timmus
Well-known member
We drove from Montreal saturday morning (4:30 am departure), the day was gorgeous and Mount Washington was the best place to be. At 8:15am the cars were parked as far as Wildcat ski center, because, obviously, all New England skiers thought the same.
We miraculously squeezed the Toyota between two cars in the Pinkham Notch Visitor Center lot, and started the ascent toward HoJo’s. No need to say we were not alone on the trail. As soon as we made a right turn at the junction just below the shelter, we found peace and quiet woods. We didn’t really need the snowshoes, but we had better traction on the very soft and corn snow. Very soon after we could see our main goal of the day : Huntington Ravine by the Central Gully.
At the end of the trail, we decided to continue until we got to some boulders sitting in the middle of the Fan. Then we took a nice lunch break, and then geared up nervously. This was my first ascent of a gully, and I was pretty excited about it. I was in good hands, JS is well experienced with that kind of stuff
Even if the conditions we very good, we decided to rope up, because it was a good practice for upcoming trips. The snow was soft, and the previous parties made good steps all the way to the top. We saw two climbers at the bottom of the Pinnacle, but we crossed the area pretty fast just to make sure nothing would fall on us. BTW we were worried about icefalls, but we got nothing at all.
We got to an icy steep pitch that required more caution. JS went first, front-pointing and making steps for me. On the top, he did a boot-belay, and when I was ready to climb, he started yelling “WATCH OUT, snow is coming down !!!” Two skiers were above us, and they created a small avalanche down the narrow drop There was not much snow, but it was enough to fill the steps JS made. I couldn’t see what was happening up there, and those minutes were stressful. I was waiting below, very insecure, and water was dripping from the cliffs on my left side, making me wet and cold. When it got stabilized I had to go, it was not easy because I was wearing regular boots, not stiff boots. At the top the skiers were getting impatient, but I didn’t care. I have to admit it was impressive to see them coming down Huntington Ravine, but I also think it was a little bit dangerous for the climbers.
After that we finished the steep ascent pretty easily, and we enjoyed a long break on the Alpine Garden. The temperature was perfect, calm wind and sunny sky. The trail was very very wet, a lot of slush and water running in the trail. We then walk all the way to Boott Spur, crossing the snowfield up Tuckerman trying to avoid the skiers. Nothing beats a nice long walk above treeline when you can enjoy endless views.
On Boott Spur we saw two women and a dog, and from the distance I could guess who that was… Una Dogger ! It was nice to see you !
Again the trail down was more like a stream, and as soon as we got below treeline and lost the path completely. Many other hikers wandered, and following their tracks (read “post-holes”), was leading us nowhere. We decided to bushwhack straight down instead, but found terrible blowdown fields on the way. I was losing my temper, I had such a great day, I didn’t feel like getting my arms scratched. The ice ax and helmet were getting stuck in tree branches, and I kept falling because I was too tired for this
Later we got back on the trail, but there is still so much snow on the ground it didn’t feel like a trail. The last mile took us forever, and as soon as I got to the car I took off my boots and squeezed the water off my socks. I was exhausted, and we had a 3,5h drive to go through. Thank god M. Pizza fed us well ! And also, thanks to the Habs/Bruins game on the radio, that helped too (even if MTL lost).
What a day !
We miraculously squeezed the Toyota between two cars in the Pinkham Notch Visitor Center lot, and started the ascent toward HoJo’s. No need to say we were not alone on the trail. As soon as we made a right turn at the junction just below the shelter, we found peace and quiet woods. We didn’t really need the snowshoes, but we had better traction on the very soft and corn snow. Very soon after we could see our main goal of the day : Huntington Ravine by the Central Gully.
At the end of the trail, we decided to continue until we got to some boulders sitting in the middle of the Fan. Then we took a nice lunch break, and then geared up nervously. This was my first ascent of a gully, and I was pretty excited about it. I was in good hands, JS is well experienced with that kind of stuff
Even if the conditions we very good, we decided to rope up, because it was a good practice for upcoming trips. The snow was soft, and the previous parties made good steps all the way to the top. We saw two climbers at the bottom of the Pinnacle, but we crossed the area pretty fast just to make sure nothing would fall on us. BTW we were worried about icefalls, but we got nothing at all.
We got to an icy steep pitch that required more caution. JS went first, front-pointing and making steps for me. On the top, he did a boot-belay, and when I was ready to climb, he started yelling “WATCH OUT, snow is coming down !!!” Two skiers were above us, and they created a small avalanche down the narrow drop
There was not much snow, but it was enough to fill the steps JS made. I couldn’t see what was happening up there, and those minutes were stressful. I was waiting below, very insecure, and water was dripping from the cliffs on my left side, making me wet and cold. When it got stabilized I had to go, it was not easy because I was wearing regular boots, not stiff boots. At the top the skiers were getting impatient, but I didn’t care. I have to admit it was impressive to see them coming down Huntington Ravine, but I also think it was a little bit dangerous for the climbers. After that we finished the steep ascent pretty easily, and we enjoyed a long break on the Alpine Garden. The temperature was perfect, calm wind and sunny sky. The trail was very very wet, a lot of slush and water running in the trail. We then walk all the way to Boott Spur, crossing the snowfield up Tuckerman trying to avoid the skiers. Nothing beats a nice long walk above treeline when you can enjoy endless views.
On Boott Spur we saw two women and a dog, and from the distance I could guess who that was… Una Dogger ! It was nice to see you !
Again the trail down was more like a stream, and as soon as we got below treeline and lost the path completely. Many other hikers wandered, and following their tracks (read “post-holes”), was leading us nowhere. We decided to bushwhack straight down instead, but found terrible blowdown fields on the way. I was losing my temper, I had such a great day, I didn’t feel like getting my arms scratched. The ice ax and helmet were getting stuck in tree branches, and I kept falling because I was too tired for this
Later we got back on the trail, but there is still so much snow on the ground it didn’t feel like a trail. The last mile took us forever, and as soon as I got to the car I took off my boots and squeezed the water off my socks. I was exhausted, and we had a 3,5h drive to go through. Thank god M. Pizza fed us well ! And also, thanks to the Habs/Bruins game on the radio, that helped too (even if MTL lost).
What a day !
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