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November 8, 2007
Hi Folks,
Well it has been fairly chilly over this past several days, even getting down to the mid-20's on Friday morning. I've been getting all kinds of queries about the state of the ice on the Dike and Mt. Washington. I even got a little wound up myself on Tuesday night. When I left the Wildcat at 12:30 there was frost in the grass, some black ice in the parking lot and it was hard to get the lock on the topper on my truck unlocked because it had frozen. I started having dreams of big pillars, sharp ice tools and solid neve.
I've seen some pictures being bandied about from people who have climbed on Mt. Washington over the past 5-6 days. Apparently Odell's and Pinnacle have both been climbed and there have been some visits to Tucks as well. The picture that I saw of Pinnacle was more like blobs of ice plastered on the rock between pouring waterfalls. I'm not sure that there was much gear being placed in that stuff either. Tucks was shorter, but not a whole lot better.
I know I've had numerous discussions both on and off line about what the word IN means in relationship to ice conditions. Basically I consider IN to be that the ice on a particular climb has formed well enough so that the ice on the climb is equal to the consensus grade for that climb. Thus if the ice on Standard Route at Frankenstein is in Grade III conditions, it's IN. If it's desperate and more mixed than ice, it's not. Pretty straight ahead...
So I figure we have another week to 10 days at this rate before the climbs up in Tucks and Huntington are generally IN, but with any luck certainly by Thanksgiving. They've had 10 plus inches of snow up there this week, so it's coming. The Dike should be forming, tho I haven't heard or anyone doing it yet. I'll let you know as soon as I hear anything. If you get up there, please sent me a report and/or picture to share.
Seems to me that it's the perfect time to be getting all the gear together and making sure you are set for what's to come. Go over your checklist. It'll be here before you know it! That said, there's no reason you can't head up to play in the snow.
I've kind of put off getting my fundraiser stuff together this year, but it's time. Next Thursday starts the 4 weeks of Fundraiser efforts for NEClimbs. Please put aside $20 to contribute to supporting the site. We'd really appreciate it.
Art Show with Slideshow by Mark Synnott is coming to the Salyards Center for the Arts on November 9. Proceeds from the event, featuring artwork and literature with climbing themes, will benefit Kismet Rock Foundation and the newly renovated Salyards Center for the Arts.
The evening will begin at 6:00 at Salyards Center for the Arts, located at 110 Main Street, Conway, NH next to the Conway Historical Society and across the street from the town park. Featured work will have a distinct slant towards the culture of climbing. At 7:30, world renowned The North Face climber Mark Synnott, a long time local to the Mount Washington Valley, will present a slideshow about his globe-spanning adventures.
A $10 suggested donation will be accepted at the door and artwork and books will be for sale with proceeds equally benefiting Kismet and Salyards.
For more information about The Art of Climbing event, including contributing as an artist, contact Heidi Lewis, Kismet Rock Foundation, 603-383-9928.
-Friday, November 9th
-Salyards Center for the Arts at 110 Main Street in Conway, NH 03818
-6pm art show opening and 7:30pm slideshow ($10 suggested donation)
-climbing themed art and literature for sale
-slideshow by The North Face athlete Mark Synnott
-piano by Mike Jewell
www.kismetrockfoundation.org
www.conwayhistory.org/salyards-art-center.html
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
| All ice is dangerous. Grade 4 pillars are pumpy. Grade 5 pillars are pumpy and dangerous. Except for certain rare days of triple-high biorythms and favorable planetary alignments, grade 6 is beyond reach. |
| Dougal McDonald |
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