WOW, we made it to 25-12-25! Yup, it's Christmas Day, and only a scant few days away from a whole new year... And honestly I do admit that I am anxious to flip the switch. 2025 has been good in some very small ways I suppose, but it's certainly brought many challenges. Both on a global and personal level.
The MWV Ice Fest is considered one of the premier climbing events in the country. For over 33 years it has provided a great opportunity for those attending to network, socialize, try new gear and participate in multiple day courses, one-day technical clinics and privately guided climbs. Don't miss it!
Feb 5 - Feb 8, 2026 in North Conway, NH.
Our Current Review
AVALANCHE DREAMS: A Memoir of Skiing, Climbing and Life
Louis Dawson describes his life in six sections with each one representing a different era of his life. The forty-three short chapters flow smoothly and keep the reader wanting to explore one more episode at each reading.
Glass Menagerie -
WI 5 III
A classic Willoughby ice climb. The start can be tricky and it gets harder the higher it goes. The climb is in the sun and is often running water and the ice can be mushy. Sometimes done in 3 pitches, with 60 meter ropes it can be easily managed in 2.
Mountains are not fair or unfair, they are just dangerous.
—Reinhold Messner
Mid December climbers on Standard Route at Frankenstein
Crawford Notch
Selected Ice Conditions effective December 25, 2025
So we didn't exactly get what we wanted from the Ice Santa last night. But at least we didn't get any coal in the stocking... [wry grin] That said, I think we will be back to some nice early season ice very quickly. And yes Virginia, there still IS some decent ice to be climbed.
Huntington Ravine
many options
Repentance
OUT
Standard Route
IN
Dracula
IN
For the full current conditions report, CLICK
HERE
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When I first began climbing I had no idea there was such a thing as climbing literature. A few years into it, I was hanging out with all these AMC types. It seemed they were all a hundred years old and knew a lot more than me. I made a fool of my self in a conversation when I admitted to not knowing who Fred Becky was
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.
