Hale/Zealand/West Bond/Bond/Bondcliff; 1/01/04

6:56 am
Start at Zealand Parking Lot on Rt. 302. Thom heads out 1/2 hour later to ski to the Zealand Hut and meet us along the way.

9:24 am
Summit Mt. Hale with Post'r Boy and Michelle, who we were surprised to meet 1/4 of the way up the mtn. Post'r Boy shocks us by ripping off his shirt on the summit, climbing the cairn and posing for photos. We head down Lend-A-Hand Trail.

10:35 am
Junction of Twinway. We say goodbye to Post'r Boy and Michelle as they head down to Zealand Hut and back out. We head up to Zeacliff.

12:14 pm
Summit Zealand Mtn. Stinkyfeet layers up because the wind is picking up, and we have Guyot to cross next!

1:00 pm
Summit Guyot. We catch Thom hunkered down behind a cairn. Brrr... Wind is brisk. We break trail through fresh snow and drifts.

1:55 pm
Summit West Bond. No views today.

2:36 pm
Summit Mt. Bond. We brace ourselves for the trek across Bondcliff. The exposed ridge is all rock and ice, so we remove the snowshoes.

3:28 pm
Summit Bondcliff. Strong gusts knock us around.

7:44 pm
Reach spotted car at Wilderness Trailhead. Wilderness Trail is nasty--lots of ice. Thom "skis" out (removing his skis at least 50 times for gully washouts and blowdowns).

32 down, 16 to go...

Frodo & Stinkyfeet

Thom now has 22 down, 26 to go.

What made your choice on the direction of this hike? I have been thinking of doing it with skis and my thought was heading in on the flats of lincoln woods would be a better faster in and out on Zealand road would provide some better glide.

Wow, how did you pull THAT up?!

Since we did that particular day in the context of this http://home.earthlink.net/~ellozy/winter-record.html our choice of direction, IIRC, had more to do with where we were starting the following day.

Unless you are doing the Bonds as an out-n-back from Lincoln Woods (or Zealand out-n-back from Rt 302), I would not recommend skiing as you will be carrying your skis for long stretches. However, those who have done it may wish to chime in...

Stinkyfeet said:

Wow, how did you pull THAT up?!

Since we did that particular day in the context of this http://home.earthlink.net/~ellozy/winter-record.html our choice of direction, IIRC, had more to do with where we were starting the following day.

Unless you are doing the Bonds as an out-n-back from Lincoln Woods (or Zealand out-n-back from Rt 302), I would not recommend skiing as you will be carrying your skis for long stretches. However, those who have done it may wish to chime in...

Click to expand...

I've considered bringing skis, but the prospect of carting them for 10 miles (and already being tall) really diminished the appeal, but perhaps someone has an ingenious technique to carry them without adding the nuisance of them getting caught on everything.

Thom told me he pulls them behind him on a rope. Hope that helps.

TJsName said:

I've considered bringing skis, but the prospect of carting them for 10 miles (and already being tall) really diminished the appeal, but perhaps someone has an ingenious technique to carry them without adding the nuisance of them getting caught on everything.

Click to expand...

I have been thinking about going the opposite way sometime this year. Ski from LW, and maybe some parts around Guyot and then ski out from Zealand Hut. Personally for this trip I would like to start early to hit the sunrise at Bondcliff.

Hi--can we ask Thom to comment on the skiability/condix on the Zealand road and up to the hut?

Well, I was with him on New Years Eve from 302 to Zealand and back. You can ski all the way to the hut, the ski trail was NOT broken in however and there is a short section near the bridges where it is too bony to ski.

carla said:

Hi--can we ask Thom to comment on the skiability/condix on the Zealand road and up to the hut?

Click to expand...

Brambor said:

Thom told me he pulls them behind him on a rope. Hope that helps.

Click to expand...

Ha - I almost jokingly suggested that. Good to know!

You guys still ROCK!!!!