Better late than never..The Winter 2012 in review..

[Silverfox]

Sure was a great winter to be on the trails..

Back in November, ValC mentioned to me that she was going to give the Single Season Winter a go this year. Several in our regular hiking group, Rocket, Eric, Tim C, Larisa, Bryan, Cynthia, myself had managed to accomplish this in years past and were aimed at trying for it again..usually Val's work load got in the way of joining on some crucial hike here or there

We ended up hiking alot together this summer and fall as Tim C got more and more into the trail running/endurance racing thing. It only made sense to keep it going through the winter so on

12/22 the game began on a hardpacked and icy trek to the Osceolas

12/23 a real taste of winter on Moosilauke

then Santa Claus came to town which kept us off trails

12/26 back at it on a cold windy day to Garfield with Bryan and Cynthia

12/27 fast track and decent butt slides on the Hancocks with Ali

12/29 bringing the banner with Larisa and Toby to Tecumseh

12/30 a banner hike to the Kinsmans with Larisa, Tim C and Toby

12/31 kind of a dank day on Cabot..used the Mount Cabot Trail which was fine

1/1 Happy New Year!!!! great day on the Carters with Ali

1/3 Nice snowy day on the FireWardens trail to Hale with TimC and Cynthia, no Valerie

1/7 great day and one of the easier gets of the Bonds/ Zealand ever with Old Man Ed, Eric, and Sabrina

1/10 ho hum day to Waumbek..supposed to be a rainy day but wasn't .. nice piece of pizza though (roni)

1/14 time for Owls Head..bitter cold day..my pack actually froze.. not much snow on Black Pond but broke out Brutus (traditional) in
some knee deep snow.. sure was easier going down. minus 15 on the ridge with a breeze. excellent day with Ali and Cynthia

1/15 what the heck, lets get 2. Still cold but a fast track to Passaconaway and Whiteface

1/21 Liberty and Flume..massive snowdrifts near the summit of Flume made this day memorable

1/22 met up with Sarah and Hannah for Pierce and Eisenhower on a gorgeous day..Valerie missed this one

1/23 Only crazy people driving or hiking today..so of course Mark, Bryan, and Cynthia did Cannon..some serious windblown sleet

1/24 vacation week so hiking every day..nasty day so soloed Jackson. running water down all the trails after heavy rain during the night,,crazy at the crossings...didnt see anyone...huh

1/25 Cloudy day on the summit of Moriah but good in the woods..terrific Ham salad sandwich at Moes

1/26 Rock and Rolled Carrigain (6:15) on a fast track perfect day..very clear no wind

2/4 Memorable hike to the Twins and Galehead with TimC and Bryan. Met up with and was totally amazed by Quinn and Randy. Great
to spend the day with Justin, Bob and Geri, Mike and Geena..what a great day and story

2/5 gorgeous day on the Wildcats with Tim C, Ali and Toby..i think Valerie finished a round here

2/7 fun day on the romp through the glades to Isolation with Sarah and Hannah..great conditions

2/11 challenging day on Franconia Ridge..fairly warm with little wind but the flat light in the fog made for an interesting day. Some
pretty good ice at times as well. Ran into Paradox on his w47

2/12 colder than Owls head day.. Tom Field Willey the choice..fluffy snow made some deep drifts but the big story today was the bone
chilling cold. Ali joined us, we did not linger anywhere..Ran into Rocket, Jeb, Karen and Dave along the way

2/18 excellent day on Pine Bend Brook Trail to the Triypramids. nice soft snowshoe track...a blast..at least on descent..that ravine is
one steep place to climb out of in unconsolidated snow!!!

2/19 back to Jackson and Pierce with Valerie ..deep fluffy snow here made for some fun..aborted Eisenhower due to winds and visibility

2/21 going Presi.. Ed called it but we got a later start..almost caught them at Monroe. Icy on the north side of Washington.
trip back from Jefferson and down Jewel got interesting with high winds (40+) and blowing snow..excellent day out with TimC

2/26 cold and windy day..very excellent on Garfield..ran into Jeremy, Jeb, Tim L, Karen and Dave..great conditions

2/29 leap year day..excellent conditions for southerns. Eisenhower, Pierce, and Jackson on wonderful snowshoe track. very nice
day out with Tim C and Tim L

3/2 is it..isn't it.. presi day? we pushed the envelope on this one. A foot or so fresh snow made for some tough work. Pleased to
have Jeremy and Tim C along on this day. Once to the hut we headed for Adams hoping the cloud would clear..which it never
did.. tough visibility with some breeze up Airline to the summit. Jeremy hit the route perfect. We did not linger and by the
time back to Gulfside we were happy but heavily coated with Rime. Back to the hut..slightly better visibility. The ascent to Madison
went well ..there were even a couple of breaks of blue and big yellow orbs in the sky and we lingered a bit where Sabrina
finished her W48 list and Valerie and I finished out Single SeasonW48 list. Yippee..We flew back to the car on the great soft
packed out trail..excellent

but wait...there's a little more

3/3 Jackson,,Sabrina and Pemi..and Valerie for the third time this winter (my 4th)..what is wrong with us

3/4 what the heck..Field Willey and Tom with Sabrina and Pemi..snowpack building with some great views

3/5 had Wildcat A hanging out there due to aborted big snow trip last year..gorgeous day..that slide gives me the heebees

3/6 another stellar day on Carrigain..perfect track..beat previous time (6:13) very windy on tower

3/8 what the Hale...heat wave 60 plus..interesting side hill..great day saw Carl's group coming out of the hut

3/11 double hit and run..Waumbek in the morning. We were left gasping for air as Larisa, Rob, Tim C set the pace for the ssw48
finish of Larisa and the banner..Rocking it hard.. so why not..we hit Tecumseh on the way home

3/17 presi day..awesome day out with everyone in the world it seemed on Adams!!! wow..congrats to Ali for finishing her NH48
and for Kevin for finishing his W48 on Madison later on.... Great to see Kim, Gwen, Earl and Sue and seriously dozens of other
folks out

3/18 and the beat goes on..summer continues in the Whites. Met up with Jeremy in the parking lot. Great hike to Cannon on a
really fantastic weather day. Very warm..very sunny. Here on Cannon Val C and I finished our 2011-2012 SSW48 as a team.
Thanks Valerie..it was quite and amazing year. It has been my pleasure. Thanks to Jeremy, Tim C and Ali for joining us on
this hike.

And seriously thanks to the group of friends who shared and succeeded with this unique winter challenge along the way..
Valerie, Tim C, Jeremy, Cynthia (2 rounds)..please.. Bryan..(SSW67)..seriously. Larisa, Tim L, all single season finishers, and to Ali, Kevin, Sabrina who finished their own goals as well...quite a journey. Third single season on the new knee...guess I will be going for 4..

some meagre pics...Valerie has the best ones

http://www.flickr.com/photos/silverfox777/sets/72157629115443695/

 

[una_dogger]

Excellent

I had only two hikes to complete my winter goals this year, very happy to have been able to hike along with you and the croo on both of them. Adams was interesting for sure!

The bionic knee never ceases to amaze, and well, never ceases!!!

Happy Trails and congrats on another amazing season of fun, friends and hiking.

Super big congrats to Val for pulling off a SSW with her work schedule!

 

[Red Oak]

Congrats Silverfox...Sounds like a good winter.....It was nice to see meet you again at the parking lot on Dec. 22,while I was heading to the tri's.I met you in February of last year on Isolation.On that hike you had a posse of Unadogger,Eric[grid finisher] and Cynthia? You guys encouraged me to summit when I was about to turn around 200 feet from the summit. That hike was my first one in two months and a tough one,my pack was too heavy/large and I broke a snowshoe. Thanks to all of you for helping me summit[motivationally].Hope your grid finish is not to far away.......

 

[marty]

Excellent chronology for an excellent winter of hiking. Sorry I was unable to join you on any of these. At least I got to see you and a large Bonds/Zealand contingent in the Lincoln Woods parking lot in January.

Congrats to you and everyone who finished various lists. Hope our paths cross really soon (AMC FTFC Ceremony, perhaps?)

Best regards,
Marty

 

[mtruman]

It was fun (and amazing) following this all season and even more amazing seeing it compiled into this list. Congrats to you and Val again on a fantastic winter! And I second what una_dogger said about the bionic knee! You keep giving me hope for my future hiking.

 

[Kevin Judy and Emma]

Excellent!!!!!!

As I was barely able to crawl to my last 9 peaks this winter I watched you and company blast through the list again this year. You guys rock! One of the highlights was you hanging back and letting me get to Madison first before you on my finish. "I'm going to beat you!" "Only because I'm going to let you!" Heheheh! I was really happy you guys were there as I finished, and great to share it with Ali as well! Biggest thrill was making it to Washington and Jefferson with Emma and Judy on a pristine winter day! Great job EVERYBODY! See you at the awards banquet!

KDT

 

[bryan]

nice summary of an awesome winter, mark. i was happy to be able to join you on a few peaks. many more to come i'm sure. by the way, those streusel cakes didn't even make it to conway after sundays hike.....so good.....

bryan

 

[Raven]

Congrats Mark, Val and all.

That's quite an accomplishment! I checked my hike dates and the closest we came was 2/18 in Waterville Valley. While you and yours were on the Tri's I was looking over at you from the Osceolas.

Hope your spring is as good as your winter.

 

[Silverfox]

Congrats Silverfox...Sounds like a good winter.....It was nice to see meet you again at the parking lot on Dec. 22,while I was heading to the tri's.I met you in February of last year on Isolation.On that hike you had a posse of Unadogger,Eric[grid finisher] and Cynthia? You guys encouraged me to summit when I was about to turn around 200 feet from the summit. That hike was my first one in two months and a tough one,my pack was too heavy/large and I broke a snowshoe. Thanks to all of you for helping me summit[motivationally].Hope your grid finish is not to far away.......

wow..I remember seeing you with that broken snowshoe..way to persevere

that was a fine day..thanks for the note

 

[Silverfox]

Excellent

I had only two hikes to complete my winter goals this year, very happy to have been able to hike along with you and the croo on both of them. Adams was interesting for sure!

The bionic knee never ceases to amaze, and well, never ceases!!!

Happy Trails and congrats on another amazing season of fun, friends and hiking.

Super big congrats to Val for pulling off a SSW with her work schedule!

hey...I work for a living too!!! nice job with your list this winter Sabrina and great getting out there to Adams, Madison on that awesome finishing day and with you and Pemi on our early March hikefest...good times