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May 16, 2019
Hi Folks,
Well in case you hadn't heard, there was a fresh round of snow overnight on Monday. It dropped 2-3 inches in the upper parts of places like Jackson Highlands and Tyrol, and even more above 2500'! Enough that the Mt Washington Avalanche Center even issued an advisory. Can you believe it? Mid May and somehow it still doesn't fully feel like Spring. [SIGH]
I see folks out climbing on cloudy chilly days and feel like it's similar to gardening... I'm getting pretty antsy about reseeding my lawn and getting my basil and tomatoes in the ground, all of which need consistently warm temps to be viable. I like climbing rock, but am more into nice warm rock!
That said I did get out last Sunday, tho it was cloudy. The Perez's and I went down to climb at Rines Hill in New Durham with George Hurley. I've been there many times before and it's a nice place to go in the summer. There has been climbing there for many years by locals as well as groups from Brewster Academy. Over the past year access has become a bit of an issue, but George has developed a new trail that seemingly avoids those issues. The new trail starts by some old wooden pillars on tree left side of Knights Pond Road about 200' from the gate. Basically follow flagging and some small cairns across the height of land to the cliff.
I led a new climb of George's just right of Dike Step that's probably 5.6 or 5.7. Probably 7 if you don't touch the two trees you go between. There is a possible direct finish up then final headwall, but it seems to always be wet. Even George admits that it does need a little more cleaning at the top. [WRY GRIN]
We also climbed Dike Steps, Groovy, Layback and Buddha. I've always struggled with the start of Buddah, but this time found the high side pull on the right that seems to be the key. It's pretty cool. While I hadn't had any ticks on me so far this year, I got several on the walk out and others did as well. We spotted quite a lot of deer-pellets so I suppose it's not surprising.
It looks as if the weather this weekend might actually be nice, so hopefully I can get out to climb locally on Saturday. Here are some pix from Rines Hill.
http://www.neclimbs.com/wmr_pix/20190516/RinesHill_1.jpg
http://www.neclimbs.com/wmr_pix/20190516/RinesHill_6.jpg
http://www.neclimbs.com/wmr_pix/20190516/RinesHill_7.jpg
http://www.neclimbs.com/wmr_pix/20190516/RinesHill_8.jpg
One nice thing about riding is that I can get out on my own pretty much any time it's not raining. Last Saturday I rode Evans Notch, which is now open. There is some snow on the sides of the road at the top, but the road itself is quite clear. Monday I got in a nice ride in the Marshall area. All that I rode is in great shape right now. I have been wanting to check out Bear Notch so I did that on Wednesday. The road is not open and there were DOT folks working on it near the top on the Kanc side. While the road was more-or-less clear, there are lots of humps and a few places where there were trees and branches overhanging the road itself. The DOT guys said that there was still a lot of work to be done before it's open, including digging out the rocks that were coming up through the humps! They also mentioned that it's on the list to be re-paved this summer some time. That's a good thing. Now I want to talk with them about Hurricane Mt Road... :-(
http://www.neclimbs.com/wmr_pix/20190516/Bike_EvansNotch.jpg
http://www.neclimbs.com/wmr_pix/20190516/Bike_BearNotch.jpg
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
| If I have learned one thing in my 54 years, it is that it is very good for the character to engage in sports which put your life in danger from time to time. It breeds a saneness in dealing with day to day trivialities which probably cannot be got in any other way, and a habit of quick decisions. |
| Neville Shute |
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