Like reading the White Mountain Report every week? Why not get it delivered to your e-mailbox every Thursday? All you have
to do is subscribe. It's fast, painless, and best of all it doesn't cost you
a dime!
I know, I know... It seems that all I talk about is the weather right now. While it's been brutally hot out west, we've had quite a bit of rain here. Now we're back to hot and humid and it looks as if that's what's in the cards for the next several days. That said, in spite of all the rain, the north country ranges between Abnormally Dry to Severe Drought conditions!
Ted Diers, administrator of the Watershed Management Bureau at the New Hampshire Coastal program at the Department of Environmental Services said: “Our message is, prepare for worsening conditions.”
When the state underwent extreme drought conditions in late summer a year ago, DES officials foresaw that without sufficient snowfall in winter and rainfall in spring drought conditions would linger for another year. In April, Tom Donovan, then director of the Water Division at DES, “said, We have not recovered from last year’s drought.”
Diers said that the deficit in rainfall has reached 15 inches, equal to a third of normal annual precipitation. Stream water levels, he said, are at historic lows while lake levels, which are managed by the state Dam Bureau, are at or near their seasonal norms.
A LITTLE MORE ABOUT THOSE DARN CATERPILLARS:
Pretty much anywhere you are in the Valley right now you will see Gypsy moths. We all are hoping that they die down soon. If you look closely at the trees, you can see the caterpillar cocoons attached to leaves, mainly on oak trees. On the good side many of the trees are beginning to spout new buds which will eventually should turn to leaves. We all have our fingers crossed...
http://www.neclimbs.com/wmr_pix/20210715/Moth_1.jpg TEXT
THE WALL OF THE HURLEY MORNING LIGHT:
A number of folks have asked me for beta on this area at the top of Cathedral Ledge. Since the road has been opened, access is particularly easy. It's a great place to grab a little more climbing after doing something on the Thin Air Face, doing a little moderate top-roping, practicing easy leading, and even on occasion hosting military or Mountain Rescue Service training. I thought I'd written it up on NEClimbs.com, but I guess it slipped off my to-do list. So here's the details:
The Wall Of The Hurley Morning Light/a.k.a. The Other Classroom (5.6-5.7):
A popular area, with easy access if the road is open. Drive or walk the road and near the top, ~200' from the circular turnaround/parking area, look for a small light brown slab on the cliff side of the road. If driving, make the turnaround and park here. Walk directly into the woods on a small trail towards the cliff to where it connects to the old climbers descent trail. Walk a few feet downhill (left) and look down and to your right to spot cliff, which faces uphill. You can access it by rappelling from trees near the trop, or by walking uphill about 40' to where you would come up from topping out on Thin Air.
The cliff features 4 bolted lines and 2 trad routes. The corner on the left and the crack to its right (The Desperado Crack) are probably 5.6. As best I remember, the bolted lines are 5.6, 5.7, 5.6 and 5.6. The one on the furthest right starts just right of the tree, foot-traverses right and slightly up, and then climbs to the top right at the right hand arete. IMPORTANT NOTE - DO NOT grab, pull on, or put gear in that obvious flake.!!! It moves...
Like many places in the Valley, the area had been bouldered on occasion over the years. One person known to have climbed there was John Haulopenskie (sp?). The initial cleaning and arete line was done by George Hurley and David Giampietro. Joe & Judy Perez, Jeff Lea and Al Hospers put in the other bolted lines.
Gear: If you're going to lead, 5 draws are more than enough for the bolted lines. I generally use a couple of smallish cams for the corner and just tricams for the crack, but YYMV. If you bring a 60m rope, you can butterfly it and TR all the lines.
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
I know, I know... It seems that all I talk about is the weather right now. While it's been brutally hot out west, we've had quite a bit of rain here. Now we're back to hot and humid and it looks as if that's what's in the cards for the next several days. That said, in spite of all the rain, the north country ranges between Abnormally Dry to Severe Drought conditions!
Ted Diers, administrator of the Watershed Management Bureau at the New Hampshire Coastal program at the Department of Environmental Services said: "Our message is, prepare for worsening conditions."
When the state underwent extreme drought conditions in late summer a year ago, DES officials foresaw that without sufficient snowfall in winter and rainfall in spring drought conditions would linger for another year. In April, Tom Donovan, then director of the Water Division at DES, "said, We have not recovered from last year's drought."
Diers said that the deficit in rainfall has reached 15 inches, equal to a third of normal annual precipitation. Stream water levels, he said, are at historic lows while lake levels, which are managed by the state Dam Bureau, are at or near their seasonal norms.
A LITTLE MORE ABOUT THOSE DARN CATERPILLARS:
Pretty much anywhere you are in the Valley right now you will see Gypsy moths. We all are hoping that they die down soon. If you look closely at the trees, you can see the caterpillar cocoons attached to leaves, mainly on oak trees. On the good side many of the trees are beginning to spout new buds which will eventually should turn to leaves. We all have our fingers crossed...
http://www.neclimbs.com/wmr_pix/20210715/Moth_1.jpg TEXT
THE WALL OF THE HURLEY MORNING LIGHT:
A number of folks have asked me for beta on this area at the top of Cathedral Ledge. Since the road has been opened, access is particularly easy. It's a great place to grab a little more climbing after doing something on the Thin Air Face, doing a little moderate top-roping, practicing easy leading, and even on occasion hosting military or Mountain Rescue Service training. I thought I'd written it up on NEClimbs.com, but I guess it slipped off my to-do list. So here's the details:
The Wall Of The Hurley Morning Light/a.k.a. The Other Classroom (5.6-5.7):
A popular area, with easy access if the road is open. Drive or walk the road and near the top, ~200' from the circular turnaround/parking area, look for a small light brown slab on the cliff side of the road. If driving, make the turnaround and park here. Walk directly into the woods on a small trail towards the cliff to where it connects to the old climbers descent trail. Walk a few feet downhill (left) and look down and to your right to spot cliff, which faces uphill. You can access it by rappelling from trees near the trop, or by walking uphill about 40' to where you would come up from topping out on Thin Air.
The cliff features 4 bolted lines and 2 trad routes. The corner on the left and the crack to its right (The Desperado Crack) are probably 5.6. As best I remember, the bolted lines are 5.6, 5.7, 5.6 and 5.6. The one on the furthest right starts just right of the tree, foot-traverses right and slightly up, and then climbs to the top right at the right hand arete. IMPORTANT NOTE - DO NOT grab, pull on, or put gear in that obvious flake.!!! It moves...
Like many places in the Valley, the area had been bouldered on occasion over the years. One person known to have climbed there was John Haulopenskie (sp?). The initial cleaning and arete line was done by George Hurley and David Giampietro. Joe & Judy Perez, Jeff Lea and Al Hospers put in the other bolted lines.
Gear: If you're going to lead, 5 draws are more than enough for the bolted lines. I generally use a couple of smallish cams for the corner and just tricams for the crack, but YYMV. If you bring a 60m rope, you can butterfly it and TR all the lines.
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
You put up with the grind of work or school as long as you can or is required. But then, one day, the phone rings one too many times, or the line at the gas pumps seems unending. The air smells bad. The food foul. 'Enough of this' you cry. You grab your ice tools and are gone.
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.
