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OK OK... I cannot frikking believe that it's the 1st of August already! The summer has been screaming by, so fast that I hardly knew it. And it's been going back & forth between crazy hot, very very humid (like it is today) and torrential rain. I know we've actually had some pretty nice daze, but they aren't as nice as I personally would like. [sigh]
I was playing a gig in Fryeburg on Wednesday evening and around 7pm a cell cam through and dumped a massive amount of water in 20 minutes. The same one hit North Conway about 20 minutes earlier. When I came home around 8:15 there was more than an inch of water on the road between Hannaford and Dunkin! The Saco wasn't that high at First Bridge, but I bet it was higher downstream. A few days earlier Vermont and St Johnsbury got totally clobbered. This was the second time in a few weeks. It's one thing to have a lot of roads washed out once every year or so. Quite another to have it happen regularly. There are people up there that may not be able to continue to live where they do now! A very sad situation...
I have a pretty big list of big things I need to do on the house before fall hits us, and they take precedence. I've been tackling one after the other and checking them off the list. Anyone who is a home owner will surely know what I mean. It's a never ending string of chores. But they all have to be done... The biggest one is coming up in 3 weeks when the crew shows up to put in the new wood floor in my living room. It's a good thing that I have been putting away all the $$ from my gigs this summer. [sheesh] But it's better than living in a condo. I'm ver grateful for where I live.
NEW REVIEW ON NECLIMBS:
Thanks to Dennis Crean for his sterling review of the Brian Hall book HIGH RISK, CLIMBING TO EXTINCTION. I haven't personally read it, but it looks like a good one. Check it out...
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:
BETTER A little less, believe it or not. Unless of course you're way out in the deep woods!
MUSICAL NOTES:
My band will be busy this weekend. We're on the patio at the amazing Big Day Brewing in Gorham 6-9 on Friday. The weather looks good so I'm expecting we will be outside. Saturday we have an early hit at Tuckerman Brewing in Conway Village from 3-6, hopefully on their outdoor stage. I'm not sure about the weather for that one, so stay tuned. They have a great stage inside, so it will be happening regardless.
VALLEY CYCLING:
Trails are generally good, in spite of the rains. From what I understand the Kingdom Trails in Vermont took a real beating, but the crews have been out and most of the system is apparently riding well again. Tho we have gotten a lot of rain, the fact that the Valley is mostly sand has spared us the brunt.
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.
