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So it's that time of year when there is a serious division in desires and priorities. It's all about eking out that last bit of ice season, and grabbing that bit of first warm rock. Both have their plusses, and for a short while we can do both. Or even better grab one of those elusive 3 or even 4 sport days! I can always get in 3, but 4 is the gold standard. Is this going to be one of those years? We shall see.
Wednesday was an incredibly amazing day; bluebird and 54 degrees in Crawford Notch at noon! Brad and decided we would try to grab what may be our last ice of the season. Who knows, but at this rate and considering that we're not going to hike into the ravine, it's likely. Some might say it was the proverbial "hero ice", but to my taste it was mostly mediocre. Plus there was some bits of ice coming down here & there. So I led all the way up to the ledge above the cave, and then a second short pitch up and left to the hemlock. From there we rapped back to the tree on top of the big rock buttress and then down the right side of the buttress. Getting off the top of the buttress was entertaining in itself. I had to sit down and slide into the rap. That had some entertainment value, as well as just observing the buttress from that vantage point! Then on top of that Brad thought there was a tree in reach of our 60m rope, but that wasn't exactly the case. The rope deposited me on a snowy ledge with an easy downclimb of about 20' to the tree. From there we rapped climbers right and all the way to the tracks.
DANGER WILL ROBINSON:
Sure, many of you want to climb rock now, but now is not the time. There is a lot of ice hanging out there that is just ready to let go at any time. Last week an incident at Rumney caused an injury severe enough to require a chopper evac! Here are some pics of what's up there in a variety of spots:
This is directly above the North End crack climbing area:
As always the full set of regular pictures are on Facebook and www.NEClimbs.com.
SOME LOCAL/NATIONAL PANDEMIC THOUGHTS:
This will be shorter than usual as I'm tired... I got my second shot of the Moderna vaccine this afternoon. 2 down, and 2 weeks to go. HUGE thanks to all the healthcare workers and all the volunteers from Memorial Hospital who are making this happen. I’m so incredibly grateful for all they do. 2 down (Moderna), and 2 weeks to go. I know I said this the last time, but once again it was an emotional experience. HUGE thanks to all the healthcare workers and all the volunteers who are making this happen. It’s running like a smooth machine and I’m so incredibly grateful for all they do.
According to the NH Governor, within a few weeks pretty much everyone in the state will be able to get a shot. I truly hope that you will take this opportunity seriously and get on board. It is only by getting as many citizens as possible vaccinated that we can get out of this. In the meantime -
SO PLEASE - WEAR A MASK, SANITIZE, STAY PHYSICALLY DISTANT!
REMEMBER - WE ARE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER
Thank you...
New Hampshire:
5 new deaths reported.
347 new cases reported.
The state's COVID-19 deaths total 1,207.
Active cases total 2,340.
79 patients are currently hospitalized.
US:
Confirmed: 29,651,206
Deaths: 538,799
Global:
Global Confirmed: 121,585,388
Global Deaths: 2,685,770
I find JHU's Daily COVID-19 Data in Motion report to be very informative. It shares critical data on COVID-19 from the last 24 hours in a short 1 minute animated video format.
WEAR A MASK, SANITIZE AND STAY PHYSICALLY DISTANT FRIENDS!
REMEMBER - WE ARE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER
VALLEY CYCLING:
I got in a several rides this week. Sunday was the Albany Town Forest, one of my go-to rides. It's flat, but the riding along the Swift River is really nice. And this time I was actually able to ride the frozen crust right on the edge of the river. It was a bit nervy, but really nice. However my ride on Wednesday was really outstanding. There is a snowmobile trail that starts near the beginning of Eagle Way, the road to Kennett HS, and gos up Pine Mountain, connects to the Conway Rec Trail and comes back under 302 to the Police Station. Then you can ride back on the trail that goes past the power station and continues to behind Walmart, back across Eastman Rd and then back to the car. I think this will be a great summer ride as well. I just wish I'd found it earlier in the season.
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.
