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It's Thanksgiving already. And of course the question of the day is rather unsurprisingly, what am I thankful for? Personally I am thankful for my health, for my ability to still climb rock and ice at 70, for the desire to be able to go out and pound some miles on the bike, to be able to play my bass every day, for my son, as ornery and obstreperous as he often is, and yes even for the 23 years I've spent with my soon to be ex-wife.
For all of this I am truly grateful. What about you? The things I am thankful this 23rd day of November are't really all that unusual I would assume. It's just that as I get older I find myself actually articulating them.
THANKSGIVING ICE:
While I didn't check the ice conditions today, Turkey day, I did check yesterday. I got up to a somewhat dreary morning and was hoping for something more than the proverbial "taking the tools for a walk." Unfortunately what I found wasn't hugely encouraging. There isn't anything in the Valley that was much more than a skim over granite. Considering how nice the mountain biking has been the past several days, that was to be expected.
I had higher hopes for Crawford Notch, but temps weren't as low as I had expected. At Arethusa the car thermometer read 30, so I was slightly hopeful. I drove up a bit just to check on Standard and since there WAS ice I decided a walk was in order. Only one car was to be seen, but I thought that they might be hiking up to the falls. It did look as if there had been tracks from the previous afternoon or that morning, they clearly went in and out.
I wasn't encouraged looking at the Amphitheater from the trestle. In fact it was pretty depressing. There were just drools here & there and nothing that would want to stand next to. The mixed and slab areas were bad as well. Standard looks a bit better, tho there were holes here and there and lots of water running. Like last week I thought I might be able to scratch my way to the cave so I hiked up to the base. That brought things into perspective, and the perspective wasn't good. Most everything was just plastered to rock with water running behind it. The groove on the right that I often go up looked horrible and as I stood there bits and pieces of upper drools fell off. That sealed the deal for me and back to the tracks I went.
I had seen that there looked to be ice in Lost In The Forest so I decided that would be worth checking. I walked back down the tracks and headed ip. It didn't look as if anyone had been up there this year. As I got up closer, it looked worse and worse. I kept telling myself that I'd be able to manage a line on the left or right, but in ways it was thinner than Standard! Optimistically I thought I could eek out a line on the left so I got out the crampons and axes. After only about 15' of scratching, I gave up. It simply wasn't worth the effort and risk.
Well it's still very early in the season so I'm not depressed yet. Lower elevation ice doesn't usually actually come IN until mid to late December. So I'll just keep checking and in the meantime riding my bike.
Check for others pix on the web site and FaceBook.
Ice Conditions Report:
Selected Ice Conditions effective April 24, 2024
It's all over for 2023/2024.
Huntington Ravine
OUT
Repentance
OUT
Standard Route
OUT
Dracula
OUT
For the full current conditions report, CLICK
HERE
2017/2018 FUNDRAISER:
I've put out The White Mountain Report consistently since 1998, 18 years! Can you believe it? I sure can't. Just like I can't believe that I'll be 70 years old pretty soon!!! regardless, I would hope you find that the value of the weekly White Mountain Report and NEClimbs.com web site enough to warrant making a small donation to support the site. Absolutely any amount is welcome, so please take a minute to help support NEClimbs and The White Mountain Report. It's easy, just go ON LINE and make your donation via PayPal. You don't need a PayPal account, you can use almost any credit card. Just click the link below:
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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:
What can I say, it's all great right now. Lots of the trails are leaf blown and are packed well, even where there's a little snow. But right now that's pretty much gone too. Here's 3 pics over the past week. It just gets better.
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
Climb if you will, but remember that courage and strength are naught
without prudence, and that a momentary negligence may destroy the
happiness of a lifetime. Do nothing in haste; look well to each step;
and from the beginning think what may be the end.
Edward Whymper, 1865, the first ascent of the Matterhorn
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.
