Cannon & NE Cannonball on March 5

[poison ivy]

Anyone want to join me as I attempt to hike the my elusive 13th winter peak on Saturday? I plan to head up the Hi-Cannon Trail, summit Cannon & then head down the Kinsman Ridge trail to NE Cannonball before descending to the Lonesome Lake Trail to head out. I'm thinking an 8 a.m. start at Lafayette Place. There may be a need for breaking trail with storms predicted for the week.

- Ivy

 

[DougPaul]

I plan to head up the Hi-Cannon Trail, summit Cannon & then head down the Kinsman Ridge trail to NE Cannonball before descending to the Lonesome Lake Trail to head out.

FYI, Kinsman Ridge Tr down from Cannon and back up to NE Cannonball is very steep. When we hiked up Cannon via KRT in deep powder (a long time ago), it was quite a struggle. Lots of tree hooking with ice axes, etc. Going down should be "fun" too.

Doug

 

[poison ivy]

Thanks DougPaul. I've been on all of these trails in winter conditions before (just not sure I actually tagged the Cannonball summit as I wasn't counting NEHH yet so I figured I'd do it again to be sure.)

- Ivy

 

[DougPaul]

Thanks DougPaul. I've been on all of these trails in winter conditions before (just not sure I actually tagged the Cannonball summit as I wasn't counting NEHH yet so I figured I'd do it again to be sure.)

OK. Just wanted to make sure you didn't get surprised by the difficulty. IIRC, we called it "technical snowshoeing".

Doug

 

[bpschroder]

I'll be there!

Count me in on this hike. I'll be ready and willing for some trail-breaking fun!

 

[MEB]

Count me in too...and maybe my sister!

BpSchroder...I'm glad to see your ready for some more trailbreaking!

See ya all then!

-MEB

 

[vtlukekultv]

MEB- would you be leaving from freeport on friday?

luke

 

[MEB]

Right now it's a toss up as to when I leave....might be Friday after work or might be Saturday morning....waiting to hear back on a few things before I can finalize anything.

-MEB

 

[vtlukekultv]

MEB-
i'm in bar harbor, and if i have the time/energy to go, would it be possible to hitch a ride from freeport? it's still 50/50 whether or not i can go. when would you be coming back?

 

[NH_Mtn_Hiker]

I'll be there. I'll bring my trail-breaking legs.

 

[kltilton]

Albee and myself broke the trail out from Lonesome Lake Trail to the Cannon summit and back this morning. The whole Lonesome Lake Trail was well packed before we hit it. We had to break trail after about 200yds on the KRT to get to the Cannon summit. It will probably be slow going to NE Cannonball, but if you have enough people it shouldn't be bad. I have pictures but have no way to upload them right now. Sorry. Enjoy your trip.

 

[bpschroder]

Thanks for breaking the trail out to Cannon summit! It looks like we'll be taking the Hi-Cannon Trail to the top. Any evidence of traffic on Hi-Cannon?
Thanks again!

 

[DougPaul]

I just estimated (from the topo) the slope of the Kinsman Ridge Tr going up from Coppermine Col to Cannon--37deg. (Coppermine Col to NE Cannonball is 26 deg.) Most avalanches occur on slopes between 30 and 60 deg and can occur on slopes down to about 25 deg.

Given the current deep snow conditons, you might want to consider a different route.

There is a short section on avalanche safety in "Freedom of the Hills".

For most hikers, a good strategy is simply to avoid (and avoid being below) slopes which are steep enough to avalanche. (Many fatal avalanches are triggered by humans, frequently the victims themselves.)

The best field method for estimating the slope angle is an inclinometer (built into some high-end compasses) or a simple method using the length of one's ski poles:
* 1/2 pole up and 1 pole horiz: 27 deg
* 1 pole up and 1 pole horiz: 45 deg
* 1 pole up and 1/2 pole horiz: 63 deg

Books:
* Ferguson and LaChapelle, "The ABCs of Avalanche Safety"
* "Mountaineering, The Freedom of the Hills"
* Daffern, "Avalanche Safety for Skiers & Climbers"
* Perla and Martinelli, "Avalanche Handbook"

Doug

 

[kltilton]

I want to say the Hi-Cannon Trail was partially packed out, but I don't remember for sure.

 

[poison ivy]

Thanks for breaking out so much of the trail for us, kltilton & albee!

- Ivy