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Well... It's been a hell of a winter and a hell of an ice season to boot. It started out fairly mediocre, got better, got good, went to total crap with many climbs simply falling down, got better, got good, and now is falling down once again. Goofers fell down 3 times, the most recent being yesterday, and Diagonal at least 4 times! Only a few climbs didn't fall down at all, one of them being Standard Route and the other Dracula. Go figure...
Until today I could feel pretty good telling people that "if you were careful, you could still find safe ice to climb." However, I din't think that is a reasonable thing to say going forward. and most certainly not in the lower elevations. It's been above freezing at night the past couple, it's 40 degrees and raining right now, predictions are for .5 to 1.5" of rain over the next 24-36 hours and to top that off it's likely to be in the mid-60's to mid-70's for several days starting at the beginning of the week! A development that's not really conducive to ice formation, much less ice climbing.
Honestly I was ready to call ice season DONE a couple of weeks ago after we had the 10 day warmup. I was glad that I didn't because I would have been quite wrong. However, on April 6th, I have to face the facts. Thus, not that I am the sole arbiter of the state of the ice, I am declaring Ice Season 2017 to be OUT. Now I'm sure that someone will get out there and climb something down in ethics's lower elevations sometime this week and protest that it was GREAT! And perhaps it was. And perhaps they will manage to squeak in something, not have it fall down on them and they will be ecstatic and have to let everyone know. That said, IMNSHO most of the climbs, for certain down here in the Valley and most likely in the Notch, are either toast or in such poor shape that I think it's a bad idea to climb them. I've talked about this with a number of local guides and guide services and they agree. It's simply a bad idea to try to ride this dead horse. It's time to head for the Gunks, Seneca or the Red for some warm rock.
And while you certainly could head up into the higher elevations for spring ice, with this rain you still need to be very careful of conditions. There is going to be significant avalanche danger off and on for a while and open places in the ice. BE AWARE!!
This is also a time when one needs to be aware of the ice that's above you on ANY of the cliffs, not just at Frankenstein. If you are considering climbing at the South Buttress of Cathedral or Humphrey's, you should look carefully for any hidden ice. Climbing anywhere on Cathedral or Whitehorse right of the Atlantis Corner is really a bad idea. And as always, the North End cracks are a death trap, and will remain so until we have some lengthy warm rains to clear off the Unicorn ledge. Here are a few pictures of some potentially problematic areas:
I hope that everyone has had a good and safe ice season. And of course I want to thank everyone who helped to support NEClimbs and the White Mountain Report. Hopefully you found it useful. And if you didn't contribute, I'd appreciate it if you took a minute to do so. Here is a link that will lead you to our Donation page:
Unlike some other climbing sites, NEClimbs and the White Mountain Report don't go away in the warmer months. Stay tuned because we'll be around with some interesting and hopefully entertaining weekly postings and emails. All the best...
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
Additional pictures are here on the web site and on facebook.
VALLEY CYCLING:
Right now it's too soft and slushy to ride. Believe me, if I could I would. I checked out Sawyer River Road this morning, but it wouldn't have been fun. If we get several days of sunny and warm weather I would bet that places like Sidehill would be rideable in short order. 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:
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:
Remember - climb hard, ride the steep stuff, stay safe and above all BE NICE,
Al Hospers
The White Mountain Report
North Conway, New Hampshire
Lightly hazed in blue mist, the tiny, clustered town - pale pebbles and mica flashes of light - was no more than stony shingle at the bottom of a deep pool.
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.
