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September 28, 2023
Hi Folks,
For the past 5 or so years I've been regularly going to the local gym, Integrity. As it's the only regular gym in the area, and it's of course a small town, I see the same folks all the time. It's kind of nice to say hi and we all give each other props on the work they are all putting in. If someone isn't there for a while you always are happy to see them if they come back.
There some some folks that are more friendly than others and I've always had a few that I spend 5 minutes or so chatting with and kind of getting to know. One of those was Bobby Kinnarney; a talented stone mason and very friendly 74 year old dude with a big smile and big muscles. We always chatted about life, music and just general stuff. Needless to say it was quite a shock when I saw his obituary in the local paper last week! As is so often the case, there was so much about him that I didn't know. Besides working as a mason for 40 years, he had been a B-52 mechanic, deep sea diver, marathon runner and even an avid rock climber. It really made me wish I'd know him better.
Along the same line of thought, I have a friend and his wife who are living in an assisted living facility Needham, MA - right down the street where I used to live 26 years ago. I met him on Star Island 10 years ago and he is a very talented saxophone player. He hadn't been to the island since Covid and I had missed seeing him. About 2 months ago I put together a couple of friends who know him as well and this Wednesday we all went there to see him and to play some music. It was a really special afternoon The singer Kemp lives in Boston, but the guitarist Carl lives in New York. Carl and I agreed that it was well worth the 6+ hour round trip. Afterward we had dinner together and chatted about music and all kinds of things. I thought he was in his 80's, but as it turns out he is 90! He is still playing in 2 rehearsal bands and sounds great. Another inspiration, like George Hurley.
http://www.neclimbs.com/wmr_pix/20230928/BobJorgensen.jpg
I guess what I'm saying about this is that our time here is short. And some things are just well worth the effort. WORD...
It’s Fall and the cliffs are looking beautiful as ever. This Sunday in conjunction with a climbing festival put on by Flash Foxy, Friends of the Ledges will be hosting a stewardship opportunity and cleanup at Cathedral Ledge. We'll be working from 9-12 am and likely getting out and climbing afterwards. Please come join us as we take care of Cathedral thru trash pickup, trail work and delineation, and tree management. Please bring hand saws and work gloves if you have them! We'll meet at the second kiosk at the base of Cathedral Ledge and form some work parties from there.
I met up with my buddy Phil on last Saturday to do some downhill at Cranmore. I got there 40 minutes before him and did a bunch of runs, then he came and we did them all again. Good fun... We decided to wind it up with a last run on Stem-bogen, the steepest of the bunch. Of course on the trail leading to the actual downhill run I took a winger on a patch of loose sand. [ARRGGH] I wasn't going fast and didn't figure I'd gotten much more than a bruise, that is until I got home and jumped into the shower. No rash, but a big time hematoma! YIKES... Lots of ice and IBP helped, but it was annoyingly painful and ugly. I had my 6 hour drive to Boston and back to play music yesterday so the lady I see for massage suggested trying one of those Lidocaine patches. I'd never used one, but it really did take things down several notches and made a big difference. Recommended...
We are kind of floating in about the same place right now. I go out on the deck to drink my morning coffee and it's chilly and there are no bugs to be found. But if I do the same thing with a glass of wine in the evening, I often have to slap away some mosquitoes. That's going to change as it gets cooler in the early evenings of course. Stay tuned...
Last week and this have been great for riding any kind of bike, road or mountain. Tho I don't ride on the road very often, there are lots less folks in town so it's almost tolerable. And the trails are almost all dry now so the single track is great. My friend Chris Krugh has done a little work on the Pillar To Pond trail which has alleviated an always-annoying muddy so that's nice too. we are rapidly shifting into one of the best times of year to ride, so grab it while you can.
Remember - climb hard, ride the twisty stuff, wear a helmet, stay safe - and above all BE NICE.
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
| Anytime the gear makes climbing too easy and success too certain, the best climbers will voluntarily limit their use of it. |
| Jeff Lowe |
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