LRiz
New member
Date of Hike: 4/19/2009
Trail Conditions:
Valley Way: Entirely devoid of snow at the bottom, switching to patches of ice/snow as one gains elevation. Light traction recommended for the mid/upper sections. Water crossings posed no problem.
Osgood to Madison: Easily barebooted (mostly rock-hoppable at this point), although I stayed in my microspikes.
Gulfside to Thunderstorm Junction: Firm snow/ice. Light traction acceptable up until the snowfields, at which point I swiched over to crampons. Some tricky sections there...
Lowe's Path to Adams: Mixture of snow and bare rock. Light traction adequate.
Gulfside to Edmand's Col: Slushy snow and bare rock. I stayed in crampons for a while, though this was certainly overkill. Barebooted some of the rockier sections.
The Infamous Snowfield: Solid track across, which had softened up nicely under the glare of the sun. However, the sections in the shadows are firm. Crampons recommended for safety.
Jefferson Loop: The north branch is a steep, icy snowfield - very firm, even after baking in the snow for most of the day. Crampons highly recommended for the ascent, and imperative if one chooses to descend in this direction. The south branch is a mixture of bare rock and slushy snow. I alternated between light traction and bare boots.
Gulfside to Jewell: Rocks and slushy snow at first, and then some soft snowfields surrounding Clay. Light traction is sufficient as long as the snow remains soft. If tackling this section of trail very trail early/late in the day, crampons are recommended.
Jewell: Mostly melted out at the top (barebootable), with snow cover increasing as one descends below treeline. The monorail is there, but not yet visible (should not pose a problem as long as one stays at the center of the trail). Amazingly, we didn't have to pull out snowshoes for the entire trip down to the Base Station!
Special Equipment Required: Light traction and crampons both imperative. Poles/axe for stability. It's also a good idea to carry snowshoes.
Comments: What a fantastic day to tackle the Northern Presis. Little to no wind, perfect temperatures above treeline, and an interesting mix of conditions. Surprisingly, there were very few people out on the trails, even though both the Base Station/Appalachia were packed with cars. It felt as if we had the mountains entirely to ourselves...
Email: larisa [dot] dannis [at] gmail [dot] com
Trail Conditions:
Valley Way: Entirely devoid of snow at the bottom, switching to patches of ice/snow as one gains elevation. Light traction recommended for the mid/upper sections. Water crossings posed no problem.
Osgood to Madison: Easily barebooted (mostly rock-hoppable at this point), although I stayed in my microspikes.
Gulfside to Thunderstorm Junction: Firm snow/ice. Light traction acceptable up until the snowfields, at which point I swiched over to crampons. Some tricky sections there...
Lowe's Path to Adams: Mixture of snow and bare rock. Light traction adequate.
Gulfside to Edmand's Col: Slushy snow and bare rock. I stayed in crampons for a while, though this was certainly overkill. Barebooted some of the rockier sections.
The Infamous Snowfield: Solid track across, which had softened up nicely under the glare of the sun. However, the sections in the shadows are firm. Crampons recommended for safety.
Jefferson Loop: The north branch is a steep, icy snowfield - very firm, even after baking in the snow for most of the day. Crampons highly recommended for the ascent, and imperative if one chooses to descend in this direction. The south branch is a mixture of bare rock and slushy snow. I alternated between light traction and bare boots.
Gulfside to Jewell: Rocks and slushy snow at first, and then some soft snowfields surrounding Clay. Light traction is sufficient as long as the snow remains soft. If tackling this section of trail very trail early/late in the day, crampons are recommended.
Jewell: Mostly melted out at the top (barebootable), with snow cover increasing as one descends below treeline. The monorail is there, but not yet visible (should not pose a problem as long as one stays at the center of the trail). Amazingly, we didn't have to pull out snowshoes for the entire trip down to the Base Station!
Special Equipment Required: Light traction and crampons both imperative. Poles/axe for stability. It's also a good idea to carry snowshoes.
Comments: What a fantastic day to tackle the Northern Presis. Little to no wind, perfect temperatures above treeline, and an interesting mix of conditions. Surprisingly, there were very few people out on the trails, even though both the Base Station/Appalachia were packed with cars. It felt as if we had the mountains entirely to ourselves...
Email: larisa [dot] dannis [at] gmail [dot] com
Last edited:
