Considering a move to Hanover, NH... need some help
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Hello East Coast'ers |
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You'd be about 2 hours from North Conway (multipitch trad), 1 hour from Rumney (sport, some bouldering), and 90 minutes from Pawtuckaway (lots of bouldering, a few trad lines). Lots of local unpublished/little known areas, too. |
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I just moved from Denver to Maine, and I climb almost exclusively in North Conway, NH. Cathedral and Whitehorse rival the areas in the Front Range, but, as a whole, the climbing is not as plentiful or accesible. I haven't explored the other places yet. |
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Best thing about NH is the state run liquor stores. Can you say handles of Vodka for 10 bucks and you can check availability of any store's stock online ( nh.gov/liquor/index.shtml). Other than that there is the problem that all of southern NH is a suburb of Boston and a single wide trailer will cost you $200K in some areas. Also no motorcycle helmet necessary. |
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The big question is: Do you ice climb? |
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I once spent three months in Boulder, and although I now live in Boston, my girlfriend is in med school at Dartmouth, and I spend quite a bit of time up here (I'm actually typing this from one of the cafes in town). |
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Evan1984 wrote:Cathedral and Whitehorse rival the areas in the Front Range, but, as a whole, the climbing is not as plentiful or accesible. I haven't explored the other places yet. CheersI would say that the climbing in NH is as good (or better) than any place in the country. I think when you add up Rumney, Cannon, Cathedral Whitehorse, and the Kanc Crags, I would say that the the climbing opportunities are definitely plentiful. The weather, for me, is the biggest detriment. There are great stretches of perfect weather, but there are also periods when it rains every day. And these rain events are not like the afternoon showers that you tend to get in the mountains. Water out here just sits in the air and makes the rock wet and the climbing unpleasant. During rainy years, certain routes may never dry out. Of course, there are also routes that stay dry in even the wettest of conditions. New Englanders are known as "hardy" for a reason. They get good at dealing with less-than-perfect conditions. A good friend of mine, who was born and raised here, says, "There is no such thing as bad conditions, just bad attitudes." |
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I live in Boulder now,I was born and raised in the Boston area and learned to climb there. The NE area can't rival the amount of rock that is here in the Front Range but I the diversity of rock is better than CO and the quality is just as good. Like Jay said, we NE folks are hardy people because we learn to climb in less than desirable weather condition and there is a reason why some of the best all around alpinists come from and still live in NE. |
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bump |
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Colorado Jack wrote:bumpDo you have any more questions that you need answered? |
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You can get drunk at the bar and chant "Live Free or Die"! |
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I grew up in Connecticut but used to spend a lot of time in NH. My parents had a place in Franconia for a little while, as well. Now, I live in Fort Collins and have been in Colorado for 6 years. |
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Ryan Malarky wrote: And, I don't know if you're a skier, but CO has NH beat on that one as well.Only if you like powder. If you're a fan of iced up moguls on tight trails or open woods then NH is King! |
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I remember a Climbing Magazine article long ago that said that you can get good at all types of climbing if you live in NH. It's true. |
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I lived just outside of Dover, NH before I moved to Colorado last fall. Both states offer up plenty of great climbing but I must say i that when springs comes to Colorado (if it ever left Boulder)you can actually climb outside without falling prey to thousands of flying insects. Very annoying, and it can be hard to enjoy climbing when the humidity is 90% and all the deet in the world can't save you. You'll be running for shelter in no time. Which bring up another point...Gyms. Don't plan on any fancy entre-prises, real rock, black light responsive, free form boulders in New Hampshire (unless your going to Mass. for Metro Rock) it's all woodies. However, at Vertical Dreams you can climb out of a 70ft elevator shaft...the second time you go. Now that i've bashed it, let me build it up. On the east coast when the conditions are good, there's nothing better. The granite is great quality with delicate faces, jug haul flakes, and cracks of all sizes and directions. The gneiss offers up wild, pumpy moves and formations. The crags are beautiful and clean, the climbs very aesthetic. Boulders sit peacefully in pine forests and along rivers. You won't wait behind 3 parties to just get on the rock, some days you won't see anybody. The locals are inviting and for the most part won't bag you. There's still a lot of undeveloped rock. Nobody cares how hard you climb. If I remember right no raptor closings? No sales taxe and full strength beer at the grocery store. Fall bring friction and amazing foliage. I never got on any ice but i know theres plenty of it and Mt. Washington is one of the best alpine training grounds around. When i think about it the only thing keeping me from going back besides a great woman is the bugs, and the Colorado pow pow. |
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if you do end up moving out here shoot me a PM i live about 20 minutes from Hanover....theres a small local bouldering spot close to here...still dont know all that much about what around here just moved here in may |
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I just moved to Hanover from North Conway. As for local stuff, I am still discovering, but Rumney at 40 mins away is pretty close and there's a whole lot there. The crags on the Kanc (1 1/2 - 2 hours away) are my particular favorites, great variety and tons and tons of potential. The climbing is adventurous and traditional. Cathedral, Whitehorse and the Mount Washington Valley are about as good as it gets out here, and they are close enough for a day trip, too. The community and the climbing in North Conway are awesome. |