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At the start of the week we had pretty close to 3 solid days of rain. The rain gauge at my friend in Jackson's house read 5". I showed 4 1/2 here at the cliff. Considering that there were several hours of torrential downpour, I'm surprised it wasn't a lot more. We sure need the rain, but there sure are a lot of seeping cracks and puddles out there now.
I was pretty frustrated with the weather, so when the fog cleared off this morning I knew I'd have to get outside to do something. I had errands in town and then spent an hour stacking wood. As always I just keep pecking at it, generally an hour at a time, 'till it's done. There's no rush since I have a dry cord in the garage that will keep me going till the end of December. I'd been wanting to throw a rope down on AP Treat for several weeks and decided this would probably be a good time.
I'd done it last August with Brad and it was kind of dirty then. This time I was glad that I wasn't leading it as it was much dirtier. From the dirt and moss, it's hard to imagine that it's getting climbed. The critical small slot about 20+' up wasn't even visible! Regardless it was fun to just thrown a rope down on it and climb something kind of hard. It's rated 5.8, but I'm sure it's more 5.9. Not too mention that the protection is somewhat sparse. But it's a really fun climb to do.
DAMN - BOLTS BOLTS AND MORE BOLTS:
At the end of last week I was informed that there was to be a meeting regarding bolts and bolting in the Valley and it was going to be held at the base of Cathedral at 6pm on Wednesday night. I've been gigging every Wednesday all summer, so I wasn't able to be there. The person putting it together asked if I wanted to send something that would be read. I said why not, and sent something off. My understanding is that this was precipitated by someone putting in a couple of bolts between Airation and Heather to link the two, since been chopped.
I've talked with a few people who where there. It was apparently a mostly respectful meeting. Someone said that there was an agreement to
go along with the conclusion from the last meeting, probably 15+ years ago. I am pretty skeptical of that, as within 24 hours of that large meeting and consensus the bolts on Thin Air were chopped! [sheesh]I was trying to find the agreement, but can't find it right off... Regardless, if you have any interest in my thoughts on the matter, you can find them here:
SHAMELESS SELF PROMOTION:
Saturday September 10th the Jim McLaughlin Band will be at Ledge Brewing in Intervale from 6-9. This is a great jam band that plays all the tunes you know, but you may not recognize them. [HA] All in good fun and the beer is great! Come by after you finish climbing... It's where we all met for Ice Fest last year. The Bradley jazz Collective will be at the Brick Church in Lovell on the 15th. This is a great quartet that Ive been performing with for 8 years. Pianist Jed Wilson and sax player Mike Sakash are as good as it gets. Then on the 17th I'll be doing a concert at the Majestic Theater in Conway Village with the Mike Levine Sextet. I've known him since 1976 and he is an amazing composer and latin-jazz pianist. He is bringing a great percussionist and drummer up from Miami for this show. Check out this video:
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, AAC wants to welcome you to the Rumney Craggin' Classic!
Ice Conditions Report:
Selected Ice Conditions effective April 24, 2024
It's all over for 2023/2024.
Huntington Ravine
OUT
Repentance
OUT
Standard Route
OUT
Dracula
OUT
For the full current conditions report, CLICK
HERE
SOME LOCAL/NATIONAL PANDEMIC THOUGHTS:
It's disturbing that the state of NH isn't reporting the Covid numbers promptly and accurately. It's a problem in other parts of the country, but NH is pretty bad. I gotta figure that it has something to do with us being a big tourist destination.
New Hampshire:
0 New death(s) reported over past 5 days - AGAIN DATA IS NOT AVAILABLE!!!
1,507 Active cases
20 Current hospitalizations being treated for COVID - up 20 from this time last week
2,670 Total deaths due to COVID-19
United States:
Confirmed: 95,103,897
Deaths: 1,049,541
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.
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
VALLEY CYCLING:
I didn't ride on the rainy days, but did get out Saturday and on Sunday before the rain started. Saturday I did a couple of warmup runs and then traversed over to Tornado in the Hurricane Zone. Then on Sunday I got in several runs and then my buddy Phil O showed up and we did a bunch more. Before I knew it I'd racked up 9 runs. Don't let anyone tell you that downhill doesn't provide any exercise. Just sayin'!
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
Many have questioned the quality of this sort of achievement, deploring the use of pitons, tension traverses and expansion bolts, but the record speaks for itself. This is a technical age and climbers will continue in the future to look for new routes. There is nothing more satisfying than being a pioneer.
Allen Steck, justifying the 1st ascent of Sentinel's north face
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.
