Just checked - I TR'ed East Crag on Nov 12 last year. Probably a pic of it somewhere here. Real ice, plus several inches of snow. The moss top moves were not frozen though.

Gotta love a moss top out. That is the main reason to keep an adze on one of your tools, at least in the early season. That also works great for frozen mud, which at least makes you think you have a solid placement.

If climbing frozen turf is your thing then head to Scotland. There was a humorous account in Alpinist 24 or 25 on Scottish winter climbing.

Also found this gear description on a UK site -
"Mixed Climbing - ...Properly frozen turf is a revelation to climb on with placements as secure as ice and even at times offering protection for ice hooks or "warthogs" basically old style drive-in thin ice pegs."

Whats shaping up is not going to be that glaze of crud you posted a pic of last year

Get ready ... ... ...

Well the cold air is in place up here in the daks now. It's supposed to drop down into the teens each night for the next week or so.

Should be a good time for the NY/New England high peaks. I had a look at the GFS model yesterday - it is forecasting that the 850mb level (about a mile high in the atmosphere) will not be above freezing until after thanksgiving or early december. that's by a comfortable margin, since the 0C line dropped down to Georgia not so long ago...

Gotta love a low OC line.

or a high hemline...

Little Black Dike was climbed yesterday, according to NEice.com.

Game on!

Hmm, sounds kinda kinky.