Baxter Winter routes?

[Wayne]

I am hoping to get in to Baxter this winter. What routes have people used during winter? I would love to access everything from the west, but don't know the viability of Hunt in the winter, and whether Abol is an option even though it was closed in summer.

 

[Tom Rankin]

Here is my account

http://www.vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?48499-W115-done!

I'm not really a camper, but staying in the cabins worked well for me.

 

[Wayne]

Thanks Tom! Sounds like you had a great finish.

 

[Tom Rankin]

Indeed!

A couple of notes to that trip:

We went in March. The weather varied greatly. It was between 5F and 50F. It got so warm and RAINY, a stream melted out under our feet and Laurie fell in!

The Rangers seem to snowmobile the trails enough that trail breaking at the lower levels is not an issue. There were many other people in the park. It's not as desolate as I imagined. I don't think it's a requirement, but we always told the Rangers what our itinerary was whenever we saw one.

Some of the cabins are warmer than others! The cabin at Roaring brook was probably 80F for a while! One of the cabins at Daicey pond was MUCH colder.

Bring a sled/pulk. This was my first time using one and it makes carrying 50 pounds of gear MUCH easier.

 

[Chip]

We went up Abol Slide in February. It was a near white-out above the slide and at the top.
Have GPS coords for the summit and mark the route above the slide with wands.
Finding the summit, and the correct route off, in blizzard is not easy.

 

[Tom Rankin]

Ah yes, we did have GPSs and wands, but we never needed them. If you go up a slide, an ice axe and training are good to have as well.

 

[Wayne]

Thanks for the info. Not sure I would want to be up there in a blizzard. If we have bad weather we would probably head up for Coe and the Brothers. My hope was to go up Hunt or Abol. I'm sure Abol would be an easier route but don't know the park policy. Abol was closed to use this summer. I've been on Hunt. I'm not thinking it would be an easy route with ice and snow. I hate to lose the time and add the extra distance to have to go around to Saddle.