Jay H
New member
The forecast for this day looked bleak... After spending the night at the Alpine Klub of Kanada's lodge there with Mimi, Prino, & Michel, we all kind of hunkered down for what was to appear friday night.. We knew Pete Hickey and Cantdog were at the Ark and going for Skylight and Gray via Marcy that day with a super early start. We, in the AAC's lodge did wake up at 6am to hear water dripping off the roof after an overnight of rain (ugh!)... Thinking that it was crap and skiing conditions would suck, we decided to sleep in for another hour (in between the snores and moans of the others! 
) and got up at 7am. After realizing that it isn't raining per se and the sun looked like it was actually trying to make a cameo, we decided to hike. I was planning on going to Giant/RPR as I need RPR... and with my luck, the Kanadian Kontingent also agreed to join me. Yay! Seems like all the hikes I've done this past fall were mostly solo, it's nice to have some company.. So Mimi, Prino, and I headed out to Chapel Pond at a VERY leisurely 9:20 start.
Passing more Kanadians on the way up, we make pretty good time. I am again in short sleeved Duofold baselayer and probably would of hiked in shorts if I they make winter soft-shell zip offs (do they?????)... All in all, we had wonderfull views through the haze, could see the summits of Dix and Nippletop in the haze and assumed if Pete and Cantdog were off in the haze, they'll be lacking the views...
We get to the junction with the RPR trail at around 12:30 and we drop packs (shhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!) and head up to Giant summit, not expecting much but we get some good views into the valleys with the high peaks in the haze. Never did the rain/snow develop, it stayed dry on us the entire day, so much for the forecast. Anyway, picking up our packs and eating our lunch...Prino having something that looked like roadkill, we start our way down to the col. Steep descent, a mixture of boot skiing, we would make it down. Since there was a couple in front of us and the snow was pretty soft powder, not much butt sliding for us yet.
Also, somewhere down the slope, Prino had a snowshoe malfunction. He was using some funky TSL type snowshoe and the cheap plastic looking clip that holds the pivot bar to the snowshoe managed to unclip itself and fall off, forever lost in the snow. However we managed to easily fix it by using some string, however, it's not a good design IMO, for that plastic piece to NOT be actually fixed to the snowshoe without so much a screw. I suspect in Prino's fall, he must of flexed the plastic base in such a way that the piece flexed out and was lost.... However, it is easily fixed with some string or perhaps zipties in a pinch... Onward we all went and got to RPR with more fabulous views but a steady wind from the north. Temps were getting a bit colder but still fairly mild for the end of december.
The steep climb up Giant made me want to 'whack down from the col, but we decided to just go back up to Giant vrs the unbroken bushwack. We were rewarded with some great buttslides down Giant, Prino being our butt sliding champion! But we make it down in pretty good time, I think getting out at 3:45pm and headed to the Ark.
I thought I didn't have my camera but after getting to the Ark, I realized I did, so my camera summited RPR but I have no pictures from it.. oh well!
However, there were pictures taken, but not mine!
Jay
) and got up at 7am. After realizing that it isn't raining per se and the sun looked like it was actually trying to make a cameo, we decided to hike. I was planning on going to Giant/RPR as I need RPR... and with my luck, the Kanadian Kontingent also agreed to join me. Yay! Seems like all the hikes I've done this past fall were mostly solo, it's nice to have some company.. So Mimi, Prino, and I headed out to Chapel Pond at a VERY leisurely 9:20 start. Passing more Kanadians on the way up, we make pretty good time. I am again in short sleeved Duofold baselayer and probably would of hiked in shorts if I they make winter soft-shell zip offs (do they?????)... All in all, we had wonderfull views through the haze, could see the summits of Dix and Nippletop in the haze and assumed if Pete and Cantdog were off in the haze, they'll be lacking the views...
We get to the junction with the RPR trail at around 12:30 and we drop packs (shhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!) and head up to Giant summit, not expecting much but we get some good views into the valleys with the high peaks in the haze. Never did the rain/snow develop, it stayed dry on us the entire day, so much for the forecast. Anyway, picking up our packs and eating our lunch...Prino having something that looked like roadkill, we start our way down to the col. Steep descent, a mixture of boot skiing, we would make it down. Since there was a couple in front of us and the snow was pretty soft powder, not much butt sliding for us yet.
Also, somewhere down the slope, Prino had a snowshoe malfunction. He was using some funky TSL type snowshoe and the cheap plastic looking clip that holds the pivot bar to the snowshoe managed to unclip itself and fall off, forever lost in the snow. However we managed to easily fix it by using some string, however, it's not a good design IMO, for that plastic piece to NOT be actually fixed to the snowshoe without so much a screw. I suspect in Prino's fall, he must of flexed the plastic base in such a way that the piece flexed out and was lost.... However, it is easily fixed with some string or perhaps zipties in a pinch... Onward we all went and got to RPR with more fabulous views but a steady wind from the north. Temps were getting a bit colder but still fairly mild for the end of december.
The steep climb up Giant made me want to 'whack down from the col, but we decided to just go back up to Giant vrs the unbroken bushwack. We were rewarded with some great buttslides down Giant, Prino being our butt sliding champion!
But we make it down in pretty good time, I think getting out at 3:45pm and headed to the Ark.I thought I didn't have my camera but after getting to the Ark, I realized I did, so my camera summited RPR but I have no pictures from it.. oh well!
However, there were pictures taken, but not mine!
Jay
