OldMan Ed and I met at my house and headed up to The Notch. As usual, the weather before the notch was clear, sunny and looking beautiful. As usual, the weather in The Notch was cloudy. The forecast actually showed an inversion for today which, having spent 2+ miles above treeline, I believe was the case. Undercast was also a word for today. We left the lot 15 minutes later than planned, having waited for some other folks (who eventually showed, but only planned Lafayette anyway.) Most, if not all, of the other folks leaving didn't pack snowshoes, but we both did. As it turned out, they were not necessary, and in fact did a fine job of catching the wind. We both wore microspikes out of the lot which worked very well on the hard-packed snow, with only occasional ice.
On the way up the Old Bridle Path, it appeared that we could see blue sky, even though the Agonies were pretty clouded over. It was our hope that we would eventually climb through the clouds. We took it slow and steady in an effort to minimize moisture production and maximize comfort. Rather than speed up or slow down, we kept a steady tempo and added or removed layers more frequently than usual. Being a heavy sweater, I generally don't wear a jacket on the way up, but with the wind howling even in the trees, I wore it more than usual, and putting the hood up and down worked well. At the hut, I switched to crampons (which had come apart, causing me to have to put them back together with bare hands - BRR!) and Ed continued in the 'spikes. We got the ski masks and goggles handy, and put on our final approach layers. Above the hut was the nastiest stretch of the day. "Luckily" the wind was mostly on our left shoulder and I didn't need the goggles much - the hood kept the wind off my face. About 400 yards below the summit though, we turned into the wind and on went the ski mask. A few minutes later we struggled up the last bit of the Greenleaf Trail to the summit. As hoped for, the clouds were not so thick on the east (Pemi) side and the views were better than expected. We did have quite the collection of rime feathers on hair, beards, or anything else with a fuzzy texture.
Given the difficulty in ascending The Greenleaf Trail, and considering that returning that way would involve faces in the wind, and that Ed needed Lincoln, we stepped down the Franconia Ridge Trail a bit and immediately were rewarded with nearly calm conditions. It was like the power outtage last month - nothing. We could see a few figures making the crossing and so we set off. Now and then we could catch a gust, and there were stretches where it was blowing hard, but (recalling the predicted inversion) the wind actually seemed a bit warmer now. Of course it was mostly at our backs. Now that we were genuinely comfortable and not worried about the traverse, we relaxed and enjoyed the views, and took lots of pictures. The very tip of Cannon appeared and disappeared. Moosilauke had a white cloud dome today. The Kinsmans' summits were clear. Most of the Pemi peaks also seemed to be clear, as were the Presidentials. In the lee of a good rock, we had our second lunch, while enjoying the views of The Bonds and The Presidentials.
I will add that crampons were probably overkill along the ridge. There were patches of ice, but I think it could be barebooted safely -- I had to look for ice to step on to avoid scarring the rocks too badly. Every now and then though it was kind of nice to be wearing them. We were both very glad we were going in the clockwise direction today and before too much longer we topped out on Lincoln. Lincoln was my first winter peak (December 2007) and my first three-peat peak. It remains one of my favorites. I think the view of Lafayette (from Lincoln) is better than the view on Lafayette.
(Note the improvised wind-speed gauge - my right pole is "dangling" from my wrist.)
About 2:15PM, we reached the summit of Little Haystack, and before heading down FWT, turned for one last look. Much like December 2007, the undercast had lowered even more by this time and the views of the Presidentials and of Lincoln itself were spectacular. Following Dr. D's advice, I had written the escape vectors on tape on my compass and I checked the Little Haystack to FWT (272 magnetic) and it seemed to be spot on. We headed down into the trees and were quickly warmed up. We took the last break of the day and lost the ski masks and outer shells. There was some nice soft snow, drifts, and butt-slide tracks, and it all made for an easy, soft, and swift decent. We'd arrive back at the car in about 6:15, a bit faster than the summer book time.
Lafayette makes #13 on the W48 for me, and #4 for Ed (Lincoln #5).
All photos here: http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/569512391qyyIgT
Tim
On the way up the Old Bridle Path, it appeared that we could see blue sky, even though the Agonies were pretty clouded over. It was our hope that we would eventually climb through the clouds. We took it slow and steady in an effort to minimize moisture production and maximize comfort. Rather than speed up or slow down, we kept a steady tempo and added or removed layers more frequently than usual. Being a heavy sweater, I generally don't wear a jacket on the way up, but with the wind howling even in the trees, I wore it more than usual, and putting the hood up and down worked well. At the hut, I switched to crampons (which had come apart, causing me to have to put them back together with bare hands - BRR!) and Ed continued in the 'spikes. We got the ski masks and goggles handy, and put on our final approach layers. Above the hut was the nastiest stretch of the day. "Luckily" the wind was mostly on our left shoulder and I didn't need the goggles much - the hood kept the wind off my face. About 400 yards below the summit though, we turned into the wind and on went the ski mask. A few minutes later we struggled up the last bit of the Greenleaf Trail to the summit. As hoped for, the clouds were not so thick on the east (Pemi) side and the views were better than expected. We did have quite the collection of rime feathers on hair, beards, or anything else with a fuzzy texture.
Given the difficulty in ascending The Greenleaf Trail, and considering that returning that way would involve faces in the wind, and that Ed needed Lincoln, we stepped down the Franconia Ridge Trail a bit and immediately were rewarded with nearly calm conditions. It was like the power outtage last month - nothing. We could see a few figures making the crossing and so we set off. Now and then we could catch a gust, and there were stretches where it was blowing hard, but (recalling the predicted inversion) the wind actually seemed a bit warmer now. Of course it was mostly at our backs. Now that we were genuinely comfortable and not worried about the traverse, we relaxed and enjoyed the views, and took lots of pictures. The very tip of Cannon appeared and disappeared. Moosilauke had a white cloud dome today. The Kinsmans' summits were clear. Most of the Pemi peaks also seemed to be clear, as were the Presidentials. In the lee of a good rock, we had our second lunch, while enjoying the views of The Bonds and The Presidentials.
I will add that crampons were probably overkill along the ridge. There were patches of ice, but I think it could be barebooted safely -- I had to look for ice to step on to avoid scarring the rocks too badly. Every now and then though it was kind of nice to be wearing them. We were both very glad we were going in the clockwise direction today and before too much longer we topped out on Lincoln. Lincoln was my first winter peak (December 2007) and my first three-peat peak. It remains one of my favorites. I think the view of Lafayette (from Lincoln) is better than the view on Lafayette.
(Note the improvised wind-speed gauge - my right pole is "dangling" from my wrist.)
About 2:15PM, we reached the summit of Little Haystack, and before heading down FWT, turned for one last look. Much like December 2007, the undercast had lowered even more by this time and the views of the Presidentials and of Lincoln itself were spectacular. Following Dr. D's advice, I had written the escape vectors on tape on my compass and I checked the Little Haystack to FWT (272 magnetic) and it seemed to be spot on. We headed down into the trees and were quickly warmed up. We took the last break of the day and lost the ski masks and outer shells. There was some nice soft snow, drifts, and butt-slide tracks, and it all made for an easy, soft, and swift decent. We'd arrive back at the car in about 6:15, a bit faster than the summer book time.
Lafayette makes #13 on the W48 for me, and #4 for Ed (Lincoln #5).
All photos here: http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/569512391qyyIgT
Tim
