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February 15, 2024
Hi Folks,
The wind was howling all day Wednesdayt and the temps were very low, leaving us with very low wind chills. It was brutal. There were limbs coming off trees and it was kind of unsafe to be in the woods! Several friends decided to take their walks on the roads instead of in the woods!
I know I keep harping on the changes to the winter season and pushing the Freeze/Thaw video. And with the weather now having turned frikkin' COLD once again, you must be wondering why I'm still babbling about it. But things have definitely changed. Here's another very well respected local guide's opinion...
"For those of us who work in the outdoors, it’s been a roller coaster of a season. While guiding in the mountains has always been hazardous, these last few years have felt more problematic."
"Each week conditions feel different. Sometimes good, sometimes bad. Overall a bit frustrating. Last week we had winter ice, over the weekend it was spring ice conditions (screws melting out in the shade, falling ice/overhead hazards)."
"I definitely miss the ''old days'' of winter, when we had a ''January thaw'' and then settled in until spring. I fear those days have passed and we’re seeing the end to the iconic New England winter scene.
In the meantime, outdoor industry folks will keep working around the conditions, chasing good ice and snow, always hopeful next week things will improve."
"I’m sharing a video (on FB and Instagram) of me putting a rope on a New Hampshire Classic called Dracula, in Crawford Notch State Park. If a climber hasn’t led this pitch, they have it on their to-do list. It’s the standard for WI4 (graded water ice 4), as many of us use it when referencing or grading other climbs. It forms in a shaded corner. It’s typically one of the first valley climbs to form each season, and the last to fall down."
-->From Al<--
In a subsequent post in his thread he mentioned that I'd told him the story how George and I used to mail in our taxes on April 15th, and then go climb Dracula. We probably did this 3-4 years in a row maybe 10+ years ago. It became a bit of a tradition... We didn't stop doing it because we were too old. LOL We stopped because it ceased being safe! What a shame...
I will be with the Jarrod Taylor Jazz trio at Page Hill in Tamworth on Thursday evening, with the Randy Roos Trio at the Majestic Cafe in Conway Village on Friday and then with my jam-band at Ledge Brewing on Saturday. Please come out to one, or shucks come to all.
http://www.neclimbs.com/wmr_pix/20240215/goofers.jpg
http://www.neclimbs.com/wmr_pix/20240215/CathedralLedge.jpg
http://www.neclimbs.com/wmr_pix/20240215/Diagonal_Mordor.jpg
http://www.neclimbs.com/wmr_pix/20240215/Repentance_Remission.jpg
http://www.neclimbs.com/wmr_pix/20240215/Unicorn.jpg
http://www.neclimbs.com/wmr_pix/20240215/standardRoute.jpg
http://www.neclimbs.com/wmr_pix/20240215/machine.jpg
http://www.neclimbs.com/wmr_pix/20240215/Frankenstein_RightSide.jpg
http://www.neclimbs.com/wmr_pix/20240215/LHMW.jpg
http://www.neclimbs.com/wmr_pix/20240215/elephantHead.jpg
http://www.neclimbs.com/wmr_pix/20240215/flumeCascade.jpg
http://www.neclimbs.com/wmr_pix/20240215/Shoestring.jpg
http://www.neclimbs.com/wmr_pix/20240215/WebsterSlabs.jpg
http://www.neclimbs.com/wmr_pix/20240215/YellowSlab.jpg
Of course the usual pictures will be on NEClimbs.com and FaceBook if available.
There will be a day or two of soft stuff after this light snow, but otherwise the riding is great. Lots of packed-out groomed trails to ride right now.
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
| Breaking into a new area of climbing while remaining safe is probably sort of like practicing religion. There's no best way to do it, and if you screw up, you're going down... |
| Nate Beckwith |
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