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Woke up this morning and altho it had rained overnight, the humidity was WAAAY lower than it has been. And by far lower than yesterday afternoon when I played music at Saco Brewing in Fryeburg. That was amazing... Hey, I can actually live with this! Thankfully it looks to be a very decent weekend for almost anything.
I finally got out this week to go climbing. I've been trying to find a time to climb with Lovena Harwood for at least two years and it never worked out. And since she has moved to Vegas, I actually was doubting it would happen. But she was in the area and in spite of the fact that it was a VERY hot day, we managed to find a time to connect. Tho I'd wanted to do something on Whitehorse, that was not a good idea, so we headed to Humphreys. At least the bottom of the Geriatric Walls climbs would be in the shade, tho the upper sections would still get sun. I was going to do the leading and since I haven't climbed much lately, so we opted for what I call the Pudding Pie slab, just to the right of Yellow Jacket. There are 4 nice little climbs on the slab that make for a good warmup. 2 are fully bolted and 2 take some gear. Only 2 of the climbs are in the current Handren/Moulin guide but all are worth doing.
We did them right to left and then I padded left to the Yellow Jacket anchor and Lovena did it on TR. It was one of the first climbs Joe & Judy Perez and I created on the Geriatric Walls and was first done in 2009. It was almost 1pm by this time, and I've probably climbed it 50 times since I put it up, so I didn't do it. There was no chalk on any of the slab climbs, but in spite of the heat and rain Yellow Jacket had chalk all over it! I must say I was a bit surprised at how dirty the slab was. And NOTE that there is poison ivy left of the anchor on the slab and right of the Yellow Jacket anchor! Here are a few pictures -
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 - 4:
NASTY+
MUSICAL NOTES:
My gig at the Denmark Arts Center last Friday was truly amazing. I had the whole 5 piece band and they were awesome. I would say that it probably was the best concert that we have done this year! I hope you get the opportunity to see this band at some point. You will NOT be disappointed.
This week is my BEER TOUR 2024... The Mt Washington Valley has some of the best brewmasters and breweries in New England, and the beer is all FANTASTIC! I'll be with the Al Hospers Trio at Saco River Brewing in Fryeburg on Wednesday and then with the Jim McLaughlin Group at Ledge Brewing in Intervale on Thursday, Big Day Brewing in Gorham on Friday and Tuckerman Brewing in Conway on Sunday! Weather permitting they all will be outside, so please come on by, grab a beer and say hi.
VALLEY CYCLING:
Pretty much all the trails are riding very well right now. I love the east side, but Marshall and the new High School addition are great too. The guys at Cranmore are keeping the downhill stuff overall good too, tho that takes a bunch of work with all the storms we've had lately. I'm really enjoying getting out early in the day, before it heats up too much...
Remember - climb hard, ride the twisty stuff, wear your helmet, stay safe - and above all BE NICE.
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.
