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Just gotta say that it's interesting to write while imbibing a blueberry, banana, orange juice daiquiri! It hit 96 in town this afternoon and when I got home from riding at Cranmore, I decided I owed it to myself to use up some of my cheap Tequila and enjoy the afternoon while putting out this week's full Report. HA...
We've had multiple weather alerts, and right now at 9pm, the predicted front is coming through. Winds are howling, it's pouring rain and lightening and thunder abound! It's quite something... I wasn't sure it was actually going to happen, so I did go out this morning and water the garden. I've got tomatoes ripening on the vine and green beans coming very quickly after the woodchuck rampage. Well so as long as it doesn't get entirely TOO crazy, this could be a good thing.
Mt WASHINGTON INCIDENT:
There was a death on Mt Washington the other day. I haven't seen any more details, but this was in the paper. Check out the description of the conditions!
MY CLIMBING, WHY NOT:
A bunch of folks have asked why I haven't really been out climbing much this summer. Well, there actually are a couple of reasons...
It's a drag but my favorite two partners have been unavailable this summer. Matt Bowman is out west guiding alpine climbs and Brad has been nursing an injury. I've made an effort to cultivate a couple of other partners, but nothing has actually worked out. Go figure...
I have 4 main activities in my life - climb, ride my mountain bike, go to the gym and play music. I have some arthritis in both hands so at 74 my hands can mostly manage 3 of the 4 on a regular basis. Since my partners are limited right now, I have chosen to ride, which I can easily to by myself, and play music, which I've done for 56 years and can't imagine not doing! Believe me, I love climbing. It's just on the side burner right now. In ice season I can get out and do a lot by myself, so I'm just waiting for that. PLUS at times I can combine riding my fat tire bike to an ice climb like Standard at Frankenstein, bringing in the best of both worlds.
I've been seeing a specialist every couple of years, for the past 15 years who specializes in treating musicians. This is Dr Michael Charness, a neurologist at Brigham & Women's Hospital in Boston who runs the Performing Artists Clinic. He is also a very accomplished pianist and diagnostician. This is the guy who treats the players in the Pops, Boston Symphony, New England Conservatory and others. He helped me deal with some acute tendonitis 8 years ago and I'm going down to see him on Saturday.
And speaking of the gym... I've been doing a lot of upper body work and squats lately. Both of which have had a positive impact on the little climbing I'm doing. I went up to the Little cliff at the top of Cathedral (The Wall Of The Hurley Morning Light) and threw a rope down there on Monday. It was a hot and muggy 90 degree day and I sure sweated a lot, but I easily ran through all the climbs there. Normally I would rope-solo them all, but since someone stole the hangers [ARRGH] I just TR soloed them. While I do solo ice, I don't usually solo rock. Go figure... The cool thing was that it was clear that the squat work really paid off! All my stand-up muscles were in great shape, which makes me feel that it's going to be a great ice season! LOL Here's a few pix:
AND YET MORE SHAMELESS SELF PROMOTION:
I will be playing every Wednesday this month at Rosa Flamingos in Bethlehem from 5:30-8:30 and on the boardwalk at Weirs beach from 6-9. Both are FREE! And then on August 21st I'll be at the New Hampshire Jazz Festival with the Robert Ames Quintet and the Mike Levine Latin Quartet. This will be a great evening featuring all the best regional jazz musicians in a fantastic venue. If you like this type of music, don't miss it.
CRAGGIN' CLASSIC RUMNEY:
The American Alpine Club is teaming up with CAMP Technical Adventure Equipment for the biggest gathering of NE climbers: the Rumney Craggin' Classic this September 16-18!
This 3-day grassroots festival features clinics led by professional climbers and local guides on topics ranging from intro to climbing outside, self-rescue, anchor building, and more. Get ready to dance to live music, get inspired, eat delicious local food, sip beverages, snag wicked good deals on gear, and make your corner of the Earth a little better by participating in a crag stewardship project! What makes these events truly exceptional is the community of passionate and friendly folks who show up to celebrate our shared vertical pursuits. So, whether you're new to clipping bolts or have been projecting routes for decades, we want to welcome you to the Rumney Craggin' Classic!
Ice Conditions Report:
Selected Ice Conditions effective December 6, 2025
COLD COLD COLD...and more on the way! 11 degrees Saturday morning at 9am! It's absolutely feeling like winter at last. The recent storm dropped about 8-9" of light stuff up here in the Valley. Fortunately it wasn't that difficult to snowplow and shovel thank goodness. I had to drive over to Portland Wednesday at 6am and quite surprisingly the roads were reasonably clear. Even in Maine! There was a lot more to our south and that it was heavy and wet. I am really quite optimistic about the upcoming ice season, so stay tuned folks.
Huntington Ravine
good stuff
Repentance
OUT
Standard Route
OUT
Dracula
OUT
For the full current conditions report, CLICK
HERE
SOME LOCAL/NATIONAL PANDEMIC THOUGHTS:
I think that this article is quite interesting - Better Data Needed To Defeat Misinformation - Two experts from the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center (CRC) say the scientific community needs to urgently reform how public health data and preliminary research findings are communicated during future global crises to avoid mistakes committed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
New Hampshire:
? New death(s) reported over past 3 days
1,935 Active cases
88 Current hospitalizations being treated for COVID
2,633 Total deaths due to COVID-19
United States:
Confirmed: 91,952,578
Deaths: 1,032,751 (up over 3,000!!!)
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.
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.
