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Yup, yet another snow storm barreled through on Tuesday afternoon. This one depositing 10" of powder all across the area and more in some locations. It took 3 hours Wednesday morning to rake the roof again and snowblow front and back. By the time I was done I was too pooped to go climbing. FIGURES!
Between the snow and cold from the midwest we've got a real bumper crop of ice out there folks. It's been damn good before this, but now it's pretty amazing. Somehow pretty much every year there is plenty of ice for Ice Fest, but this year things are on a whole 'nother level. If you can tell I'm psyched, you're right. If there is a downside, it's only there there's a lot of snow out there so getting around can be a bit tricky at times. But ya know, I'll still take it.
Now if the temps will just moderate a little bit since I'll be up on Willies Slide for the day on Friday. HA...
IMPORTANT PARKING NOTES:
When I pulled into the Frankenstein/Arethusa road this morning the first thing I noticed was that the lower parking lot was not plowed! I was quite surprised... I drove up to the top of the road and tho some parking slots were plowed out, the road was actually fairly narrow. With all of the people certainly going to want to park there over Ice Fest weekend, this can certainly be a problem. This may be the status over the whole weekend! I would suggest that you drive to the top, turn around and come back down, let out any passengers on the right side of the car, and pull over as far as you can against the snowbank. The Texaco/Davis Path parking is even more problematic. There is only a single car-width path from the main road down to the bridge across the Saco. As of 10 AM nothing else was plowed! I am not at all sure how folks with cars that are low-hung, or only 2-wheel drive are going to deal with this.
With the expected crowds for the weekend, please be considerate.
Ice Conditions Report:
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
Here are some pictures taken today. The normal ones are on Facebook and NEClimbs.
VALLEY CYCLING:
I rode at the Marshall Trails and Whittaker Woods early in the week and both were well groomed and great. After the 10" of powder we got Tuesday night, I'm pretty sure the Marshall trails are a mess. However, since Whittaker Woods is in town and a popular XC ski area, I'm pretty sure it will be all groomed now. On my way up to Crawford Notch this morning I noticed that Sawyer River Road was obviously groomed for the snow machines this morning. It wasn't totally packed down, but I'm sure it will be rideable.
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.
