FreightTrain
New member
Our first overnight hike of 2010. We had debated the use of sleds for this hike and determined (at the tralhead) that we would make the sleds work. We were the only vehicles in the Imp face (north end of imp loop) parking area friday night. The sleds pulled OK even though there were bare spots in the beginning of the trail. The drag after the stream crossing was a little difficult and I questioned the decision to use the sleds. The wind was gusting and we decided to get horizontal early and rest up for the next day. The morning was overcast but the wind was not as strong as the night before. The trail conditions were fantastic. There was enough snow to even out the humps and bumps and enough traffic to firmly pack the snow. There was about a half inch of hard crusty snow with a good ice base underneath. The trail was a flat ribbon winding up the mountain. Some type of spike, crampons or micro's allowed for easy walking up the frozen ribbon especially where bare ice was exposed. I put on my crampons and they stayed on my feet the whole hike. Our first stop was at the open ledges on Imp face. The view across the street would open up and allow good view of Washington and Madison. We encountered fresh snow near the junction with the N. Carter Trail. The fresh snow was about two inches deep at the beginning and about four inches deep at the junction with the Carter Moriah trail. The walk along the ridge did not have any views to the west but there were good views to the east. We didn't stop on M. Carter since we would be heading back that way after tagging s. Carter. We met up with a hiker that had a similar idea as us, but in the opposite direction. He came up the 19mbt and was heading towards the middle peak where he would turn around and head back out the 19mbt. We were joined by a couple of groups as we ate lunch on the south peak. It was getting a little crowded so we packed up and made our way back towards the middle peak. After a proper celebration on M. Carter we headed back down to camp. The walk along the ridge heading north had better views to the east. After another rest on the cliffs at Imp face we made our way back to camp. We enjoyed a fine pasta and sausage diner, brownie desert, and a couple of beers. I slept like a baby saturday night. The sled drag out to the car was easy especially in the sections where we were able to ride the sleds down the trail. The end to another fine weekend in the whites.