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So The Boss came back from walkabout/drive-around so I finally got out climbing this week. WOO WOO... I haven't been to the South Buttress in a coons age to do Hotter Than Hell & the Inferno Crack, but he talked me into going over to the Echo Roof area. Turns out it was a good call.
I'd been hearing about just how good a job the WM Trail Collective crew did on the area below Echo Roof, and I was not disappointed. It's really amazing! The trail getting up there has been been turned into stairs and there is a retaining wall where once there was a funky slope and quite honestly it's all fantastic! I stuck a couple of granite chips into some cracks in between 2 blocks and voila, I had a place to hang my rack and draws! Arguably the only thing missing are a couple of blocks to sit on while putting on your shoes...but I digress.
Tuesday was a gorgeous day to be out climbing. I led Holy Land to the bolt anchor in the Pocket and then tensioned over right and climbed the ramp to the other anchor. That gave us a setup to climb all the lines in that area. After doing those I tensioned over to the next set of anchors to the right, which allowed us to climb the climbs just left of Echo. This is a system we've both used over the years when we guide in this area. Thanks to Yohan, Mike, Trail Collective, FOTL, et al... It's always been a really great area to climb that's now even better.
While I was there I noticed the new bolts under the roof that are an aid line going out and over the lip. I'd noticed a couple of bolts and a pin many years ago and never knew who started it. Last year I believe that Ben Maxfield finished it. Great job!
On the same topic, I've always noticed this lone carabiner on the wall just right of the roof and wondered what's up with that. Anyone have any ideas? I'm pretty sure it's undocumented. I'd love to hear about it...
I can't actually say that there is nothing out there that can't be climbed. That would be foolish. But for the average, or a little above average climber, that's probably correct. That said, I did hear that there is climbable ice on Parasol in Dixville Notch. Not sure how that will be after we get a foot of heavy wet snow on Saturday. Regardless, here's a few pix I took today just to document things.
Huntington Ravine
AVALANCHE
Repentance
OUT
Standard Route
OUT
Dracula
OUT
For the full current conditions report, CLICK
HERE
SIDECOUNTRY REVIEW:
I did a review on NEClimbs.com of John Branch's new-ish book Sidecountry last week. It's a collection of sports-related stories/articles he wrote for the NY Times. Check it out. It's a great read (the book that is). HIGHLY recommended...
SOME LOCAL/NATIONAL PANDEMIC THOUGHTS:
The number of active infections in NH has continued its increase again today and, at 4,030, these current case counts are the highest since early February! YOW! State health officials also report another increase in new cases: 614 new cases on Thursday, with 53 of those identified from Sept. 14. 172 of the new cases are under age 18.
So far this academic year, the state has identified 25 clusters in K-12 schools involving 146 people. State epidemiologist Dr. Chan said clusters range in size from three to 16 people. “This is a remarkable number of clusters to occur in schools over a two-week period,” Dr. Chan said. “The majority of these are occurring in children.” Dr. Chan says schools should implement universal mask policies before these clusters occur, but many school boards have chosen mask-optional policies. In spite of this spread, Gov. Chris Sununu and Education Commissioner Frank Edleblut have emphasized the importance of local and parental control in mask decisions.
In spite of these increases, the pushback from some parents in meetings has become increasingly contentious. Note this from a news report on the school board meeting a few days ago -
The state’s school COVID dashboard does not accurately reflect the number of COVID cases, which is quite disturbing. It looks as if this may be another winter at least as bad as last year, which is VERY disturbing on so many levels. We are at a point where we could squash this virus down fairly rapidly if people would cooperate by getting vaccinated and masking where appropriate. As someone who grew up getting all the appropriate vaccinations, it's hard for me to grasp the active pushback against science. [sigh]
And here's one more grim statistic to put things in perspective for you. Since the pandemic began, 1 in 500 Americans have died from COVID-19!
New Hampshire:
4 new deaths reported
614 new cases reported
4,030 Active cases UP from 3,079
126 patients are currently hospitalized
1,452 total deaths
United States:
Confirmed: 41,768,039
Deaths: 669,831
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.
OUR ONLY WAY OUT IS IF YOU GET VACCINATED, WHERE RECOMMENDED PLEASE STILL WEAR A MASK, WASH YOUR HANDS!
REMEMBER - WE ARE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER
VALLEY CYCLING:
I decided to get in a couple of more difficult rides this week instead of just puttering around on my normal single-track loops. Monday was a beautiful day so I opted for Jefferson Notch Road. Only 6.58 miles from the Base Road, but it's a pretty good 960'. It's a ride I do a couple of times a summer. No, it's not that hard, but it sure keeps on coming at you. Fortunately there weren't any cars on the road this time while I was there. Then yesterday I wanted to grab something before we had the big storm front come through, so I did Cathedral Ledge Road from my back door to the top. It's only a round trip of a little over 3 miles from the house, but it's a pretty solid 600+ feet. I can still do both with no stops, so I would say that's a plus. I'm not fast, but I'm pretty steady. If you're looking for some climbing, these both should be on your list.
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
In 1961 I led this chimney in a state of metabolic uproar. At the base of the pitch I smoked several cigarettes (the first and last ones of my life). This was to calm me. Then I spooned half a jar of honey. This was to ensure superhuman strength. Mort Hempel, my partner, watched this silly ritual with mouth agape and eyes exploding with fear.
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.
