U
Unregistered
Guest
Group of 7 did Mt. Osceola from the Tripoli Rd side on Saturday, Jan. 12. Since the road is closed in winter, we started at the Livermore Depot lot. This added another 6 miles (rt) to the trip for a total of ~13 miles.
Tripoli Rd from Livermore Depot up to the Osceola Trail trailhead is groomed for xc-skiers. Therefore, the snow was quite packed down and stable. We all bare-booted it up to the trailhead (800 elevation gain). Watch out for xc-skiers!
Once on the Osceola Trail, the snow was very crusty. Traction was required, though all of us got by using snowshoes. Crampons would have worked fine as well, even as the snow softened throughout the day.
Osceola Trail was in pretty good shape. Handful of blowdowns. Handful of very small water crossings. Summit was encased in 1-2" of ice. Overall, very sunny day with great visability. Recent snows have probably added a 1-3" layer over the crust.
Tripoli Rd from Livermore Depot up to the Osceola Trail trailhead is groomed for xc-skiers. Therefore, the snow was quite packed down and stable. We all bare-booted it up to the trailhead (800 elevation gain). Watch out for xc-skiers!
Once on the Osceola Trail, the snow was very crusty. Traction was required, though all of us got by using snowshoes. Crampons would have worked fine as well, even as the snow softened throughout the day.
Osceola Trail was in pretty good shape. Handful of blowdowns. Handful of very small water crossings. Summit was encased in 1-2" of ice. Overall, very sunny day with great visability. Recent snows have probably added a 1-3" layer over the crust.
