hikingmaineac
New member
Date of Hike: 3/21/09
Trail Conditions: Below the treeline: (Air Line up, Valley Way down) Hard packed snow. Some ice in places, but avoidable or manageable with light traction. Above the treeline: Hard packed, icy snow. Many 20' or longer sections of ice that were not possible to walk on with light traction. Bare boot rock hopping was possible on long sections of the Osgood trail up to Madison and the top of Air line due to a lack of ice or snow.
Special Equipment Required: We managed the whole trip in either microspikes or bare boots, but I WOULD NOT recommend it. Definitely bring crampons for Adams above the treeline. Snowshoes weren't necessary due to concrete-like conditions of the trails, but I don't know how much longer they'll hold up before people start breaking through the crust on top of the 1-3+ feet of snow in places.
Comments: A beautiful, blue-sky day with minimal winds and excellent views. We only saw three people all day. 2 of them had bushwacked up King Ravine and said they saw a guy who had skied down one of the gullies of King Ravine.
Trail Conditions: Below the treeline: (Air Line up, Valley Way down) Hard packed snow. Some ice in places, but avoidable or manageable with light traction. Above the treeline: Hard packed, icy snow. Many 20' or longer sections of ice that were not possible to walk on with light traction. Bare boot rock hopping was possible on long sections of the Osgood trail up to Madison and the top of Air line due to a lack of ice or snow.
Special Equipment Required: We managed the whole trip in either microspikes or bare boots, but I WOULD NOT recommend it. Definitely bring crampons for Adams above the treeline. Snowshoes weren't necessary due to concrete-like conditions of the trails, but I don't know how much longer they'll hold up before people start breaking through the crust on top of the 1-3+ feet of snow in places.
Comments: A beautiful, blue-sky day with minimal winds and excellent views. We only saw three people all day. 2 of them had bushwacked up King Ravine and said they saw a guy who had skied down one of the gullies of King Ravine.
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