Double Bow
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4 Season Hancocks! -- 1/22/06
On Saturday, despite a forecast calling for a 100% chance of rain and snow, I set out to make the Hancocks the first peaks that I've climbed in each of the four seasons. Of course, while I would have been happy for this accomplishment had I done it alone, I was very happy to have some friends with me. Despite a little bit of protesting about the selection of peaks, Bob (minus Geri) decided to join me. Also up for the fun were Youngblood and Jim Lombard, both of whom I was very happy to meet. At the trailhead, we also met a guy named Dave who Bob had met on the Hancocks a year earlier. Oddly enough, Dave hadn't hiked since then.
We hit the trail with bare boots, except for Dave who had stabilicers on, at a pretty good speed and were thankful that nothing had started coming down. Soon, we reached the first tricky crossing and I suggested bushwhacking to avoid the crossings since the snow wasn't deep (any excuse, right?). However, the idea wasn't popular. Bob went first and was just about across when the two inch thick ledge of ice he was standing on collapsed leaving him standing in the water. Later, when crossing an ice bridge that had a large log frozen into it, Bob slipped and again planted his foot in the stream. Fortunately, he didn't get too wet and the temps stayed warm throughout the day.
Once past all the crossings and at the loop juction, the decision was made to go up the north loop. This was different for me as the three previous time, I had gone up the south loop. Of course, lots of things about the day were different. Different company, different conditions, different season...
As we climbed steeply up the chipped ice/mashed potato snow, I was really getting warm. It was around 50 degrees! So, I took off most of my layers and climbed in just a short sleeve tee shirt. Some winter! Once up on Hancock, we took a lot of pictures as the views were just great. It turned out the weathermen were wrong and it was turning out to be a great day.
We headed over to the south peak with little trouble and Youngblood started putting one of the Swiss Bobs to use along the way. He was very excited to get in some first class sledding. At South Hancock, we took a longer break taking pictures and having a bite to eat. Since Bob and Youngblood would be sliding down, Jim and I opted to put on crampons for the descent.
We saw some people who were coming up just as we were about to start down and we talked for a few minutes then, Bob and Youngblood were gone! We could here swishing and "weeeee!!" fading in the distance just before the sonic boom!
Steadily, Dave, Jim, and I made our way down amazed by the places we saw those sled tracks going. At one point we passed an older gentleman coming up who had been startled by those kids on their "scooters".
Eventually, at the bottom of the loop, we met up with them again and hear all about their wild rides down. The rest of the hike was filled with chatting about how Swiss Bobs could be modified and other places that would or wouldn't be good for rides. All of the crossings on the way back were made with little extra effort though a couple of places where the ice cracked had us nervous. Still we got back safe and sound (except for Dave who was really sore!).
Despite numerous offers by Bob of ways Youngblood could earn himself a prime rib dinner, he did not take up Bob's offer and so we had burgers at the Woodstock Inn afterward and I enjoyed a celabratory beer while we waited for Poison Ivy to get back from her second try on the Tris.
It felt good to have explored these peaks in a wide variety of conditions throughout the year and to reflect on how the same hike can seem so different with different conditions or different company. This, I believe is one of the most important reasons why some of us may visit the same peaks repetedly, sometimes in close succession. It's not always about exploring someplace you haven't been. Sometimes, it all about changing perspective and viewing the familiar in a different way.
Here are some pics
On Saturday, despite a forecast calling for a 100% chance of rain and snow, I set out to make the Hancocks the first peaks that I've climbed in each of the four seasons. Of course, while I would have been happy for this accomplishment had I done it alone, I was very happy to have some friends with me. Despite a little bit of protesting about the selection of peaks, Bob (minus Geri) decided to join me. Also up for the fun were Youngblood and Jim Lombard, both of whom I was very happy to meet. At the trailhead, we also met a guy named Dave who Bob had met on the Hancocks a year earlier. Oddly enough, Dave hadn't hiked since then.
We hit the trail with bare boots, except for Dave who had stabilicers on, at a pretty good speed and were thankful that nothing had started coming down. Soon, we reached the first tricky crossing and I suggested bushwhacking to avoid the crossings since the snow wasn't deep (any excuse, right?). However, the idea wasn't popular. Bob went first and was just about across when the two inch thick ledge of ice he was standing on collapsed leaving him standing in the water. Later, when crossing an ice bridge that had a large log frozen into it, Bob slipped and again planted his foot in the stream. Fortunately, he didn't get too wet and the temps stayed warm throughout the day.
Once past all the crossings and at the loop juction, the decision was made to go up the north loop. This was different for me as the three previous time, I had gone up the south loop. Of course, lots of things about the day were different. Different company, different conditions, different season...
As we climbed steeply up the chipped ice/mashed potato snow, I was really getting warm. It was around 50 degrees! So, I took off most of my layers and climbed in just a short sleeve tee shirt. Some winter! Once up on Hancock, we took a lot of pictures as the views were just great. It turned out the weathermen were wrong and it was turning out to be a great day.
We headed over to the south peak with little trouble and Youngblood started putting one of the Swiss Bobs to use along the way. He was very excited to get in some first class sledding. At South Hancock, we took a longer break taking pictures and having a bite to eat. Since Bob and Youngblood would be sliding down, Jim and I opted to put on crampons for the descent.
We saw some people who were coming up just as we were about to start down and we talked for a few minutes then, Bob and Youngblood were gone! We could here swishing and "weeeee!!" fading in the distance just before the sonic boom!
Steadily, Dave, Jim, and I made our way down amazed by the places we saw those sled tracks going. At one point we passed an older gentleman coming up who had been startled by those kids on their "scooters". Eventually, at the bottom of the loop, we met up with them again and hear all about their wild rides down. The rest of the hike was filled with chatting about how Swiss Bobs could be modified and other places that would or wouldn't be good for rides. All of the crossings on the way back were made with little extra effort though a couple of places where the ice cracked had us nervous. Still we got back safe and sound (except for Dave who was really sore!).
Despite numerous offers by Bob of ways Youngblood could earn himself a prime rib dinner, he did not take up Bob's offer and so we had burgers at the Woodstock Inn afterward and I enjoyed a celabratory beer while we waited for Poison Ivy to get back from her second try on the Tris.
It felt good to have explored these peaks in a wide variety of conditions throughout the year and to reflect on how the same hike can seem so different with different conditions or different company. This, I believe is one of the most important reasons why some of us may visit the same peaks repetedly, sometimes in close succession. It's not always about exploring someplace you haven't been. Sometimes, it all about changing perspective and viewing the familiar in a different way.
Here are some pics
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