1.07.2008

The Next Three Weeks

We have some challenges ahead for the remainder of January as we get ready for The Bad Boy and the Mad River Glen Uphill Snowshoe Challenge (on Feb 2 & 9). With record high temperatures and rain this week, next weekend may not chill up enough to harden the slush. With any luck, the mountains will be coated with hard, frozen snow by Sunday (1/13), but time will tell.

In addition, our good friend Spungie has marked January 19th on his calendar, and is happy to do anything we can come up with, as long as it takes more than five hours. tMail, this may be a good Carrigain date.

In the meantime, let's watch the weather on Mt. Washington. They may hit a record high tomorrow and leave us with nothing but rocks and ice - worse than we saw on Mt. Adams.

[Update 1/8] Note that the Mt. Adams video on YouTube has just been made available.

[Update 1/10] Everything has re-frozen on the summits. But the weather is looking like this: tonight and tomorrow is snow, sleet and freezing rain and rain everywhere around here - from the valley floor to the summits. Then we have Friday night and Saturday night to freeze things up. Sunday is looking like the better day in terms of giving the surfaces a chance to freeze (Saturday night's temps should be bitter cold and helpful). It won't simplify stream crossings, but should give us a nice crust. Will the rocks be coated? Will the mud freeze up? What would be a great route? No clue. Maddog was talking about Bamforth - but I think I'd rather save that for later in the winter - like for our Vermont Weekend adventure.

Here's a radical idea that will require a little investigating: Hillman's Highway if it doesn't wash away. It's a LONG drive, but if we restrict ourselves to that route (crampons and axes - NO snowshoes) it won't take all day. Bear in mind that right now, everything is covered in frozen ice/snow and a fall would be a really fast ride.

Stay tuned...

16 comments:

  1. Don't get your ya ya's in a tweet. Rain schmain... let's talk about the important things like PINK EYE... or not!

    I'd like to get out with my fresh eye this coming Saturday but am not really looking forward to a cold, rainy/sleety poke if that's what the weather brings. Anyway, let's watch the clock and I'll be looking for you characters to chime in with some suggested death marches (or short pokes such as Franconia Ridge, Cannon, Moosilaucke, Chocura, etc.)

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  2. Hey, I thought Borat was an only child. Is that cowmilker that just posted a sibling, or a distant relative?

    -MD

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  3. Ha! He's got Bag Balm and antibiotic rolled up in his sleeve.

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  4. Lets save death marches for Spungie Weekend, he likes stuff in which he feels pain...

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  5. Excellent idea. 1/19 will be the painful death march. Beware.

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  6. Weather looks like the shit of a bull for the weekend...

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  7. It looks like your upper lip is the shit of the bull on it; it's called a "Dirty Ferdinand".

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  8. I just looked at the weather again and now it looks like the diamond of the ass... what will it be - "party sunny" or "partly crappy" with ice, sleet, and rain?! So confused...

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  9. so is bamforth the adventure or something else? sat or sun. maybe I'll skip this weekend and save myself for "Spungie" day. Probably can't get away for two weekend days anyway.

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  10. I will be a last minute decision as I know that we have Spungie weekend coming up...I am looking to get in a 10-13 mile run this weekend as I stick with my efforts for Boston...MZ maybe we should add Boston to the event calendar. I am pretty sure T-mill is participating this year. Weather changes minute to minute...I know Spungie is not going to give a shit what the weather is like next weekend. Peak wind gust thus far on Bad Boy is 110mph Category 2 Hurricane?

    Are the ideas for Saturday the short stuff still?

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  11. I could be coerced into a Sunday jaunt... if my back spasms subside. Don't ask. The start of 2008 has made me feel like I am 2008! Pink eye, back spasms, sore knee, and a sandy v-hole.

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  12. sunday works better for me, but the kid is sick again so it may be a sat evening decision. and MPM...I got my pink (not salmon) spray bottle primed for your use.

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  13. Right now, Sunday may be the best day weather-wise. What happened to your back? Did the leather straps break and the pony drop?

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  14. The fucking pony dropped and his leg jammed into my dorsal fin. It's loosening up (after about 4 days of rotten pain) but I don't want to do anything to aggrevate the back and induce any more spasms. What a mess.

    By the way, my e-mail about Owl's Head next week... completely joking! I hate that talus heap or maybe I just hate the rail bed. Either way, there's a lot of hate.

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  15. Damn, sounds like one angry pony. I trashed my back one day when I was around 30. It haunted me for years until I finally saw a PT (back in '04) and got that shit resolved. As a consequence, however, I do back-related exercises/stretches almost every day. On the day Sue and I got married my back fucked up and I had to crawl on my hands and knees to get to a soft spot to lay down and cry. That was the one that sent me to a PT.

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