After some wonderful beta from VFTT folks earlier this week, my friend Z. and I decided to ring in New Year's at Imp Shelter. After spotting a car at the bottom of the Carter-Moriah trail, we set off from Nineteen Mile Brook. Tons of cars in the parking lot! Two rows.
Nineteen Mile and the Carter Dome trails were both nicely packed down (snowshoes necessary), and we found ourselves in an odd spot. It was warm, and due to inversion, warmer, the higher we hiked. Yet the snow was melting off the trees. So although we were quickly in just a wicking layer, we were getting soaking from the melting snow. Pack cover went on, as did rainjackets at Zeta pass, which never came off.
We dropped packs at Zeta and hopped up to Carter Dome. We could hear high winds above, and the Presidential Ridge looked like it was very windy, but aside from a windy spot here and there, even at the summit, we didn't catch much in the way of wind.
We only saw one person en route to South Carter, and the trail, again, was nicely packed down. Water was dripping like light rain at this point. Some nice views from South and Middle. The ridge had been blown clean of light snow, and indeed there were a number of bare spots. Met one gent who was coming down from North Carter who looked like he had just gotten out of a shower, he was so soaked, but the temps made coming down from North Carter slightly less gnarly as the icy spots were soft enough to hold out snowshoe crampons but not soft enough to slip.
We had Imp to ourselves, and under clear skies the stars were out, along with great views of the lights down in Gorham.
The trip up to Moriah on the first day of the near year entailed crossing some rocky spots that offer both great views and the threat of sliding right off if one lost one's footing, and the "ice" at this point was thin and soft. By the end of Jan 2, much of it could be completely gone leaving only bare rock.
The trail down Moriah was nicely packed out, and there was much sliding as the ice that held our crampons the day before was too soft to do so the next day. Indeed, hiking on Jan 2 could be an exercise in frustration on many trails given the slush, the water, and the sloughing ice.
Again, it got cooler as we descended.
Driving back, Mt. Madison looked brown, maybe just 10% white. The top of Wildcat Ski Resort was closed because it was partially bare, and this morning I have been looking at pictures of various ice routes that have avalanched bare.
Quite a different position from just a week prior when the storm dumped yards of puffy snow on the ground!
All the best, and happy hiking in the new year!
Brian
Nineteen Mile and the Carter Dome trails were both nicely packed down (snowshoes necessary), and we found ourselves in an odd spot. It was warm, and due to inversion, warmer, the higher we hiked. Yet the snow was melting off the trees. So although we were quickly in just a wicking layer, we were getting soaking from the melting snow. Pack cover went on, as did rainjackets at Zeta pass, which never came off.
We dropped packs at Zeta and hopped up to Carter Dome. We could hear high winds above, and the Presidential Ridge looked like it was very windy, but aside from a windy spot here and there, even at the summit, we didn't catch much in the way of wind.
We only saw one person en route to South Carter, and the trail, again, was nicely packed down. Water was dripping like light rain at this point. Some nice views from South and Middle. The ridge had been blown clean of light snow, and indeed there were a number of bare spots. Met one gent who was coming down from North Carter who looked like he had just gotten out of a shower, he was so soaked, but the temps made coming down from North Carter slightly less gnarly as the icy spots were soft enough to hold out snowshoe crampons but not soft enough to slip.
We had Imp to ourselves, and under clear skies the stars were out, along with great views of the lights down in Gorham.
The trip up to Moriah on the first day of the near year entailed crossing some rocky spots that offer both great views and the threat of sliding right off if one lost one's footing, and the "ice" at this point was thin and soft. By the end of Jan 2, much of it could be completely gone leaving only bare rock.
The trail down Moriah was nicely packed out, and there was much sliding as the ice that held our crampons the day before was too soft to do so the next day. Indeed, hiking on Jan 2 could be an exercise in frustration on many trails given the slush, the water, and the sloughing ice.
Again, it got cooler as we descended.
Driving back, Mt. Madison looked brown, maybe just 10% white. The top of Wildcat Ski Resort was closed because it was partially bare, and this morning I have been looking at pictures of various ice routes that have avalanched bare.
Quite a different position from just a week prior when the storm dumped yards of puffy snow on the ground!
All the best, and happy hiking in the new year!
Brian
