C
Carl
Guest
Date of Hike: 3/10/08
Trail Conditions:
Wilderness trail - packed hard. Bare bootable from LW to Bondcliff trail. Ski-able as well.
Bondcliff Trail: Thanks to lylaoneil’s group and the weekend rain, the trail to Bondcliff is well packed out and hard. Bareboots to the summit. As she indicated in her report, above 2500 ft. the branches are fully encroached on the trail. They are also laden with ice. Tough going.
The open ridge is covered with ice. Very treacherous. I had MSRs but no crampons and did not feel at all comfortable. Crampons are a must between Bondcliff and Bond. I would recommend an ice axe as well. One slip there and you are gone...
There is no sign of a trail up Bond and as you approach the summit, the scrub is almost impenetrable. There is a ½ inch layer of ice over everything, locking the branches together and making them immobile.
There was no sign of traffic between Bondcliff and the West Bond spur. Curiously, someone came in from Guyot and broke out the spur trail. I do not know if the person came from South Twin or Zealand so the status of Twinway is still unknown.
Overall, the crust is very supportive at elevation, on trail or off. No spruce traps or significant postholing.
Special Equipment: Boots/Stabilicers/Microspikes to Bondcliff, Crampons and possibly an ice axe thereafter. I normally use poles but found they just got in the way and wound up carrying them.
Comments: Lincoln Woods to Bondcliff summit took about 4.5 hours. Bondcliff to West Bond and back was another 4 hours, then about 3.5 hours back to LW.
Trail Conditions:
Wilderness trail - packed hard. Bare bootable from LW to Bondcliff trail. Ski-able as well.
Bondcliff Trail: Thanks to lylaoneil’s group and the weekend rain, the trail to Bondcliff is well packed out and hard. Bareboots to the summit. As she indicated in her report, above 2500 ft. the branches are fully encroached on the trail. They are also laden with ice. Tough going.
The open ridge is covered with ice. Very treacherous. I had MSRs but no crampons and did not feel at all comfortable. Crampons are a must between Bondcliff and Bond. I would recommend an ice axe as well. One slip there and you are gone...
There is no sign of a trail up Bond and as you approach the summit, the scrub is almost impenetrable. There is a ½ inch layer of ice over everything, locking the branches together and making them immobile.
There was no sign of traffic between Bondcliff and the West Bond spur. Curiously, someone came in from Guyot and broke out the spur trail. I do not know if the person came from South Twin or Zealand so the status of Twinway is still unknown.
Overall, the crust is very supportive at elevation, on trail or off. No spruce traps or significant postholing.
Special Equipment: Boots/Stabilicers/Microspikes to Bondcliff, Crampons and possibly an ice axe thereafter. I normally use poles but found they just got in the way and wound up carrying them.
Comments: Lincoln Woods to Bondcliff summit took about 4.5 hours. Bondcliff to West Bond and back was another 4 hours, then about 3.5 hours back to LW.