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Oh boy, oh boy oh boy!!! In case you haven't heard, and I gotta wonder where were you if you didn't, we're in for IT. What is IT, why Snowmageddon II of course! I just gotta laugh when I see all the crazy talk that's all over the media these daze. If I didn't know better, I'd think we live in the middle of the Sahara Desert and this will be the first snow in 300 years. This is New England folks. While we haven't had a snow like this one in 2 years, that's only because we had basically NO snow last year. Just slow the heck down when driving and make sure you're paid up with your snowplow guy and you'll be just fine.
Of course the above rant is about just the normal dealing with this storm in your day to day existence here in NH. From a mountaineering, climbing, backcountry skiing and general outdoor recreational activity standpoint, it's a bit of a different story. Below are some excerpts from today's Mt Washington Avalanche Center advisory by Ranger Frank Carrus.
AVALANCHE ADVISORY
Huntington Ravine and Tuckerman Ravine avalanche danger will increase from LOW to CONSIDERABLE today. All forecast areas will have CONSIDERABLE avalanche danger. Natural avalanches will be possible and human-triggered avalanches likely. Careful snowpack evaluation, cautious route-finding and conservative decision-making are essential.
Wind and snowfall rates will intensify this evening and overnight with large or widespread natural avalanches occurring.
Avalanche danger will rapidly increase through the afternoon and evening hours. Travel in avalanche terrain near and after dark is not recommended.
Safe travel today will be all about timing and keeping an eye on rates of snowfall, ridgetop winds, and other people above you acting as triggers. A hard, icy bed surface will make self-arrest and escape from even a small avalanche very difficult.
Threading the needle today to play safely in the mountains may be possible but the margin for error is extremely slim. Expect avalanche danger to continue to increase tonight and through tomorrow as west winds ramp up and load the expected 20-30” of snow into east facing terrain.
I had a conversation with Brad White of IMCS this morning and we agree that this is going to present some significant objective dangers for those wanting to go climbing over the next several days. While the places we all like to climb USUALLY are immune to dangers from avalanches, this level of snowstorm PLUS the hard pack we have on ethics's ground significantly changes the dynamic. While it can certainly happen with less, when you get snowfalls in the 6-12"+ range, all bets are off. Willies Slide, Shoestring or any of the Willard gullies or slabs, Cinema and the ledge above it, the approach to Great Madness, the Black Dike approach and of course all of Mt Washington are to be considered suspect. But avalanches can even happen at Waterfall, either of the cascades in Crawford Notch, and believe it or not even the Thresher Slab at Cathedral Ledge. FWIW I've actually seen the latter happen and it was actually lucky that no one got injured!
With this amount of snowfall, it's going to be several days before things settle down. If you're going to be out in it, you need to be very aware of our surroundings. Word to the wise folks!!!
WEDNESDAY'S CLIMBING:
As I do a couple of times a year I got to climbing with my friend Martin from NY. We've been doing this for many years and it's always great to see him and enjoy the fellowship of the rope with him. His wife dropped him at the house at around 9AM on her way to go skiing at Bretton Woods and we headed up to Frankenstein. It was a balmy 33 degrees when we got there and there were a dozen or so cars in the upper lot. I wasn't even going to consider walking down to Standard Route so we headed into the Amphitheater. Bob's and Cave Route had been in last week, but no more. On top of that Smear looked very thin and parts of the main pillars on Pegasus and several sections of Chia were down. There was a lot of water flowing on Pegasus as well!
Fortunately there was no one on the Hobbit Couloir, so we jumped on it. I led up the gully pitch, and it was a bit more funky than I expected. There was exposed rock just above the start. Where it becomes more vertical about at the halfway point, the ice narrowed to a runnel and it was very brittle. I took a swing and knocked a large hunk out, which encouraged me to back down a few feet and take the left exit onto the right side of the main face and use that to get to the rock belay. Martin followed and since he's never done it, I gave him the lead. As is usually the case, it was in great shape and good fun. There was even some ice covering the rock on the top-out which made it much more enjoyable.
While he was leading the rock pitch, I looked closely at Hobbit. It was running water and looked significantly harder than usual, so I suggested that we just throw a rope on it and give it a run on TR. We did that and it was as I had imagined. It would have been very difficult to protect and I was just as happy not to have led it this time. From there we walked off, grabbed a snack and decided to do Chia. We did rock-paper-scissors for the lead and I won, but gave it to him since he doesn't get to climb ice all that often. He headed up the ramp, with a bit of grossing about the noises that the ice was making. He did a great job and I followed, something I don't do all that often. It's always interesting for me following, I do it so rarely. I feel totally comfortable leading or even soloing, but for some reason I always feel a bit wonky seconding - go figure! Following a rising traverse always makes me aware of how well the leader has to protect to make the second feel comfortable. Regardless, I managed it, in what I think was pretty good form.
I must note here that Chia had some funky spots. As I mentioned above, there were numerous places where the ice sounded quite hollow. There was also a place at about the halfway point where you traverse under some daggers hanging over some exposed black rock that I didn't like. I was happy to move quickly through that section. Then about 3/4 of the way there is a place where the rock is actually exposed and you have to do a step-across. Couple that with the fact that there is only a single place that you can safely top-out and I would have to say that I would not recommend this climb until it fills in again and the water stops flowing quite so much.
FUNDRAISER WINDUP 2016/2017:
The fundraiser has started off fairly slowly, with only 26 people participating at this time. [YIKES] The Fundraiser is officially over. Thanks to the 59 individuals and the 1 organization sponsor who contributed. I sincerely appreciate it. If you want to contribute, of course you can do so at any time. Simply click here:
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Ice Conditions Report:
Selected Ice Conditions effective March 21, 2024
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:
The riding was fairly good this week, this a little soft in sunny areas. Unfortunately this snowfall is going to shut things down until the snowmobiles get going and the locals get out packing with their snowshoes. Stay tuned...
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:
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Remember - climb hard, ride the steep stuff, stay safe and above all BE NICE,
Al Hospers
The White Mountain Report
North Conway, New Hampshire
Wilderness /n./ archaic word used to refer to the space that once existed between urban areas and which is now used as a proving ground for 4-wheel drive vehicles.
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.
