New Hampshire Climbing Guide -- Mountaineering Instructor -- Member of The North Face Climbing Team

Believe it or not I was ice climbing up at Frankenstein today. It was supposed to maybe rain but I had a feeling it was going to be ok so we went for it. The amphitheater was scary looking but it looked like Hobbit Couloir was in (at least until this current thaw) and you could probably get up Pegasus from the bottom of hobbit with the rock finish. Chia looked like it was pretty sketchy. Problem is that it was about 50 degrees today. We went to walk in the forest, which is I think the right name, for the flow which is up in the woods on the left after you pass the trestle slabs. It was actually pretty good, with plenty of easy plastc ice. Water was flowing all over the place. I thought about going down to Standard Route, but on account of the warmth decided I didn't want to be hanging around under it. This weekend is going to be heinous, and based on the fact that it's 10pm and the thermometer is still in the 40s, we're going to lose a lot of ice. It's supposed to get colder again after the weekend and there's a chance that some stuff will have survived. There will be water flowing all over the place and if it gets cold there should be stuff to climb. A couple days ago I climbed at Trollville and the inside word is that ot was excellent. The ice was thin but at Trollville that's kind of what you're looking for isn't it? One thing I should note is that another big piece of Guido's Delight fell off the cliff. The bottom part of the route, which I thought was totally solid, is gone. I'm at the point now where I feel kind of sketchy about hanging out anywhere below the main part of the cliff. Also, last season while climbing on Diaper Rash we broke off a huge flake which was key to the route. I have since toproped it and let's just say that it's really hard!! The New Diaper Rash has yet to be led. If you fire it, let me know. So, that's the report for now. I'll be out again next week so more info on the conditions to follow. Mark