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So we’ve apparently transitioned from fall to winter in a matter of a few days. A week ago temps were moderate and days were sunny. But now it’s cloudy and cold, and we’ve actually gotten some desperately needed rain. On the positive side, if you’re one of those who have been Jonesing for ice season, we’ve had a dump of snow and ice in the higher elevations. There’s even skiable snow at places like Bretton Woods. WOO WOO…
As always there are those who have to grab the earliest possible ice-ascents of the classics like the Black Dike and Pinnacle Gully. This year it was Keith Sidle and Peter Doucette on the Dike and Zak St. Jules solo of Pinnacle. Does that mean that ice season in the North Country has officially begun? Considering that there is only some pretty sketchy ice in the upper elevations, I would have to personally say NOT YET. Especially since the boyz only placed 4 screws in the climb! Based on the chilly weather we’ve been having this past week, there is no doubt winter is on her way. However, it’s going to take some snow or a lot of rain to give us any early season ice in the lower elevations.
I know I keep talking about the rain, or lack thereof. Southern New England has been in serious drought status all summer, but this week NH State officials announced that Conway is now on the list of NH towns in SEVERE drought conditions! While to visitors it doesn’t seem to make a whole lot of difference, to those who live here, it’s really a fact of life now. George Walker, the the town Emergency Management Director is now asking residents and businesses to conserve water. A number of people with private wells have seen them run dry, or be very low.
How does this affect ice climbers? Basically the lack of ground water means that the early season climbs on Cathedral and at Frankenstein that depend on flowing water, won’t be forming. I was up in Crawford Notch a few weeks ago and the cliffs were all bone dry! In addition the pond at the Willey House was almost all dry and the upper Saco is very low. I looked at Ripley Falls and it too was a mere trickle of itself. You can look at the pictures I took of Crawford Notch this morning and see what I mean. There is literally nothing at Frankenstein, and only some minimal dribbles on Mt Willard. Fortunately there is some rain the forecast for this weekend, but then it’s going to warm up a bit. And actually it would take more than 16 inches of rain to get rid of the drought. So that isn’t likely to help all that much. Our best bet is for snow and continuous cold. Stay tuned…
GUNKS FINALE:
Although George and my trip to the Gunks was cut short due to weather, we did get in quick run up Disneyland in the Nears Thursday morning. Tho much of the rock was wet, pitch 1 is under the roof and was completely dry. I led it, a wallow as usual, and brought George up. He looked around and decided he wanted to try an obvious line that went up and left, out around the nose to a pin and then to a crack. I couldn’t confirm what it was from my phone guidebook and was skeptical, but George wanted to give it a go. Of course just as he got up past the pin, it started to rain! [sigh] He backed down to the pin, examined it pretty carefully, and decided he would have me lower off the single pin. I wasn’t happy, but he seemed confident, so I did it. I backed him up off my anchor, but he went to the ground uneventfully. There is not a fixed anchor where I was so I had to either leave gear or rap off the same single pin! What to do, what to do? I decided I would rap from the same pin, however after I set myself up and before I removed my anchor, I bounce tested the pin. It seemed fine, and of course it held for him, so I VERY carefully did the same thing. I HATE doing this kind of thing, but sometimes you don’t really have a choice. I was in the same position with Brad up on Willeys Slide this summer and we both rapped off a single nut and old baby angle! It’s something that you do your best to avoid, but sometimes you have limited options and have to do what you have to do. Here’s a few pictures.
BROKEN BOLTS:
I got a picture from a good friend of a bolt hanger that had broken on a recently-bolted climb on Canada Cliffs in Acadia. It happened when someone took a whipper on the last bolt of the climb. Needless to say this made for an exciting finish! I haven’t been to this area, but as I understand it it’s not on the ocean, so salt water corrosion should not be the issue. This hanger was manufactured by a company called “Climb X”. I’ve never seen their stuff before, but that doesn’t mean anything. HOWEVER, if you do a Google search on “climb x bolt problems” you will see numerous links to problems with these hangers. You should make your own decisions, but I am going to stick with the Petzl and FIXE bolts and hangers that the Perez’s and I have been using for our routes over the years. And I probably will avoid climbs that use those bolts!
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:
I’ve ridden several times this week. Tho it’s been cold, just like with all winter outdoors activities, with the right clothes on you’re just fine. I spent 90 minutes one day at the Marshall property and another similar time over on the trails behind Walmart. To me, the only downside of riding at this time of year is that the leaves cover the features in places, and on downhill trails like Shumway at the Marshall property they can be slippery. But honestly, this is a great time to be out on the bike and I’m even looking forward to riding my fat tire bike in the snow like I did last year.
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:
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.
