April 26 , 2001

Hi folks,

It got quite chilly last night, reaching a low of 18, but it was 25 degrees on the deck at 6AM. Things are warming up nicely for the day, already almost 60 at 10AM, and it's going to be another pretty day. In spite of the mediocre weather predictions for last weekend, it turned into quite a nice one, so you never know. Tuesday was a 50 cent day, and in general this Spring has been one of the nicest I've seen in the 4 years I've lived up here; cool nights, mild days, minimal mud and (so far) a low bug count. The road past the Chalet's to the base of Cathedral is open to the gate and at last I can even walk through the woods to the cliff without post-holing to my knees. That said, there is still plenty of snow in the shady areas in the woods so Tevas are not the recommended approach shoe. <grin> We've still got a week before that.

Last weekend's Son Of Inferno pentathlon was quite a success. The weather, the river and the mountain all cooperated to give us a great event. I'm gonna have to put together a team for it next year, anyone interested? To see the results click here.

Perusing the results I noticed that our own Craig Taylor, local EMS guide extraordinaire, turned in the number 5 time in the "hike" up Mt. Washington. There were over 30 teams competing, so this is quite good. Whadda go Craig!

People are all over the Ledges now, with the exception of the right side of Whitehorse. In spite of many days of warm temps, there is still ice & snow up there that IS coming down. You can see it in the picture of the Whitehorse slabs below. I would give it through the weekend before climbing there. The area left of Echo Roof and on the South Buttress have been getting traffic. Pretty much all of Cathedral is fine now, tho there is some snow still on the ledges. Here are some pictures taken on my morning ride:

Wiessner Route
Cathedral and Whitehorse from Lucy Farm
North End of Cathedral Slab
Cathedral center
Whitehorse
Whitehorse Slabs
Whitehorse Echo Roof
Mt. Washington

The most interesting picture to me in the group is the one of the North End Slabs. When I rode by on Tuesday afternoon, amazingly enough the slab was still there. However it came down catestrophically yesterday afternoon. Even knocked down a couple of trees! There are some big chunks of ice over there & a river running down. You KNOW ice season is over.

Speaking of rivers, the water levels in the streams and rivers are high and rising. These warm days are really causing the snow in the higher elevations to melt fast. So if you are planning anything requiring stream or river crossings, be aware.

If you are still considering Huntington Ravine, be aware that the snow & ice is rapidly dwindling. Last weekend people were finding significantly less ice than before. In spite of the cold nights, snow conditions are destabilizing rapidly. Stick to gullies which are not in direct sunlight all the time like Odells Left. Pinnacle has mucho running water and may not be safe. The picture of the mountain (above) gives an indication of just how much snow is gone in the ravine. That said, there's still plenty of snow & spring skiing in Tuckermans.

Several people have been asking about Cannon. Ian Springsteel & Geoff Pingree did Whitney-Gilman about 10 days ago. Here is Ian's report:

"The Pipe pitch and a few of the cracks were cold, but over all very enjoyable. In case folks are wondering about the rock fall up there, it seems to be fine and does not threaten the route. Only about 15' are near it, and the stuff looks relatively stable -- just don't pull on it, you know. It appears someone may have caused additional rock fall by getting their rope caught in the loose stuff while rappelling and then pulling it down -- there is 40' of rope caught under the rubble."

There is snow on the approaches so be prepared for that. In spite of the generally dry Spring there are places where there is running water & snow and ice trapped in dark places. Shaded ledges like the one below next to the last pitch of Lakeview still have up to a foot of snow in places! Be prepared to be chilly on the belays. Still, it is a spectacular time to climb there.

OK, enough of that...

Remember - climb hard, climb far, climb safe and whatever you do have great fun.

Cheers,

Al Hospers
The White Mountain Report
North Conway, New Hampshire

"There are only three sports: bullfighting, motor racing,
and mountaineering; all the rest are merely games."
-- Ernest Hemingway

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