ "The Fish" Walling
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