Thursday December 13, 2012

Yesterday I went for a drive up to Crawford Notch to take a look at the ice and today I went into Huntington Ravine and climbed Pinnacle Gully and then descended down through Tuckerman Ravine. The bottom line is there is ice in the Ravines to climb, it is still in early season condition and there is very little snow. The lack of snow makes Huntington Ravine a bit difficult but enhances Tuckerman Ravine's climability. In Crawford Willey's and Standard are climbable but in very early season condition. My evaluation is much more positive for this weekend than it was for last, not because the ice is that much better but because the weather is much more conducive for the ice to build so things will be better this weekend than what I saw, not worse. Having said that the ice is still in early season mode so take that as a warning. The one thing I should mention is the trails to the ravines are very icy and some sort of traction like microspikes are really necessary.

I start the pictures with pictures of the gear I carried today on my solo mission up Pinnacle Gully. Here is the gear list of what I carried and wore today if that is of interest to you.

BD Bbee Pack
Patagonia Puff Jacket
Patagonia Puff Pants
Swami Belt from a Harness
Locking Carabiner and Rappel Device
30m Twin Rope
30m 5mm Pull Cord
1 Ice Screw
1 Hook Tool
1 Quickdraw
Petzl Headlamp
Petzl Dart Crampons
Petzl Quark Ice Tools
2 Ski Straps
Helmet
1 Pair BD Punisher Gloves
1 Pair BD Pilot Gloves
Patagonia Guide Pants
Med Weight Crew Neck Top
Marmot Haven Jacket
Microspikes
La Sportiva Prime
Gipron Walking Poles

The gear spread out

All packed up

Standard Route Click on the photo for a larger image

Odells, Pinnacle Buttress, Central Click on the photo for a larger image

Diagonal Bulge, Harvard Slab, North Gully Click on the photo for a larger image

Pinnacle Gully Click on the photo for a larger image

Alpine Garden

An artsy photo of the Alpine Garden

Tuckerman Ravine Click on the photo for a larger image

Tuckerman Ravine Click on the photo for a larger image

Thursday December 6, 2012

Today I wanted to go check out the conditions because after a pretty good warm up early this week it had gotten colder and I wanted to see how the ice faired and if it was building up in this blast of cold. The good news is that there is ice out there and if it stays cold this coming weekend it would be about the same as last. Unfortunately the forecast for the next few days, actually through the weekend, is for another warm-up and it looks like the summit will go above freezing for a substantial period of time and the coldest the summit is forecasted to get is around freezing maybe a bit colder on Sunday. Add to the mix some forecasted precipitation and this weekend is looking pretty poor for ice. Long term the forecast models show some colder temperatures starting Tuesday and it appears the cold will be here for some time. So if we get some moisture this weekend and it does get cold it seems that the ice season will get going for the middle of December. Based on my 30+ years of previous experience this year seems pretty typical to me. After Tuesday what we are going to need is a good snowstorm and then Christmas week will be all set!

Cinema Gully Click on the photo for a larger image

Elephant's Head Gully

Smear

Chia

Standard Click on the photo for a larger image

Dropline

The Tuckerman Ravine Trail

Odell's Gully Click on the photo for a larger image

Central Click on the photo for a larger image

Yale Gully Click on the photo for a larger image

Yale and North Click on the photo for a larger image

Diagonal Slab Click on the photo for a larger image

PinnacleGully Click on the photo for a larger image

PinnacleGully Click on the photo for a larger image

Central Click on the photo for a larger image

Tuckerman Ravine Click on the photo for a larger image

Sluice in Tuckerman Ravine Click on the photo for a larger image

Tuckerman Ravine Click on the photo for a larger image

Tuckerman Ravine Click on the photo for a larger image

Thursday November 29, 2012

This weekend is the first weekend in December and with that comes the desire to ice climb. Traditionally we are still in early season although in some years there is good climbing, on average we are still in that intermittent period when the ice comes and goes. This year it appears we are in the more normal intermittent type of start. With that in mind, yesterday and today I went out to check out conditions. Yesterday I hiked up to the base of Pinnacle and Central in Huntington Ravine and today I took a drive up to Crawford Notch and walked along the tracks at Frankenstein. I did not get to see Tuckerman Ravine or Franconia Notch so I do not have direct info about those areas. The good news is there is some ice to climb and given the weather forecast for the weekend it should get a bit better over the next few days. The down side id there isn't a lot to climb so if a lot of people show up it will get crowded quickly.

So here are the details, in Huntington, Pinnacle looks pretty good as does Odell's, Yale and North. With the last three it is important to note there is very little snow so where there is no ice it will be brushy and rocky. In Crawford Notch there is a lot less to be had. The only two climbs that look doable were Wiley's and Standard. The gullies on Mount Webster might have some ice but without any snow it would be more of an adventure than an ice climb! Reports are that the Black Dike has climbable ice but I have not heard anything about Tuckerman Ravine.

Remember that it is early season and ice can be thin, wet, unbonded and difficult if not impossible to protect, given that ice climbing even in good conditions is risky, early season ice is even more risky. This report is just my impression, you should only use it as a resource not some definitive opinion on what you can or should climb. Personally if I had to travel far to get up here and climb I probably would not make that trip for this weekend since what is climbable is scant. Below are some pictures to help you get a better idea of the conditions.

A light dusting of snow on the Tuckerman Ravine Trail

Odell's Gully Click on the photo for a larger image

Yale Click on the photo for a larger image

Pinnacle

Pinnacle Click on the photo for a larger image

Pinnacle Click on the photo for a larger image

Pinnacle Click on the photo for a larger image

Diagonal Slab Click on the photo for a larger image

Central Click on the photo for a larger image

The Fan with North and Yale in the background

Elephant's Head Gully Click on the photo for a larger image

A very dry Mount Willard

Smear Click on the photo for a larger image

Chia Click on the photo for a larger image

A climbable Standard Route Click on the photo for a larger image

Cathedral Practice Slabs

 

Friday November 23, 2012

Over the last few years I have been adjusting my work over the spring, summer and fall from rock climbing in NH to traveling more and trying to guide more alpine terrain. This year was the culmination of that change with what amounted to a 5 month road trip with a focus on alpine climbing in the Alps and in the North Cascades. The only thing I could add next year to make it even more alpine would be an Alaskan trip in spring. No plans for that but one never knows what opportunities might come around.

I am now home for the ice season and will be starting to make forays out to see what early ice is climbable so check back for reports here or friend me on facebook to get alerts as to when I update the conditions. Enjoy the photos.