nartreb
Well-known member
Roads: Cardigan Mtn no problem in my small sedan: frozen enough to stay solid but thawed enough not to be icy. Entrance to park gated, parking area at gate overflowing but there's room along the road.
Trails: Under the trees, very hard icy crust over a few inches of mostly hard-packed snow, possible to posthole a bit at the side of the trail if you try. Traction quite helpful, but full crampons not needed except at the waterfall (just below stanton trail junction) and there's a well-trodden bypass for that.
From treeline onward, thin glaze ice with flowing water. Crampons were the best choice on the West Ridge in the morning, (stabilicers might have been OK, I didn't think Yaktraks would have been up to it) but it's melting very fast. South ridge route had bare rock for much of its way up the summit block.
A medical helicopter landed on the south ridge while I was on the summit, then took off again before I could reach its landing spot. It returned when I was starting down, and on the trail a few minutes later I met the rescue team the chopper had been ferrying (it was only an exercise).
--Nartreb
Trails: Under the trees, very hard icy crust over a few inches of mostly hard-packed snow, possible to posthole a bit at the side of the trail if you try. Traction quite helpful, but full crampons not needed except at the waterfall (just below stanton trail junction) and there's a well-trodden bypass for that.
From treeline onward, thin glaze ice with flowing water. Crampons were the best choice on the West Ridge in the morning, (stabilicers might have been OK, I didn't think Yaktraks would have been up to it) but it's melting very fast. South ridge route had bare rock for much of its way up the summit block.
A medical helicopter landed on the south ridge while I was on the summit, then took off again before I could reach its landing spot. It returned when I was starting down, and on the trail a few minutes later I met the rescue team the chopper had been ferrying (it was only an exercise).
--Nartreb
