MindlessMariachi
New member
This trip report dates to sunday Jan 4th and I'm writing it now on the "better late than never" theory.
The trip also got started a little late, for a really dumb reason: I arranged to meet Mardi (Fat Tuesday) at a park and ride in Andover Mass at 6:30 a.m. so we could carpool together. I was about halfway there when I suddenly had a vision of my shell jacket, hanging from a chair in my kitchen. "I'm probably going to need that," I thought, and drove all the way home to get it. I eventually linked up with Mardi and her friends, and my friend Nick at a bagel joint in Concord NH. By the time we got to the trailhead, our other intended partners, bikehikeskifish and old man, were headed up the trail.
So with the wind howling through Franconia Notch, Mardi, Nick and I spent the obligatory 15 minutes fiddling with gear before setting off.
The whole way, the skies became less and less cloudy. Different parts of the mountain (below treeline) had some wind, but generally speaking, it was pretty mild. Crampons were useful for a few small stretches, but microspikes would've been more than enough.
Above treeline the wind was pretty sustained and strong. I gather that you start to have trouble walking when it hits 40 mph or so, so that must've been about what it was. We had to shout at each other to be heard, and be careful planting our feet. My snowshoes (strapped to my pack and never used) started to act like a sail, and I thought I was going to be carried off to Oz, so I left them under a few big rocks. We finally hit the summit and hung out for a few minutes because, despite the wind, it really wasn't terribly cold.
Meanwhile, the eastern sky was totally clear, and there were no clouds over Franconia Ridge. The views were amazing. To the west, the clouds were generally below the summit, making for a nice white-carpet effect.
photos are here:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2253192&id=417884&saved=#/album.php?aid=2253192&id=417884
The weather got clearer and calmer as we hiked down the bridle path (the way we came up) and we hung out in the sun on the hut porch for a few mintues too.
We ended things up with a LOT of cheese at the common man and headed home.
The trip also got started a little late, for a really dumb reason: I arranged to meet Mardi (Fat Tuesday) at a park and ride in Andover Mass at 6:30 a.m. so we could carpool together. I was about halfway there when I suddenly had a vision of my shell jacket, hanging from a chair in my kitchen. "I'm probably going to need that," I thought, and drove all the way home to get it. I eventually linked up with Mardi and her friends, and my friend Nick at a bagel joint in Concord NH. By the time we got to the trailhead, our other intended partners, bikehikeskifish and old man, were headed up the trail.
So with the wind howling through Franconia Notch, Mardi, Nick and I spent the obligatory 15 minutes fiddling with gear before setting off.
The whole way, the skies became less and less cloudy. Different parts of the mountain (below treeline) had some wind, but generally speaking, it was pretty mild. Crampons were useful for a few small stretches, but microspikes would've been more than enough.
Above treeline the wind was pretty sustained and strong. I gather that you start to have trouble walking when it hits 40 mph or so, so that must've been about what it was. We had to shout at each other to be heard, and be careful planting our feet. My snowshoes (strapped to my pack and never used) started to act like a sail, and I thought I was going to be carried off to Oz, so I left them under a few big rocks. We finally hit the summit and hung out for a few minutes because, despite the wind, it really wasn't terribly cold.
Meanwhile, the eastern sky was totally clear, and there were no clouds over Franconia Ridge. The views were amazing. To the west, the clouds were generally below the summit, making for a nice white-carpet effect.
photos are here:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2253192&id=417884&saved=#/album.php?aid=2253192&id=417884
The weather got clearer and calmer as we hiked down the bridle path (the way we came up) and we hung out in the sun on the hut porch for a few mintues too.
We ended things up with a LOT of cheese at the common man and headed home.
