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August 11, 2022
Hi Folks,
After 8 days in the 90+ range, the heat wave finally broke yesterday! WOW, what a relief. As someone without AC, I just have to say that this was a real blessing. It's one thing about a really hot day or two here and there. But when it's unrelenting like it has been, it totally takes it all out of you. And that's even for someone who has lived half of their life WELL below the Mason Dixon Line!
As I mentioned last week, I had to go to Boston on Monday to have my hands checked out. After a thorough exam and even watching me play my bass, the Doc said I was doing darn well for someone my age. He urged me to limit my music practice time to 3-4 20 minute sessions with at least a 10 minute break, to generally avoid finger cracks to go easy on my somewhat arthritic knuckles and try not to climb on days when I have to play music that evening. He had no problem with my gym workouts or mountain biking. [big whew] Considering everything, I can live with all that. Hey, I'm looking forward to at least another 10 years doing all this stuff, so a few limitations aren't a real problem.
Before I left Boston I decided to check out one of my old climbing haunts, Hammond Pond. I used to live right across Rt 9 from the Upper Chestnut Hill Mall and would go over there 3-4 times a well to play on the Main Wall and in The Alcove. I didn't have much time on Monday so I didn't go to the Alcove, just did a few runs on the Main Wall. The pudding-stone really feels like visiting with an old friend. There wasn't any chalk, but I have to think there have been people there a lot, just like there were BITD.
http://www.neclimbs.com/wmr_pix/20220811/HammondPond_1.jpg
http://www.neclimbs.com/wmr_pix/20220811/HammondPond_2.jpg
http://www.neclimbs.com/wmr_pix/20220811/HammondPond_3.jpg
On August 21st I'll be at the New Hampshire Jazz Festival with both 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 jazz, don't miss it. And I will be at the Majestic Cafe in Conway Village on Friday August 26th as a duo the fantastic NY based jazz pianist Alex Minasian starting at 7pm. It's a great month of excellent music.
http://www.neclimbs.com/wmr_pix/20220804/NHJazzFestival.jpg
Minimal bugs, other than the usual ticks & some mosquitoes.
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!
Spring 2022 marked the 42nd breeding season in the post-DDT recovery era for New Hampshire’s peregrine falcon population. Once listed as federally endangered, and currently listed as state-threatened, NH's peregrines have been rebounding at a very gradual pace for many years. Some years - like the one just concluded – show notable increases, while other years are not as good. While NH's peregrine population hasn’t shown as dramatic a recovery as NH's bald eagles, our breeding peregrines are an important part of a healthy regional population including both cliff-nesting and urban-nesting pairs.
In 2022, NH Audubon staff and volunteer falcon-watchers documented a record-setting breeding season for NH peregrines (see graph attached). We confirmed 27 territorial pairs, up one from a state record-high 26 found in 2021. One new falcon nest site was discovered at Band M Ledge in Albany this year (see photo). Statewide, we confirmed a record-high 24 incubating pairs (89% of territorial pairs), and a record-high 18 successful pairs (75% of those incubating) fledging at least one young each. A total of 47 young peregrines fledged in NH in 2022, exceeding the previous record-high of 43 set in 2018. Two NH nest sites (Cathedral Ledge (see photo) and Westmoreland Quarry) fledged 4 young each, but the real star of the show in 2022 was the Brady Sullivan Tower, where 5 young fledged (see photo), marking only the third time out of a total of 348 productive nests in NH since 1981 (<1% of all successful falcon nests) where we have documented 5 young peregrines fledged!
Part of the thrill of working with these raptors is the incredible places they nest, both in the mountains and in our urban landscapes, too. Volunteer Bob Vallieres has been monitoring peregrines for NH Audubon for over 25 years, and he has encountered them in some amazing spots in the White Mountains, including in Franconia Notch (see photo) and at Russell Crag (see photo) Lori Charron was lucky enough to see an aerial prey exchange between a locally-nesting adult and juvenile in Dixville Notch in July (see photo). Also in July, Nora Hanke encountered what was almost certainly Concord's single fledged young while she was birding at Horseshoe Pond near downtown.
Management activities at NH peregrine falcon breeding sites are supported by a federal State Wildlife Grant to the NH Fish and Game Department's Nongame Wildlife Program and by generous support of NH Audubon members and other individuals. As always, a massive "Thank You!" goes out to all those who support our ongoing NH peregrine falcon recovery efforts, including our partners at NH Fish and Game, those associated with other natural resource agencies, our corporate partners, private landowners, and many rock climbers and volunteer falcon-watchers.
A picture of where the peregrines nested this year at the recently reopened Band M Ledge in Albany.
http://www.neclimbs.com/wmr_pix/20220811/BandM.jpg
A graph that shows how successful the birds have been from 1980-2022.
http://www.neclimbs.com/wmr_pix/20220811/Audubon_Graph.jpg
New Hampshire:
1 New death(s) reported over past 3 days
1,906 Active cases
108 Current hospitalizations being treated for COVID
2,640 Total deaths due to COVID-19
United States:
Confirmed: 92,466,105
Deaths: 1,034,975 (up about 2,000)
Global:
Confirmed: 587,117,657
Deaths: 6,426,247
The Johns Hopkins COVID-19 tracking map:
https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/us-map
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.
https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/covid-19-daily-video
OUR ONLY WAY OUT IS IF YOU GET VACCINATED, WHERE RECOMMENDED PLEASE STILL WEAR A MASK, WASH YOUR HANDS!
REMEMBER - WE ARE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER
Even with all the off and on storms passing through over the past week, the heat has kept things amazingly dry. I rode Marshall on Sunday and Cranmore on Tuesday and today and it all was basically bone-dry, even after some big storms having some through the day before. While it makes for good riding, it's is just too dry. The streams have no water in them and the river is lower than usual. There are a few trees and branches down here and there from the storms. Thanks to the local NEMBA and Rode NOCO groups for their efforts in keeping the trails in good shape.
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
| I wouldn't last 30 minutes climbing solo. |
| Bradford Washburn |
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