Monadnock for a day after Thanksgiving

[Papa Bear]

On the Friday after Thanksgiving, weather permitting, I'm considering taking my son & grandson (7 years old) on his first hike up a "real" mountain - Monadnock. We'll take the White Dot. We will not go if it's raining of snowing and hopefully it will not be too cold. Of course, we will all be suitably clad, bring enough gear for the potential conditions, and will turn around if things get bad. The long term forecast shows partly sunny, mid-30s, and low wind conditions for that day.

The grandson is a good hiker and often goes several times a week with his dad (my son) to local parks, the Audubon center in Natick, etc., often for hours at a time, I know in fair conditions, he would be up for Monadnock.

Question: is the peak already in the early throws of winter, or is it still pretty accessible in late November? I'm no expert on how early winter conditions arrive in southern New Hampshire.

 

[snowbird]

Cold with some ice

I hiked Monadnock on Wednesday when it was 15 degrees on the summit with winds from the north at about 15 mph. Enough to push me around a bit. There was a fair amount of ice here and there but you could go around it for the most part. We are expecting rain and snow in the next couple of days though, so there could be more ice.

Snowbird

 

[Tobit]

+1 to what snowbird said. I doubt you will have much, if any, snow to deal with this Friday. * However, I am sure you will see a good amount of ice.

I'm sure you will have fun.

* Normal disclaimers apply. I, nor anyone, can be held accountable for what mother nature decides to do especially with 5 days to go til proposed hike.

 

[kerry13]

I was there sat and sun. Sat was a lot of ice and 1/2 inch of snow covering the ice. I hit many trails and there were difficult spots everywhere. Sun was a little better. Dot was in pretty good shape. Still a lot of thick hard ice but snow was not hiding it anymore. Hard to tell what mid week rain will bring. Forecasting rain with temps in mid 40's so there could be some wet snow above the ridge. I will likely be up there thurs morning so I will post conditions for you when I get back.

 

[Andrew]

Keep an eye on the sytems moving through over the next few days. Looks like the mountain will get plastered with some kind of frozen precip, although the forecast for Friday shows just above freezing & sun. W Dot melts wicked quick with that combination.

Tends to be surprisingly busy there on the day after Thanksgiving, but always a great group of folks to share the trails with.

 

[sierra]

Monadnock is a funny little mountain that many times acts like a big mountain. Snow, ice, visibilty issues can all be severe for a "little mountain".

 

[kerry13]

Was at Monadnock this morning. No snow. Was some ice in spots but avoidable. Was melting going on which will refreeze again tonight. Was a nice coating of 1/2-3/4 " rime ice on all the vegetation above first view. No rime ice on rocks. Very picturesque today. Enjoy your hike.