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In case you didn't know, we got a real big snow dump on Tuesday. From what I understand it was all up & down the east coast. North Conway got darn close to 12", Crawford Notch 14" and Mr PC measured 18" in Randolph!!! Everybody I know is doing their best to get in some turns before the weekend. Not at all surprising aye?
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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!
For the full current conditions report, CLICK
HERE
ICE, OR NOT:
The 10 year old NEClimbs van was starting to get funky so I got a new-to-me car last weekend. So if you see a Twilight Blue Outback parked somewhere with NECLMB license tags, that's me. ;-) I drove it up for look-see today and it was just fine. I was wondering what I would see, since things weren't too good last week. It's been a lot colder and tho things aren't great, I wasn't too disappointed. If you look through the pics you will see ice forming up in the Notch. Unfortunately nothing is happening down here, but that's not all that surprising.
There were a bunch of cars in the Arethusa lot, but I didn't see many folks out climbing. I think several were headed to Arethusa Falls instead. I had spotted a climber on Standard as I took my pictures, so I figured I may be able to get the crampons and tools on something so I grabbed pack & poles and headed down the tracks. I ran into Charlie Townsend from Synnott Mountain Guides with 2 clients in tow headed for the trestle slab. It didn't look good, but I knew he would manage to pull something together. When I got to Standard there was a leader halfway up so I figured I could manage something. I didn't put on mat crampons and the trail from the tracks up to the base was very icy so I was slipping all over the place. Word to the wise...
I chatted up the second as he was finishing his belay and decided I would give the right side gully a try since it looked as if someone had either climbed it or rapped it. There was some ice at the start and I got up about 10' fairly easily. Everything was snow covered and it required a lot of brushing and tapping to find any ice. At about 20' or so I realized that the obvious line was actually snow covered rock and I had to make some moves to the right that would have been very difficult to reverse [ARRRGH] At around 40' another party came up and started flaking their rope. It turns out that it was someone I knew - Chris, owner of the Boston Rock Gym, with his son up from school in Tennessee. It took a lot of tapping and careful moves, especially actually getting into the cave, to get to the rings on the right side. [WHEW] Needless to say I DO NOT recommend this variation. I had a couple of screws with me just in case, but they would have been of no use at all. It definitely held my full attention, but it was great to get out and swing and kick. PS - good thing I had my tools with the old picks!
BAND M LEDGE ACCESS RESTORED:
Thanks to efforts by the Access Fund and Friends of the Ledges Band M Ledge in Madison, NH has been reopened to recreational climbing.
"Access Fund and Friends of the Ledges worked with the Coleman family to formalize a climbing management agreement that re-opens the access point and their portion of the ledge—from The Steps Area to Bandit Area—for recreational climbing. Access Fund currently holds a three-year climbing management agreement with the landowner, providing them with necessary risk management and insurance provisions that address the liability concerns that led to the closure in 2011. There is an option to renew the agreement when it expires in three years and assign it to Friends of the Ledges."
IMPORTANT - Please read the info on the site linked below so you understand the restrictions and new access point.
VALLEY CYCLING:
There is too much snow even for the fat tire bike right now. Either go climbing, skiing or doing a few FAT TIRE beers while you're waiting for things to settle.
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.
