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The upcoming Friday-Sunday may be the best weekend of the summer, at least so far. It looks as if we're going to have amazing sun and temps that will be at or above the average. Now that will be a real TREAT! If you can get the weekend off, unlike me, get outside and enjoy yourself...
SO YOU THINK THOSE BOLTS ARE GOOD, DO YA:
I've put in and replaced many bolts over the 21 years I've been living here in the Valley and also removed my fair number of crappy pins. People have been climbing here since at least the 30's, and some of the fixed gear that folks are still clipping was put in an amazing number of years ago. If you take the time to carefully examine some of it, you might not want to bet your life on it. And of course that's quite literally what you're doing.
The Friends Of The Ledges has taken the initiative on the replacing fixed gear on many routes out there. A good example of what they've been up to is illustrated by their replacement of the anchor and bolts on the 5.11b slab climb on Whitehorse Ledge. While climbing it fairly recently one of the anchor bolts failed when the second fell at the 4th bolt! I can only imagine how the belayer felt when this happened. Besides having to lower the second off, they had to rappel off a single, now highly suspect bolt! Mike Morin (Northeast Regional Director for the Access Fund) and Sam Bendroth (Friends of the Ledges Board Member) replaced them recently. You can see a video of the process here:
Consider supporting them. They're doing good work.
AMERICAN ALPINE CLUB NH CHAPTER: SPRING BBQ
I wish I could be there, but I've got a gig...
Saturday, June 8, 2019
6:00 PM 9:00 PM
Cathedral Ledge
INSTANT BUG REPORT - BugCON 4:
I've raised the rating to a 4. Not because of black flies this time, they actually aren't as bad as I've seen them. It's mainly due too the brutal mosquitoes and even more so because of the ticks! I'm seeing the latter almost every single time I'm outside, and sometimes I find them in the house. BEWARE folks...
Ice Conditions Report:
Selected Ice Conditions effective March 21, 2024
I can't actually say that there is nothing out there that can't be climbed. That would be foolish. But for the average, or a little above average climber, that's probably correct. That said, I did hear that there is climbable ice on Parasol in Dixville Notch. Not sure how that will be after we get a foot of heavy wet snow on Saturday. Regardless, here's a few pix I took today just to document things.
Huntington Ravine
AVALANCHE
Repentance
OUT
Standard Route
OUT
Dracula
OUT
For the full current conditions report, CLICK
HERE
PEREGRINE:
Temporary climbing restrictions intended to benefit NH state-listed threatened peregrine falcons are posted at the following five New Hampshire cliff sites in 2019:
Cathedral Ledge (north end, right of Cathedral Roof, left of Diedre) in Bartlett, NH
Frankenstein Cliff (front/lower cliff) in Harts Location, NH
Holts Ledge (near clifftop overlook) in Lyme, NH
Rumney Rocks (Main Cliff, 2nd pitches) in Rumney, NH
Woodchuck Ledge (right half of cliff) in Albany, NH
Peregrines are also present at roughly a dozen additional NH cliffs where no closures have been posted because recreational use and repeated disturbance risk is believed to be minimal.
Climbers who encounter aggressive falcons during any climb at a NH cliff are advised to alter their climbing plan, and to please report the incident to NH Audubon or NH Fish & Game.
All posted areas will be reopened by August 1.
VALLEY CYCLING:
In general everything in the Valley is in good shape right now. Local NEMBA volunteers have been out cleaning everything up and have done a generally great job. On Monday I went up to Gorham to check out the new trails that have been going in near the airport. I just have to say that they were amazing and certainly rival both what we have here in the Valley and Kingdom Trails, and you know that says a lot. Here's a link to some more info and some maps. Enjoy...
https://www.nhbr.com/a-borderlands-biking-destination/
YO - IT SUCKS GETTING OLD:
I've had mild arthritis for the past 7-8 years, mostly on my right hand in my pinky finger. My mother had it pretty bad, so it's not all that surprising. Only being in that place, I could deal with it. Unfortunately this spring I've started to get it in my left hand, mostly in my middle finger and the finger to it's left - next to the pinky. [SIGH] The joints are sore and the tendons are definitely strained. Self massage, CBD balm and arnica help me manage, but it's a drag. Actually a double drag since that's my bass fretting hand. Not to mention the front brake lever hand on my bike and the hand I feel most solid crimping with when I'm climbing. It makes me less inclined to climb hard any more, as well as not want to go climbing at all when I have a lot of musical things to do. Yeah, at 71 I guess it goes with the territory, but I don't have to like it. I suppose it's a harbinger of things to come.
"Getting old isn't for the faint of heart..."
I don't know who said it, but I gotta agree!
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.
