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YES YES YES!!! I warned ya it was bound to happen... [LOL] It looks as if we finally have ignition, and it only took 7 days of continually cold nights in the lower elevations for things to start actually coming in. Close to freezing days and having all this water "in the system" certainly didn't hurt the cause. Of course on top of that, the expected snow will absolutely help.
There were a number of people out on the ice today. Multiple parties climbed Standard, Cheyenne and Peter Doucette nailed Dropline (!!!), someone had walked into the Amphitheater and there was someone working one of the mixed lines on the left wall of Upper Hitchcock. And I'm sure that wasn't the full list of folks who were up there. Stay tuned folks...
AND NOW FOR THE ANNUAL FUNDRAISER REQUEST - 2023:
As of today there have been 68 donors to NEClimbs & the 2023 White Mountain Report Fundraiser. It would be great to hit the 100 mark this season, but regardless a SINCERE thanks to all who have donated. Friends, I know there are lots of ways to get ice conditions info these days. I don't own a drone, or hike into the Ravines, but with 22 years of experience at this game I like to think I have something positive to offer. Believe me when I say that I appreciate every single donation, no matter how small. The donation list is current now. I try to thank everyone personally, hopefully if you donated I didn't miss you.
There are over 1000 subscribers to my newsletter at this time. I can see that over 900 of you open the email every week! If you're one of those, please do consider supporting NEClimbs and The White Mountain Report. It's easy, just go ON LINE and make your donation via PayPal. You don't even need a PayPal account, you can use almost any credit card. Just click the link below:
Of course you can also contribute via check or money order if you like. Make it out to NEClimbs and send it here:
NEClimbs
92 Bow Lane
North Conway, NH 03860
PLEASE REMEMBER, it's your contribution that makes this newsletter and the NEClimbs web site viable. The expenses of the running and maintaining NEClimbs.com and putting out The White Mountain Report continue all year.
FWIW You can see almost all of the Reports on NEClimbs.com archived from as far back as September of 1999! To get a sense of the popularity of the site, current traffic as of November 3, 2021 on NEClimbs.com is about 2840 UNIQUE visits a day, generating over 1.5 million monthly "HITS". The White Mountain Report newsletter goes out to over 1,210 subscribers weekly!
Thank you once again for your support...
SHAMELESS SELF PROMOTION:
I will be playing duo jazz at the Majestic Cafe in Conway Village on Friday Dec 16, weather permitting, and Bucky's in Moltonboro on Saturday Dec 17. Swing by if you feel it...
ED WEBSTER - LUXURY LINER:
WOW...holy moley! While this was arguably a tribute to the amazing Earl Wiggins, it's as much about Ed. WATCH THIS!
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
ICE FEST 2023:
This is the 30 year anniversary of Ice Fest and it's going to be a good one! The official date is February 3-5, 2023. Stay tuned for website and registration updates, guest guide information, and party details. If you have any questions, you can call IMCS directly at (603) 356-7064.
Here's something cool - IMCS guide Mark Vanover and I will be co-leading a clinic on Friday titled "Just For Seniors 55+". Since Mark and I are still out here doing our best to get at it, I gotta figure that we have something that we could impart to those of us still wanting to climb as we get older. I for one am looking forward to it. That said, you could jump in if you're only 50! [LOL]
The official date is February 3-5, 2023. Stay tuned for website and registration updates, guest guide information, and party details. If you have any questions, you can call IMCS directly at (603) 356-7064.
ED WEBSTER - LUXURY LINER::
WOW...holy moley! While this was arguably a tribute to the amazing Earl Wiggins, it's as much about Ed. WATCH THIS!
SOME LOCAL/NATIONAL PANDEMIC THOUGHTS:
Just the numbers this week...
New Hampshire:
3 new deaths reported so far this week
1,575 active cases
34 Current hospitalizations being treated for COVID
2,839 Total deaths due to COVID-19
United States:
Confirmed: 99,699,690
Deaths: 1,086,303
OUR ONLY WAY OUT IS IF YOU GET VACCINATED, WHERE RECOMMENDED PLEASE STILL WEAR A MASK, WASH YOUR HANDS!
VALLEY CYCLING:
I got out on the bike three times this week. Tuesday on my regular MTB, Wednesday and Thursday on the fat tire bike. No studded tires yet, but none were needed. I figured that since we are expecting a pant-load of snow I better get out now since it usually takes close to a week before the trails get packed out. And there still won't be enough snow for snow machines to be out there and the same for the bike groomers. Tuesday I did a big loop around Echo Lake and over to Cathedral Ledge. It was only around 30 degrees, but was quite windy and that made it cold. Wednesday I did a ride on the East Side, grabbing Sticks & Stones, Pillar To Pond, Spring and The Knot. The only crappy bit was the connector from Spring to the Knot. It had some muddy and water filled ditches that were easy enough to walk around. There was minimal snow on the trails and no ice, even on the P2P bridges! That will change by the weekend so YMMV! The Thursday ride was short, just on the RR tracks and trestle from Arethusa Falls to Standard Route at Frankenstein.
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
And what joy, think ye, did they feel after the exceeding long and troublous ascent? - after scrambling, slipping, pulling, pushing, lifting, gasping, looking, hoping, despairing, climbing, holding on, falling off, trying, puffing, loosing, gathering, talking, stepping, grumbling, anathemising, scraping, hacking, bumping, jogging, overturning, hunting, straddling, - for know you that by these methods alone are the most divine mysteries of the Quest reached.
Norman Collie, 1894, from the Scottish Mountainering Journal
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.
