U
Unregistered
Guest
Trail Conditions:
General: Good snow coverage everywhere, ranging from about 2 feet in the lower elevations to 4+ feet higher elevations. Upper layers consist of loose fluffy snow, great ski/snowshoe conditions, but beware of avy danger on open upper slopes.
Specific trail conditions:
Tote Road and Roaring Brook Road: well-packed with ski, snowshoe and snowmobile traffic.
Chimney Pond Trail to Chimney Pond: well-packed with snowshoe and snowmobile traffic. Winter route across Basin Pond is in and marked on either end.
Cathedral Trail: Broken to base of base of slide only, then filled in from there to near 1st cathedral. Summer trail difficult to impossible to follow until 1st cathedral. Conditions vary from breakable crust/windslab to deep unconsolidated powder (waist-deep or greater); watch for spruce traps and holes near rocks! From 1st cathedral onward, trail is easier to follow, blue blazes occasionally visible on rocks. Cathedral Ridge is mostly ice-covered rocks and hard-packed snow, with occasional drifting. Occasional third-class scrambling on icy rocks is required. Above cathedrals trail becomes once more difficult to follow; many cairns are buried or totally encased in snow/rime ice and thus indistinguishable from surrounding rocks. Snow conditions on the upper plateau/summit area above the ridge are a mixture of breakable crust and sections of deep drifting snow.
Saddle Trail: Summit to saddle, similar to upper part of Cathedral Trail (mix of crust and powder), some boot tracks and occasional cairns visible, but do not count on being able to follow the summer trail. Winter variation below the Saddle follows the gully north of the small knob to the climber's left/skier's right of the summer trail. From the summer trail junction sign above the Saddle, this would be approximately 100-200 yards south (i.e. towards Baxter Peak). DO NOT follow the summer trail - this takes you into seriously avalanche-prone terrain. The winter variation gully joins the summer one near the bottom, so if descending, you should find yourself back on the Saddle Trail once the slope eases. The Saddle Trail below treeline is once again well-broken.
Equipment used:
Snowshoes - on Cathedral Trail to 1st cathedral, and all approach trails.
Crampons - on Cathedral Trail from 1st cathedral to summit, and all of Saddle Trail. Probably should have switched back to snowshoes on Saddle Trail once at treeline, but were too lazy to do so.
Ice axe - same as above. Found it very useful for steeper/icier portions of Cathedral Ridge. Also required for steep gully below Saddle. Otherwise can substitute poles.
Poles - used for all sections except where ice was used.
Other: goggles, masks, balaclavas, GPS, shovel (as rudimentary avy gear). Did not use sleds. Total gear weight for 2 people was around 100 lbs at start of trip (stayed in bunkhouses only, so did not need tent).
Other remarks: Got a little disoriented at the Abol Bridge, took a snowmobile trail instead of the tote road to gatehouse, which made the trip to Roaring Brook 14 miles instead of the usual 12.6. Overall trip was 4 days/3 nights - first night at Roaring Brook, second at Chimney Pond, third at Roaring Brook again. Summit day weather was so/so with temps around 0 and moderate winds (30-40 mph), in and out of clouds with occasional snowfall/blowing/drifting snow. Very difficult trail-breaking on the Cathedral Trail from the slide to the cathedrals. All in all a great trip, beautiful place, would love to come back next year and do the Knife Edge.
General: Good snow coverage everywhere, ranging from about 2 feet in the lower elevations to 4+ feet higher elevations. Upper layers consist of loose fluffy snow, great ski/snowshoe conditions, but beware of avy danger on open upper slopes.
Specific trail conditions:
Tote Road and Roaring Brook Road: well-packed with ski, snowshoe and snowmobile traffic.
Chimney Pond Trail to Chimney Pond: well-packed with snowshoe and snowmobile traffic. Winter route across Basin Pond is in and marked on either end.
Cathedral Trail: Broken to base of base of slide only, then filled in from there to near 1st cathedral. Summer trail difficult to impossible to follow until 1st cathedral. Conditions vary from breakable crust/windslab to deep unconsolidated powder (waist-deep or greater); watch for spruce traps and holes near rocks! From 1st cathedral onward, trail is easier to follow, blue blazes occasionally visible on rocks. Cathedral Ridge is mostly ice-covered rocks and hard-packed snow, with occasional drifting. Occasional third-class scrambling on icy rocks is required. Above cathedrals trail becomes once more difficult to follow; many cairns are buried or totally encased in snow/rime ice and thus indistinguishable from surrounding rocks. Snow conditions on the upper plateau/summit area above the ridge are a mixture of breakable crust and sections of deep drifting snow.
Saddle Trail: Summit to saddle, similar to upper part of Cathedral Trail (mix of crust and powder), some boot tracks and occasional cairns visible, but do not count on being able to follow the summer trail. Winter variation below the Saddle follows the gully north of the small knob to the climber's left/skier's right of the summer trail. From the summer trail junction sign above the Saddle, this would be approximately 100-200 yards south (i.e. towards Baxter Peak). DO NOT follow the summer trail - this takes you into seriously avalanche-prone terrain. The winter variation gully joins the summer one near the bottom, so if descending, you should find yourself back on the Saddle Trail once the slope eases. The Saddle Trail below treeline is once again well-broken.
Equipment used:
Snowshoes - on Cathedral Trail to 1st cathedral, and all approach trails.
Crampons - on Cathedral Trail from 1st cathedral to summit, and all of Saddle Trail. Probably should have switched back to snowshoes on Saddle Trail once at treeline, but were too lazy to do so.
Ice axe - same as above. Found it very useful for steeper/icier portions of Cathedral Ridge. Also required for steep gully below Saddle. Otherwise can substitute poles.
Poles - used for all sections except where ice was used.
Other: goggles, masks, balaclavas, GPS, shovel (as rudimentary avy gear). Did not use sleds. Total gear weight for 2 people was around 100 lbs at start of trip (stayed in bunkhouses only, so did not need tent).
Other remarks: Got a little disoriented at the Abol Bridge, took a snowmobile trail instead of the tote road to gatehouse, which made the trip to Roaring Brook 14 miles instead of the usual 12.6. Overall trip was 4 days/3 nights - first night at Roaring Brook, second at Chimney Pond, third at Roaring Brook again. Summit day weather was so/so with temps around 0 and moderate winds (30-40 mph), in and out of clouds with occasional snowfall/blowing/drifting snow. Very difficult trail-breaking on the Cathedral Trail from the slide to the cathedrals. All in all a great trip, beautiful place, would love to come back next year and do the Knife Edge.
