Greeley Ponds (Mad River Notch)   Photos:  Recent | Best | Popular Page Views:  2,231. Good page?    Administrators:  Jay Knower, M Sprague, lee hansche, Tom Erickson Submitted By:  bradley white on Dec 27, 2009 Make this area a Favorite What's New  Printer View Add Area  Add Photo  Add Comment  Add Event

BETA PHOTO: West side of Greeley northern pond. East facing se...

Description 

Northwest ridge facing eastward has various ice climbs and is dependent on winter conditions to how thick the ice is. Lean snow years mean thickest ice here apparently.
Furthest south is one long pitch, dike. I had only heard of it but did find it and climbed it one summer. I called it 'Dear Ticks and Black Flies'. The dike was originally climbed in the late 1970's by the Rumney ice climbing locals. Today it is famously known as the 'Drool of the Beast', (WI5-). Way back then in the 1980's it was known as the Miniature (mini) Black Dike. N.E. Climbs has a decent photo of it and so does neice.com.
There is a very long wide cascade coming down from nearly the Summit of East Osceola trail(where the trail veers right and heads up steeply, the cascade stream bed is to the left. This stream bed is all ice when conditions are right (WI3) otherwise a long snow slog with a few ice bulges and a great view at the top. Much was no rope soloed by me in the early 1980's but not the dike. I had only one friend that climbed here with me. That was Tom Bowker. We did a plastic glass pitch somewhere in the middle of these ledges with no protection beyond one very small tree on it. Afterward there was a snow field to grade two bulges that we climbed no rope soloing. This year 2012 the conditions of the west facing ice wall that I can see have new lines to climb. It's February though and the conditions could change to being poorly climbable before March.
I invite you to take it all in. Greeley Pond is close to only the east facing wall. This wall has at least two climbs on it.

Getting There 

Hike on Greeley Ponds trail towards the ponds from the Kancamagus Highway. Before the ponds are reached keep looking up southwestward to see the ridge through the trees. In about 2 miles you'll reach the climbs.

The Classics

Featured Route For Greeley Ponds (Mad River Notch)

The 5.8 Hand JAM Ice Pillar WI5  NH : *NH Ice and Alpine Climbing : ... : West side of Greeley northe...

This crazy thing looks like a straight on sight fat pillar but it got a surprise ending sometimes. The surprise is a deep vertical gutter at the top with less than a inch walls surrounding the gutter's sides. There's no place to sink a tool. There's plenty of ice though and you'd have a great screw placement before the gutter has to be hand jammed at 5.8 rock grade for 10+ ft. I was no rope soloing and I couldn't have been in a more perplexing position. Burned out arms from the pillar and suspen...[more]   Browse More Classics in NH