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s I write this I'm out on Star Island for my annual relax & recharge before things go nuts for the summer. Every weekend will be busy playing music and the like starting July 9th and not ending until mid-October. I always enjoy my time out there with friends talking, playing music and bouldering on the coastal rocks. It's a time that I really hold dear as it gives me the boost I need to get through the busy time...
This year I borrowed a pair of shoes for a friend with the plan just to get him to go up and down a bit. I don't really have a way to post pictures to the web as I usually do right now, but there are some on Instagram and Facebook if you have access to those venues. Trust me when I say that it's very nice. That said when we were out climbing on Tuesday it was amazingly hot. The white rock reflected the light and the heat, feeling ever so much like the proverbial convection oven. It reminded me of an incredibly hot early October day on EL Cap with my ex in Yosemite. She and I did Little John Right next to the Nose and by the time we were done we were both dehydrated, sunburned and beat. Obviously island bouldering isn't that strenuous, but the heat felt very similar, and after a couple if hours we were were exhausted.
From what I've been following on the mainland, the heat in the MW Valley has been brutal as well. As most of the folks I know don't have AC, the sleeping has to be pretty darn uncomfortable. We had a major storm front blow through here Wednesday evening with high winds, lightning and thunder. So now things have cooled down a lot and I understand in the Valley temps might even retreat into the lower 50's by the weekend. Go figure...
Before I left to come out here I managed to get down to climb with Mr Hurley for a morning. George has been putting up a series of short but entertaining little routes on the very far left side of Rines Hill in Alton. While I don't think that any are more than 40' high, they all actually have something that makes them worth checking out. The most recent one was a line that I spited about a month ago and that he and his friend Jim cleaned up. There was a large tree that was kind of in the way of the line that after some significant effort we were able to remove. As of last week it was unnamed, but I'm sure it will have an interesting name soon. I think it's a 5.8 all trad route with good gear. If you're in the area I think you should check it and his others out.
Ice Conditions Report:
Selected Ice Conditions effective November 27, 2025
There is minimal snow up in Crawford Notch. The pictures below are from Wednesday. While I drove through the notch today, I didn't bring a camera. However there is substantially less ice up there than there was yesterday. Mid day Wednesday it was 46 degrees at the Dry River Campground and 41 at the Highland Center. It rained a bit overnight as well. Today it was 40 at the Center! I have seen some great pictures of Pinnacle Gully from earlier in the week, but none from yesterday or today. That said, things will most certainly get better as the weekend goes on.
Huntington Ravine
UNKNOWN
Repentance
OUT
Standard Route
OUT
Dracula
OUT
For the full current conditions report, CLICK
HERE
Before I left to come out here I managed to get down to climb with Mr Hurley for a morning. George has been putting up a series of short but entertaining little routes on the very far left side of Rines Hill in Alton. While I don't think that any are more than 40' high, they all actually have something that makes them worth checking out. The most recent one was a line that I spited about a month ago and that he and his friend Jim cleaned up. There was a large tree that was kind of in the way of the line that after some significant effort we were able to remove. As of last week it was unnamed, but I'm sure it will have an interesting name soon. I think it's a 5.8 all trad route with good gear. If you're in the area I think you should check it and his others out.
INSTANT BUG REPORT: 3
From what I hear the biting/sting bugs are down right now, so here ya go... Doesn't mean you shouldn't bother with bring the bug dope tho.
SOME LOCAL/NATIONAL PANDEMIC THOUGHTS:
In spite of the fact that the virus hasn't gone away, and the new variant is taking hold in any places here and in the world, it's become harder to get the full numbers. Especially here in NH. Here's what I see as of today...
New Hampshire:
0 new death reported
28 new cases reported
162 Active cases
15 patients are currently hospitalized
1,372 total deaths
United States:
Confirmed: 33,666,198
Deaths: 604,718
I find JHU's Daily COVID-19 Data in Motion report to be very informative. It shares critical data on COVID-19 from the last 24 hours in a short 1 minute animated video format.
PLEASE - GET VACCINATED, WEAR A MASK, WASH YOUR HANDS, BE NICE!
REMEMBER - WE ARE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER
VALLEY CYCLING:
As I am away and not riding this week, I don't have anything to say about riding. So enjoy what you can before the multitudes descend on our Valley... From here on out it will be a good idea to ride early and in alternative places if possible.
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.
