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October 13, 2022
Hi Folks,
For many it's hard to believe, but trust me pitons age-out... [gasp] Many of the ones on the classic climbs here in our little Valley, and elsewhere of course, are likely the original ones placed on the FA. Some examples are the ring piton in the bottom of the flake on P2 of Short Order (1980), the pins on the wall on the Pegasus Rock Finish (likely mid 70's), the one under the roof of Diedre (1971) and of course the pin under the right side of the roof on P1 of The Book (1971).
All of these get used pretty much every time someone does these climbs. (Of course I know that SOMEONE is going to pipe up and say they never use these pins!) The one in the Flake on Short Order is easily backed up with almost any modern gear, I don't know of anyone who brings gear to protect the Pegasus finish and there is no other way to protect the move on Diedre. A few days ago Avery Louie was climbing it and as he said, "I gave it a test wiggle to see if I should clip it- it fell out." This is one of those hugely popular climbs that is done multiple times a week during the summer and that pin is always clipped to be honest gets fallen on fairly regularly. Heck the first time I led it I slipped and fell on it! Avery points out that it can be protected with a tiny cam that probably few people carry, so that's a bit less than optimal. Fortunately Kurt Winkler and Pete from Friends Of The Ledges rapped down and fairly quickly replaced it. But this obviously points to the fact that many of the pieces of fixed protection that we all rely on are suspect. I have quite a collection of crappy pitons and bolts I have personally replaced from over the past 25 years. It's something to be very aware of, year 'round.
http://www.neclimbs.com/wmr_pix/20221013/piton_2.jpg
http://www.neclimbs.com/wmr_pix/20221013/piton_2.jpg
So the weather has been very up and down for the past couple of weeks, and it looks as if this week is just more of the same. Funky, gorgeous, very funky and then probably mediocre. We had a couple of spectacular days with amazing foliage that will almost assuredly go away after the rain and wind that is expected. On the good side, it should clear out the tourists who are making the Valley traffic close to unbearable. Not to mention that there is work being done on the North-South local road that has had Rt 16 through "the strip" bumper to bumper off and on for days. I was going to go through town to get to the gym and to Hannaford a couple of days ago and gave up after sitting in traffic for 30 minutes! I'm using West Side Rd as a long detour till all this is all done. WORD
The new film by acclaimed filmmaker and writer Freddie Wilkinson is being shown at the Leura Hill Eastman Performing Arts Center in Fryeburg Maine on October 28th. Tickets are $10 at the door.
http://www.neclimbs.com/wmr_pix/20221013/Sanctity.jpg
I have a jazz duo this Friday, October 14th, at the Majestic Cafe featuring jazz guitarist Peter Einhorn. I've known Peter since probably 1966, where we both attended the University Of Florida in Gainesville and played in a number of original-music bands for over 10 years. We learned how to play jazz together and attended the University of Miami in '75. Peter moved to Woodstock NY around '85, raised a family and invented the acclaimed Spider Capo. He does film work and has been playing some great jazz in the Woodstock area. I'm very excited about this show so please come out and support live creative music in our Valley. Here's a link to one of his latest tunes:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAJXf7ABy6Y
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAJXf7ABy6Y
I keep thinking that there are no bugs, but then I take a walk or sit outside and get bit, so go figure. I wouldn't bring any bug dope now tho since they are minimal at worst!
Speaking of bugs, here's an interesting article about the ladybugs we see at this time of year, inside and out. Turns out lots of them are not ladybugs at all!
https://wgme.com/news/local/thats-no-ladybug-invading-your-house-red-bugs-maine-drought-conditions-insects-university-of-maine-cooperative-extension-asian-lady-beetles-coccinellidae?
>
SOME LOCAL/NATIONAL PANDEMIC STATISTICS AND THOUGHTS:
COVID-19-positive hospitalizations in New Hampshire highest in 8 months -
https://www.wmur.com/article/new-hampshire-covid-19-cases-hospitalizations-deaths-101222/41604696
New Hampshire:
4 new deaths reported over the weekend
276 New cases
42 Current hospitalizations being treated for COVID
2,708 Total deaths due to COVID-19
United States:
Confirmed: 96,844,770
Deaths: 1,064,113 - UP 3,000!
Global:
Confirmed: 623,429,836
Deaths: 6,563,151
https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/us-map
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.
https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/covid-19-daily-video
OUR ONLY WAY OUT IS IF YOU GET VACCINATED, WHERE RECOMMENDED PLEASE STILL WEAR A MASK, WASH YOUR HANDS!
The Cranmore downhill bike park is closed for the season as they gear up for winter. Having a summer pass has been great and I've really enjoyed picking up another skill. On Saturday my friends Phil and Ann and I did a bunch of lift-serv runs, rode and pushed up to the top of the ski area and then across the newly rebuilt Black Cap Connector to Surf's Up. This is a great trail that takes you down to a place where you can connect into Charlie's or do a short ride down to the Kettle Ridge Connector that you can use to get to Tornado. This gives you an amazing downhill from the top of Mt Cranmore all the way back to the base of the Cranmore ski area. HIGHLY recommended folks! The downhill thing has been a gas and I'm sure I will buy a pass again next year.
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:
http://www.neclimbs.com/mobile
Check it out and if you have issues on your specific phone, please feel free to let me know.
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:
http://www.facebook.com/NEClimbs/
Remember - climb hard, ride the steep stuff, stay safe and above all BE NICE,
Al Hospers
The White Mountain Report
North Conway, New Hampshire
| There are very, very few ice climbs in the world that are actually hard, but these mixed climbs, on the other hand, they were very hard. You could pitch on them... |
| Will Gadd |
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