PRINT: Climbing in Newfound Lake, * NH Ice and Mixed

Newfound Lake

New Hampshire > NH Ice & Mixed > - Lakes Region Ice

Description

A fun little ice crag with a few worth while lines... Actually all the climbs that regularly form are really nice , then there are some obscure mixed or less reliable routes that are worth doing if they are in, but not classics... Crowds can sometimes an issue on weekends but midweek its a nice secret stash... The biggest challenge is the parking situation which is often changing... The roads are narrow so parking on the sides of the road is out... There was a small parking area a little north of the cliff that was recently developed by the owner of the property... Word on the street is that the owners of the lot are cool with you parking as long as you ask... If anyone has more info on parking please post...

There are Two popular routes both of which hold a few variations between grade 3 and 4... There is also a nice grade 5 curtain when it is in good shape... Routes are all 1 or 2 pitches and finish in the woods... Double 60m ropes will get you down from all routes... You can also walk off to the left (south) but its much easier to rap...

The best part of the crag is that you don't have to drive far for fat consistent ice... Rumney is great but it gets too much sun to be reliable... Being east facing, Newfound only gets the cold early morning light and there for it forms well...

Getting There

From south take exit 23 and head west on route 104 to the town of Bristol... At the town center take a right onto Lake st. (route 3A)... Follow this till you can take a left on to West Shore Rd.... Follow West Shore with the lake on your right till you see the ice climbs on your left (its a pretty obvious cliff at the top of a short steep hill)... Drive by the crag and the parking area is the next spot on the left... Ask Permission to park unless you know you can do otherwise..NOTE- See Comments- it is probably best NOT to park here. Two better spots are a pull-out on the Lake side about 5-10 min walk south of the crag, and the parking at Wellington State park, about a mile south of the crag. R Hall 2022

From the north take exit 26 as for Rumney and head west... At the traffic circle Head south on Route 3A for a while till you see a sign for the town of Hebron (This is North Shore Rd.) Follow North Shore Rd. in to Hebron and take a left on to West Shore Rd..

[NOTE: In Feb 2017 we found a parking pullout about 1/3 mile (5-8 min walk) south of the crag, in the lake-shore side of the road. Neither house (on the immediate other side of the road) look occupied so we just parked. As it was plowed in 2017 (heavy snow year) 3, or maybe 4, cars could have parked there with wheels off the white road stripe. R Hall NH Admin. 2017 ]

Another parking option is 1.0 miles south of the climbing area on the west side of West Shore Road at the Wellington State Park trail parking lot. It offers a larger parking lot and an easy walk along the road that avoids issues with landowners and snow removal operations. We thought thought it was well worth the 20-minute walk to avoid other problems. It is likely the parking lot conditions vary widely following snowfall, but recommend checking it out. Coordinates: 43.64003697070776, -71.78191886094307

Routes from Left to Right

WI5- M2-3 1 ● Newfound Offwidth Mixed, Ice
WI4-5 11 ● The Red Headwall Ice
WI3 35 ● Blood line Ice
WI3+ 2 ● Pikeline Ice 2 pitches
WI3-4 36 ● Duofold Ice
WI4 PG13 8 ● Slim Jim Ice

● Newfound Offwidth

WI5- M2-3 Mixed, Ice

● The Red Headwall

WI4-5 Ice

● Blood line

WI3 Ice

● Pikeline

WI3+ Ice 2 pitches

● Duofold

WI3-4 Ice

● Slim Jim

WI4 PG13 Ice

Photos [Hide ALL Photos]

Newfound Lake Ice - on the side of Mt Sugarloaf Late season conditions- we just barely got up the shaded Duofold

Left side routes (L to R): Pillage Pillar (Green), Red Headwall (Red), & Bloodline (Blue).

View of Newfound Lake from upper rappel tree on Duofold

View from a parking pull-out 1/3 mile south of crag. Don't be discouraged.

Newfound in late season conditions (late March) with bloodline and Duofold still fat as always

Comments [Hide ALL Comments]

Jason Gates

HAHA I was wondering why this place seemed to get super cold forecasts... The wunderground weather link is attached to RANDOLPH NH, not Bristol :) I love checking the weather on MP. Feb 4, 2015

Russ Keane
Salt Lake

This place is great! Bloodline is long and interesting... Fun day in a beautiful and peaceful setting! Mar 2, 2015

Rutherc XYZ
Boston, MA

Approach coordinates: 43.6524, -71.7909. An easy trail that ascends to the crag. Feb 21, 2017

Robert Hall
North Conway, NH

When here Feb 24th, 2017. Couple of previous days of warm weather, and from all the photos the place usually is "thick" but we found pretty thin conditions (see photos). We also figured to get away from the crowds during "President's Day School Week".

Duofold was the only climb with reasonable ice, and that was only in the shadow of the rock. The top, which was a "foamy column", was pretty sketchy, as was the rock-mud-roots top-out to the rap tree.

Nice place....we'll be back. Feb 24, 2017

Dan Flynn
Northeast mostly

Do not park in the pullout closest to the cliff unless you have explicit permission. We read the 'Getting There' section and decided the parking might be ok (and didn't want to knock on doors at 7:30 am). The owners left a stern note saying we would get towed next time.
In conclusion, don't be like us, be a good citizen and park at Wellington State Park. Feb 22, 2021

Brian
North Kingstown, RI

Dan, The "pull-out closest to the cliff." Are you talking about the pull-out about a 1/3 of a mile south of the cliff on the lake side? If so, it is a public road. I don't see how someone could have you towed as long as there are no parking signs prohibiting parking. Jan 30, 2022

Robert Hall
North Conway, NH

Brian, I think Dan was referring to the parking about 5 min North of the crag. The spot you mentioned is, I think, the small pull-out about 5-10 min ( 1/3rd mile ?) walk SOUTH of the crag. I’ve made some modifications to the Getting There in the main description.
R Hall Admin Jan 30, 2022