PA Ridgerunner
Active member
Sunday, Feb. 17
2-4" of hard, crusty snow at the start. Left snowshoes in the car. Could have bare-booted the first 1000-1200 feet of ascent, but we liked the idea of putting on the microspikes right at the car, shielded from the driving wind. Carried crampons but did not use them. We ran into some drifting snow throughout the day, but snowshoes would have been tedious with the frequent exposed rock, and the number of blowdowns we encountered. M-spikes were definitely a good call, but only another 2-4" would probably make the difference, after which you would want snowshoes.
Very windy day. Much of our track was significantly blown back in by the time we descended. Gorgeous day, in spite of the wind chill!
2-4" of hard, crusty snow at the start. Left snowshoes in the car. Could have bare-booted the first 1000-1200 feet of ascent, but we liked the idea of putting on the microspikes right at the car, shielded from the driving wind. Carried crampons but did not use them. We ran into some drifting snow throughout the day, but snowshoes would have been tedious with the frequent exposed rock, and the number of blowdowns we encountered. M-spikes were definitely a good call, but only another 2-4" would probably make the difference, after which you would want snowshoes.
Very windy day. Much of our track was significantly blown back in by the time we descended. Gorgeous day, in spite of the wind chill!
