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"Are we there yet? Is it here yet? Is there ice to climb yet daddy???" [LOL]
"Just sit back and relax young-uns. We will be there when we get there..."
Boy I still remember those days on trips with the parents, in the back of the Chevy station wagon. How my sister and I must have annoyed them. So I looked through some of the posts in my archives to see what has happened historically at this time of year. Needless to say it's a crap shoot at this time of year. Most years we aren't getting our first frost, but on occasion winter has come barreling in. For example:
10/15/2009 - 3" of snow in Crawford Notch, dusting in the Valley
10/14/2011 - rain, no snow
10/9/2015 - warm, no snow, cold on Mt Washington
10/17/2019 - chilly & clear, no snow
10/14/2021 - beautiful weather, moderate temps, no snow
10/13/2022 - funky weather, no snow
So IMNSHO we have another month of pretty good rock, before the ice comes in on Mt Washington and possibly the Dike. I've almost always climbed ice in Tucks on or before Thanksgiving, and on occasion the Dike gets done around Halloween. But make no mistake, it will be here.
I got a call early the other morning from George Hurley. He was with 2 Canadian friends on his way to North Conway to climb Thin Air and wanted to borrow a rope. Of course I loaned him one and as I understand it he and partners made relatively short work of it. Needless to say at 88, he is a true inspiration.
Just so you all know, I'll be starting up the Fundraiser next week. I am planning to get a local guy to re-do the CAT6 ethernet cable that goes to the webcam so hopefully I can get it back up running. I may need to send the camera itself in to get serviced, but until the cable is functional I'm not sure. Stay tuned...
SHAMELESS PLUG:
I'll be at ProTune bar, bike and ski shop in Glen on Friday from 6-8:30 with the Jim McLaughlin Group. We are a jam band, kind of in the style of PHISH! Who knew, right? If you're on FB there are a bunch of videos of the band & I think most people would like it. They have good beer there as well. Then on Saturday I will be at the Wildcat Tavern in Jackson filling in on bass with my friend Carolyn Ramsay & her band. They don't really jam, but they play a lot of cool Fleetwood Mac and the like.
Ice Conditions Report:
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
INSTANT BUG REPORT - 1:
We are headed to our first frost, which will likely kill off a bunch of the remaining bugs. Tho if it warms up again we will likely get a second crop. Stay tuned...
VALLEY CYCLING:
The Cranmore Bike Park is officially closed for the season now. [SNIF] I guess if I want to ride the downhill stuff in the Hurricane Zone I'll have to "earn those turns!" But maybe the traffic on Hurricane Mt Road will have dropped off enough that I'll feel like I'm not going to get hit if I ride up there... That said, there is still plenty of fun stuff do do in the flatlands; Marshall, Pillar To Pond, Twilight Zone etc. And if you feel ambitious there are always the trails in Gorham/Berlin. My friend Chris Krugh (Eastside Bike Guides), a local wrench who works out of his house in Intervale, just finished some work on Pillar To Pond to mitigate a muddy spot that's always been annoying. This will really help until it all gets bridged next spring. Kudos to him, and to all those helping maintain our local MTB trail system!
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.
