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25 years of great Ice Fest's folks. It's going to be a great one and I hope you can make it up here for it.
THIS WEEK IN CLIMBING :
I went out on Tuesday morning with Matty Bowman to climb Dropline. I wanted to climb the whole thing, single push, using a 70 meter rope. I've done this a couple of times before and with a somewhat skinny rope it works well. Certainly better than going to the tree and backtracking on the rock traverse! The first section up to the pillar was very thin, but OK. A couple of 3' - no gear spots, but that goes with the territory. I did wish I'd had a couple of those "super stubble" screws tho! ;-)
So I got right up to the pillar and what had looked good from below, didn't look so good to me. The column was very fluted and had that milky white look that means it's airated & baked. I made a couple of moves up on the left side but everything that I hit crumbled and I didn't think I could get any good screws 'till 30' above me! I decided it wasn't right for me that day and bailed to the tree on the left.
Of course some of you young bucks & bucketes would probably send it anyway...
There's a bit of video on FB if you're interested.
After taking pictures this morning George Hurley and I did this fun curtain that's about 50' right of Elephant Head Gully. I first did it 21 years ago with my friend Yuki Fujita. It's a steep curtain that's often quite thin. I did it a couple of years ago with jeff Lea and art was really thin, This time it was a bit thicker than normal, but not enough that it would take full length 10 cm screws. Regardless it's fun and worth the effort.
PS sling the tree as high up as you can get it. You'll know what I mean when you do it! ;-)
Ice Conditions Report:
Selected Ice Conditions effective January 28, 2026
Overall there is a LOT of ice out there right now. From everything I hear, the better conditions are in the sun where the ice can get plastic. Stuff in the. Shade is hard, brittle, and it's not getting refreshed like we all would like.
Huntington Ravine
numerous options
Repentance
been done
Standard Route
GOOD
Dracula
IN & fat
For the full current conditions report, CLICK
HERE
Of course the regular Thursday ice pix are on NEClimbs.com and Facebook, but here are some of the other pix.
VALLEY CYCLING:
Riding on the Marshall trails was great on Wednesday. Things were firm and there was just enough crust to let me ride with out studded tires. All the snowmobile trails are in great shape, and you can likely ride your regular MTB bike right now.
SUBSCRIBE AND SUPPORT:
Do you like reading this Report? Do you use it in the winter to help make your decisions about where, when and what to climb? Then please consider making a small donation to support the site. Just click the link below:
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NEClimbs, 92 Bow Lane, North Conway, NH 03860
Thank you once again for your support...
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:
Remember - climb hard, ride the steep stuff, stay safe and above all BE NICE,
Al Hospers
The White Mountain Report
North Conway, New Hampshire
This is a group of people I used to go walking with. (long pause) That's me on the left. (even longer pause) On the right is the woman I married, Audrey. (very long pause, speaker looks at shoes) Which just goes to show that danger lurks where you least expect it.
Don Whillans commenting on a B&W slide showing a group of smiling hikers
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.
