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I was out on Star Island in the Isle Of Shoals all weekend and as always it was a wonderful experience. If you've never been out there, I highly recommend it. I go there this time every year and believe it or not I always get in a little climbing, besides playing 4 days of almost constant music. I simply don't know how much better a vacation can be.
There is really nothing quite like bouldering on these fantastic outcroppings right by the ocean. I look forward to a couple of hours doing this every year.
I was hoping to get out for a climb on something here in the Valley when I returned, but it was almost not to be. None of my regular partners were available and I had almost given up, when I got a text message from my friend Matt Bowman. He and his lovely wife Jenna were planning to climb Thin Air Thursday morning and I basically invited myself along. [wry grin] Amazingly there was no one on the cliff at all and we ran up the climb in good time. I rarely follow climbs and it was a total blast to play the "third client". We topped out, traversed over to the Saigon anchors and rapped. It doesn't get a whole lot better than this.
BTW - tho it has been warm, and will be so through the rest of the week, the weather is definitely changing. I'm seeing the leaves in places starting to turn and it's clear that fall is starting to peek over the horizon.
IMPORTANT!!!!!:
I received a very disturbing email just before I went away on my vacation regarding anchors. according to the person who sent it, he has found some anchors that apparently have been deliberately made unsafe. I have no way to verify this information, but regardless it brings up something that we all should do on a regular basis, which is examine any and all fixed anchors BEFORE we clip in or rappel from them. While I have never personally seen any that were sabotaged, I have seen many that were basically worn out or damaged by animals. Simply assuming that an anchor is good, is a bad idea - most especially when the outcome of an anchor failing can be catastrophic.
FWIW I received the information in a .DOCX file, which I was unable to convert to something more useable than a JPG. Regardless, here it is. Make of it what you will...
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
Dracula
IN & very fat
For the full current conditions report, CLICK
HERE
MOUNT WASHINGTON VALLEY ICE FEST 2018:
In case you had forgotten, the 25 annual Ice Fest is coming up. Mark February 2-4 on your calendars and stay tuned. It's going to be a good one!
VALLEY CYCLING:
No rain to speak of and unsurprisingly the trails are bone dry. I've been doing a variety of loops lately and one of them takes me over to the Redstone Quarry. If you haven't ridden there, I highly recommend it. It's a beautiful and unique place with some amazing artifacts of a different time. Here's a picture:
INSTANT BUG REPORT:
It's hard to imagine it, but I think for the most part the bug season, even the mosquitoes, is pretty much done for. That is unless 3 days of rain gives those pesky blood suckers a place to breed again. I'll see what we get after the weekend and perhaps make a downgrade. At least I hope that is the case.
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.
