The plan was to complete the Santonini range today. Conditions at the trailhead were favorable for our mission. Temps in the 20's and rising with partly sunny skies.
The trail was bulletproof from the start up to Bradley Pond. we skied to within 1/2 mile of the start of the herd path and switched to bareboots up to the area where the trail steepens above Bradley pond then we donned the snowshoes. As I mentioned before, the trail was bulletproof and we barely left a footprint.
There was a light dusting of snow from here up to Times Square with hardpacked snow underneath. Across Times Square under partly sunny skies the views were incredible in all directions with only the tops of the highest peaks in the clouds. This was to change quickly as we could see some very dark clouds rolling in from the north.
By the time we reached the summit of Couch a couple of inches had fallen and the views were limited to approximately 100 yards. No time to waste on the views we quickly retreated to continue our mission.
Back to Times Square an assessment of the time was made and the decision to retreat was made. Snow continued to fall and any old tracks were quickly disappearing and we weren't totally confident with finding the routes to Santanoni and Panther. We were happy to get Couch and somewhat enjoyed the initial trek up to Times Square.
I swear my feet are an inch shorter after jamming down the hill back to Bradley Pond. By this time the snow had stopped and the sky started to clear again. We carried the skis down the steepest section of trail that was also bareing up in spots. The trail down low had softened up since the morning and was considerably slower skiing.
Total trip time was 5 hours out to Couch and 4.5 hours back.
The trail was bulletproof from the start up to Bradley Pond. we skied to within 1/2 mile of the start of the herd path and switched to bareboots up to the area where the trail steepens above Bradley pond then we donned the snowshoes. As I mentioned before, the trail was bulletproof and we barely left a footprint.
There was a light dusting of snow from here up to Times Square with hardpacked snow underneath. Across Times Square under partly sunny skies the views were incredible in all directions with only the tops of the highest peaks in the clouds. This was to change quickly as we could see some very dark clouds rolling in from the north.
By the time we reached the summit of Couch a couple of inches had fallen and the views were limited to approximately 100 yards. No time to waste on the views we quickly retreated to continue our mission.
Back to Times Square an assessment of the time was made and the decision to retreat was made. Snow continued to fall and any old tracks were quickly disappearing and we weren't totally confident with finding the routes to Santanoni and Panther. We were happy to get Couch and somewhat enjoyed the initial trek up to Times Square.
I swear my feet are an inch shorter after jamming down the hill back to Bradley Pond. By this time the snow had stopped and the sky started to clear again. We carried the skis down the steepest section of trail that was also bareing up in spots. The trail down low had softened up since the morning and was considerably slower skiing.
Total trip time was 5 hours out to Couch and 4.5 hours back.
