CrazySage
New member
April 22, 2011
Trails: Airline, Gulfside Trail, Osgood Trail, Valley Way
Trail Conditions: Below treeline Airline had a base of solid snow that was easily bare booted early in the day. Above treeline the little crest between the Chemin des Dames and Gulfside was clear of most snow, but had ice that we rock-hopped over, still in bare boots. We stayed in bare boots up to the snow field in between Quincy Adams and Adams, occasionally rock hopping when ice appeared. We put on our crampons when the ice became more prevalent on the summit cone. We returned back down Airline to the Gulfside trail, which was an icy slide down to Madison Hut. The Osgood trail was a mix of slushy snow at the bottom, ice/snow/bare rock in the middle and bare rock with a bit of ice up top. I rock hopped up and down the trail, and my hiking companions used microspikes and crampons. For the decent, the Valley Way is a nasty side hill up top, gradually changing to a nice solid snow path in the middle, and a monorail down at the bottom.
Equipment: Crampons highly recommended for above treeline and microspikes recommended for traval below treeline, though some used microspikes all day (and made me VERY nervous). Sunglasses and sunscreen (I got a horrible sunburn because I forgot mine). Despite the temperatures the snow never got soft enough to use our snow shoes.
Comments: Friday was Good. The sun was shining brightly and the views were spectacular. Very little wind and warm(ish) temperatures gave us a chance to take some leisurely breaks on the summits. What a great day (contrast this with my report on the Carters on 4/23).
Jen English
jenglish1 at worcester.edu
Trails: Airline, Gulfside Trail, Osgood Trail, Valley Way
Trail Conditions: Below treeline Airline had a base of solid snow that was easily bare booted early in the day. Above treeline the little crest between the Chemin des Dames and Gulfside was clear of most snow, but had ice that we rock-hopped over, still in bare boots. We stayed in bare boots up to the snow field in between Quincy Adams and Adams, occasionally rock hopping when ice appeared. We put on our crampons when the ice became more prevalent on the summit cone. We returned back down Airline to the Gulfside trail, which was an icy slide down to Madison Hut. The Osgood trail was a mix of slushy snow at the bottom, ice/snow/bare rock in the middle and bare rock with a bit of ice up top. I rock hopped up and down the trail, and my hiking companions used microspikes and crampons. For the decent, the Valley Way is a nasty side hill up top, gradually changing to a nice solid snow path in the middle, and a monorail down at the bottom.
Equipment: Crampons highly recommended for above treeline and microspikes recommended for traval below treeline, though some used microspikes all day (and made me VERY nervous). Sunglasses and sunscreen (I got a horrible sunburn because I forgot mine). Despite the temperatures the snow never got soft enough to use our snow shoes.
Comments: Friday was Good. The sun was shining brightly and the views were spectacular. Very little wind and warm(ish) temperatures gave us a chance to take some leisurely breaks on the summits. What a great day (contrast this with my report on the Carters on 4/23).
Jen English
jenglish1 at worcester.edu
