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I once again have to put the weather on the top of the list for what's happening this week. We've had an amazingly balmy winter so far, but this weekend that's going to drastically change, at least for a few daze. I can't really explain it any better than what the Obs folks have to say, so either jump to their site or scroll down here for the Valley predictions.
I haven't been climbing all that much, just a bit on my own, but I did get out on Tuesday. My long time friend Tom Callaghan wanted to show off a couple of "new" routes he has done over at Cathedral. I put the word new in quotes mainly 'cause everybody thinks it's all been done. And for the most part it has. But there are some things that come in based on interesting weather and in odd places. These 2 fit that bill. The first one we did is on The Nostril Block, a giant boulder that's in the woods pretty much directly below The Mordor. A general description is on page 264 of the latest Handren guide. The route we did is called "The Shnoz" and while he calls it Grade 4/M7, I think it's every bit of that. The gear is "adequate" tho there is a great place for a purple Camelot in the corner near the top. Unfortunately the top out is on unconsolidated snow over rock, which makes it much more dicey than it should be.
The second climb is really a smear of ice located right of the start to Fun House and pretty much directly below the block. It's 2 short pitches. I led the first pitch which was pretty thin and delaminated. Fortunately there is a pin about 10' up on the left and another on the right 12' up. I couldn't find #2 but got in a decent stubbie in an icicle on the right. You belay at a large tree, but again there is mostly snow over rock getting there. We didn't do P 2 because it was even more delaminated and the crack was full of ice! Oh well...another time. What I did was pretty fun.
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
OUR ONLY WAY OUT IS IF YOU GET VACCINATED, WHERE RECOMMENDED PLEASE STILL WEAR A MASK, WASH YOUR HANDS!
VALLEY CYCLING:
No time to ride this week so nothing to report... Sorry
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
I had the unique experience the next day: placing sixteen bolts in a row. It was just blank and there was no way around. But it was a route worth bolting for, and after a time I began to take an almost perverse joy in it, or at least in doing a good job.
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.
