UKC

I'm wondering what others know of north east US.

I was in Connecticut most of Feb and had a couple of possibilities but due to pressure of time and a cock up we missed out.

Flights Birmingham to Newark NJ were £400 in Jan/Feb. How does that compare to getting to Rjukan?

North Conway NH is the honey pot with lots of good ice, pretty well guaranteed.

I'm told Massachusetts has a good few reliable sites too.

Even Connecticut where I was has a good, reliable (I was told) site at Beacon Falls and a very good top-roping playground (for the faint-hearted like me) just off the road at Peoples State Forest Park. Driving distances are doable for day trip from pretty well anywhere in CT.

Have others any experience? I have family near Hartford CT, so I'm likely to go again next winter.

In reply to Nigel Modern:

Further up the hudson is very reliable, Cascades region in the adirondacks, super cold up there around lake placid.

Surprised CT is reliable, winters seem to vary. Brutal this year.

In reply to Nigel Modern:

youtube.com/watch?v=BkQSiDa4v6g&

In reply to Nigel Modern:

There was a good website about winter climbing NEICE.Com I think? Worth a Google.

In reply to Nigel Modern:

I moved to CT in July and this year has been exceptional. I was at peoples on Saturday, it was fat and took screws although it has been so cold that some of the ice is quite brittle. Still good though. There are also a couple of nice dry tooling/mixed lines there.

There's also some good ice that you can see the other side of the road from Peoples but it's a horrendous bushwhack to get there. Also there's good ice near Canaan in the NW corner. The main problem in CT is access. There is some really good ice in Thomaston for example but it's banned.

Just driving about you can see fat ice everywhere in New England right now, been up Vermont several times for skiing this season (which has also been exceptional) and I've seen plenty of good lines although didn't climb there. the Catskills in New York is a day trip from Hartford and has really good ice.

Planning on doing the gullies in the Huntington Ravine on Mount Washington in a couple of weekends, they should be in condition for a while yet.

400 quid is a good deal, you're not gonna get much cheaper than that especially flying from Brum. Don't know about Rjukan prices. I'm sure you know this but make sure you have decent medical and rescue insurance in the states, it's expensive.

Next year could be totally different of course! Most years the ice, especially in Southern New England, is not in constantly good condition like this year.

In reply to dsh:
Thank you...sadly we missed Peoples by half a mile based on poor information...ended up walking 4 hours in the woods in deep snow(!) My main concern was brittle ice...judging by the ice on the house in Rockfall! I was there almost 4 weeks and it barenudged above freezing for more than a few hours.

In a bad year I guess it's a few hours drive up to New Hampshire if CT ice isn't in.

My Virgin insurance covered me to climb up to 100m high ice at no extra charge above the standard sports extension. £116 for year's multi-trip.

NEice website is good but appears to be not as active as UKC. I had trouble sourcing any guidebook for New England - any suggestions?

In reply to DaveHK:

I'm glad you still care about me even when you don't let it show...



(Impressed?)

I think there's a martian martian in the supermarket somewhere too

In reply to dsh:

I was Killington last weekend, 2nd trip and each year has been great powder. The NE has a reputation for icey or slushy conditions but I've had 3 trips now to Killington area resorts or Sunday River ME and had good conditions each time.

If you go to Killington, Pico is worth a visit when Killington may be too busy or skiied out, quite a bit cheaper, less queueing. Nice little resort.

This year is just brutal. Even down in Philly its just been snowy, icey and super cold and we've missed most of the big dumps NE has got. Its more the cold. I was Lake Placid snow shoeing a few weeks ago and it was -15C almost all the time.

In reply to Roadrunner2:
Yeh I skied in the best condition I've ever skied this season, Killington 3 weeks ago and magic last weekend.

And a few other places but those were the best.

I don't mind the cold, it keeps the lines short!

In reply to dsh:

I was there Valentines day (that Fri, Sat) so it was also the long weekend (presidents weekend?) but the lines werent too bad, especially on any of the chair lifts as everyone stuck to the Gondola's due to the cold, we did loads of runs on Rime and Reason because the chair there was empty.. At Pico they closed the top lift due to frostbite risk.

As a tip there's a cheap motel, Killington Pico Motor Inn, has an outdoor hot tub in winter, sit out in the hot tub having a cold beer, covered still, but a quick sprint back to your room. Great little hotel for a budget hotel and on the bus line so you can easily head out for a beer in Killington at night.

NE Skiing is pricey though..

I did a few peaks from Cascades Lakes in the Adirondacks the week before. The ice all along the Cascades was super fat, spectacular sight.

Off to the Whites next week snow shoeing and hiking, first time in them in winter.

In reply to Roadrunner2:

Yeh the prices are outrageous but I never pay full price for a ticket up here.

Connecticut Ski Council, $10 to join, everyday of the season you can get a ticket somewhere for half price or better.

Then there are third party companies offering discounts, ski c&b sports is one.

Failing that can usually get a few bucks off somewhere with liftopia.

Magic Mountain on a powder day is definitly worth the money though.

In reply to Nigel Modern:

Is it cold enough around Christmas/New Year? I will be out there for Christmas & New Year on account of being newly married to a CT girl and hoping to take my gear and get a route in.

In reply to neilwiltshire:
Hi,

Not predictable before end of Jan is what I've picked up. I think you'd be likely to need to go out of State around that time. They had a dry winter this year until Jan 26th - we celebrated my daughter's birthday stocking up on provisions waiting for the 'Storm of the Century'...that didn't happen but about 3' fell while I was there and it's still there now. Last year I froze my rocks off camping in April in CT waiting to get the keys for the house...

From what I pick up, Canaan Mountain is a likely possibility at that time though - NE CT bordering on MA...perhaps 1.5hrs from Hartford. Reliable ice would be approx 6hrs drive - North Conway NH

I'd watch the forecasts and post on NEice to get info just before you go

In reply to Nigel Modern:
I've looked and it wasn't NEice which was the most useful but an offshoot(?): http://www.neclimbs.com/SMF_2/index.php/board,3.0.html

In reply to Nigel Modern:

great resources, thanks

In reply to Nigel Modern:




That should have been 'Abominable snowman in the Market' and 'Here come the Martian Martians'...how could I ever forget!!! (i did try, believe me I did)

Actual if nobody has ever heard Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers (first album) to preserve your sanity don't do it but if you are foolish like me you'll ignore that and be singing them everywhere you go

In reply to neilwiltshire:


Possible. Most ski resorts open before Christmas and make snow so there's normally prolonged periods of sub zero temps, but you'll probably have to head up into the Adirondacks, Catskills or Whites and get higher.

It's very varied though. A few years back my missus lived in Boston and had one or two mornings of snow all winter, almost nothing on the ground yet this winter and last have been record levels of snow. The amount Boston has this year is incredible.

In reply to DaveHK:

Dave, you've got me going! Just transferring JR and the ML from old cassette tape into ProTools...

I'd realised they were tongue in cheek but now I know New England better I realise they are satirical(?)...maybe more like the gentle teasing of a good friend.

A trip down memory mall

In reply to Roadrunner2:

There were rumours that Boston was close to having to take the big piles of snow off the parking lots and truck them out of the city. Even in CT some of those piles may still be there at end of April, if it's like last spring.

Yes, ski areas open from Dec, ice takes a little longer. Connecticut River was mainly frozen much of the time I was there. Lots of frozen lakes but I didn't see any ice-skating and no curling........might be different further north where it is more predictable.

In reply to Nigel Modern:

I heard they have started dumping it in the Charles River. But they also have huge snow melters, like shipping containers with heating, incredibly energy consuming.

I was surprised they didn't dump it in the river/bay earlier. That's the Norwegian way, just plow it straight out to the beach.

In reply to neilwiltshire:


Well this year has been really good but everything melted during a warm week over xmas/new years, so it's unpredictable but your best bet would be the White Mountains in NH at that time.

In reply to Nigel Modern:


I saw people ice skating and ice fishing even early in the season. It depends on the lake, there are a lot of access issues in CT. I saw people every day on Wethersfield Cove next to I-91.

In reply to Nigel Modern:


I can't see the words New England without launching into song.

I also notice that one of the contributers to this thread is called Roadrunner. Coincidence?

In reply to Nigel Modern:

The Mrs' hometown is Danbury so it sounds like I'm in for a bit of a trek whatever the case!

In reply to dsh:

Yes, climber's kept talking of access issues. Thanks for info...several previously open ice sites have become closed in recent years.

I was told when going to US with a bivvi tent '...be careful. Don't go camping on anyone's land...they'll shoot first and ask questions later...' They were genuinely concerned.

My son and son-in-law were stopped from wilderness canoe-camping in CT by cops - even though the land further up the (large) lake was deserted it was owned by a utility company and they push for enforcement. They were loading an open canoe at a public launch place and the boys in blue asked them where they were going and said they'd have to arrest them if they went ahead.

In reply to neilwiltshire:

Distances aren't that big...CT is a small state. Danbury is a little over 1hr from Canaan

In reply to DaveHK:


My daughter's homesick for Old England...I think I'll have to infect her with, I mean introduce her to the delightful JR