Hikerick
New member
I have twice stood at the base of Little Haystack (in winter), and turned back due to the severe weather and exposure, or because it was too late in the day to be sure I could be off the open rock before sunset. This was to be the third time I’d go for the Haystack summit in winter.
We met as a party of 12 on Wednesday (01/05/05) at the Peggy O’Brien cabin, a meeting that has become an annual ritual. The first week of January has become the time for this event, to sit around the table under the gas lights and swap stories of adventures in the woods, as we plan for the next day’s adventures. Wednesday evening, while plans were made to tackle Basin & Saddleback, or Saddleback, Gothics, Armstrong, and Upper Wolfjaw, or Gothics & Sawteeth, two of the others, Rick and David, decided to accompany me on my sojourn to Haystack.
We left as a party of five on Thursday morning (01/06/05), with Matt and Anthony joining us as far as Slant Rock. We parted ways there, as Matt and Anthony went up the Shorey Shortcut toward Basin and Saddleback with plans to head back down the Ore Bed Brook trail. Rick, David, and I continued up the trail to the col between Marcy and Haystack.
We made good time up and over the nubble, and back down to trail junction at the base of Little Haystack. It was noon, the earliest in the day I’d ever stood there! My hopes were high, despite the high winds, and the snow that had started falling—or rather was propelled by the wind! We ditched our packs, except for Rick, who carried a small pack where we each deposited a few items we considered essential in an emergency. We also took a moment to make radio contact with Matt and David, who were on the final ascent to Basin, and Ron, Dan, David, and Adam who were on the open rock on Gothics.
David and I had made it this far in crampons, and Rick had worn his snowshoes. At this point, Rick realized David wouldn’t be able to traverse the open rock with his 6-point crampons, so he relinquished his 12-point crampons to David, and decided to continue with his snowshoes. I still wore my 12-point step-in crampons, but I was the only one with an ice axe, while the others each carried one ski pole. I was also the only one with the advantage of wearing goggles.
We began picking our way up Little Haystack, and found the wind and constant pelting of the snow granules to be relentless! Visibility was low, but we could always see at least one or two cairns ahead, so we were able to make steady progress. Once over the top of Little Haystack, we faced the most challenging part of the hike—the steep southern side of Little Haystack. We gingerly found our way down the steep icy slope, although I had to use my ice axe several times to self-arrest (
) when the crampons didn’t “bite” or the ice broke loose. That was a rather disturbing experience, but it also reminded me how important it was to try to stand straight for maximum traction—the natural tendency is to lean toward the rock to have something to hold onto, but that creates a bad angle for traction on a steep slope. I developed my “technique” a bit more after that, and didn’t need to self-arrest any more.
We had gone most of the way down Little Haystack, when we encountered a steep slope of sheer ice. All three of us began trying to figure the best way to get down, but it was David who came up with the solution. He began traversing a small ledge at the top of the slope, so we’d end up on the opposite side where the ice wasn’t quite as steep. I followed, and Rick followed behind me. When David reached the end of the ledge, he reached out to grab a rock before he realized that the strap on his ski pole had come loose! The pole flew, then skidded down the icy slope, and disappeared into the scant woods below. I passed David at this point, and picked my way down the slope. I spied the wayward pole a few yards off, and set out to retrieve it. Once I had found the “needle” in the Haystack, I turned around to discover that David & Rick had made it down behind me! We followed the trail around a boulder and into a small stand of evergreens where we stopped to rest—the most sheltered spot on the ridge.
The final assault on the summit was difficult, but not as treacherous as Little Haystack had been. We continued following the cairns, and finally tagged the summit at about 1:30 p.m. A brief stay (amounting to less than a minute), and we turned back to head out, still exposed to the high winds and snow pellets. We stopped again at the same spot in the grove of trees for brief rest and snack before tackling the steep southern slope of Little Haystack again.
Going up proved to be simpler for Rick and me, but David got “stuck” at the top of that first steep icy slope. I had already moved about 20 yards ahead, and Rick was below me, reaching out with his pole to try to help David get up. I waited several minutes, thinking David should appear at any moment. Finally, I decided to head back down to see if I could lend a hand. I had gone down a few yards, when I saw David suddenly stepping over Rick onto the ice and rock around him. Once they were on their way toward me, I turned and headed back up the slope.
Stepping out onto the open summit of Little Haystack, the wind at our backs now tried to propel us forward faster than we wanted to move on the ice! We gradually picked our way down, and I found that some of the slopes were most easily descended by walking backwards, kicking my toes (with crampons) into the ice, like walking backward down the stairs. I used the ice axe in front of me to dig in between steps. Soon, we were standing at the trail junction again, dusting a couple of inches of fresh snow off our packs. It was 2:30 p.m. David and I switched to snowshoes, and off we went!
We went up and over the nubble, and then had the best time going down! There were several step sections, where we did the “butt slide.” Makes you feel like a kid again!!!
We stopped briefly at the trail junction at the col, then again at Slant Rock. We continued on through the woods, and made it to the lean-to at Bushnell Falls, where we stopped for our last snack and to don our headlamps. With only a mile and a half left to go to get back to the Peggy O’Brien, we felt pretty good about the day’s accomplishments!
We were back in the cabin by 6:20 p.m., enjoying the warmth and safety, and the chance to change into dry clothes. We swapped stories of the day with the others, until our attention was drawn to the party returning from the Great Range. Once Phil, Mike, and Aaron were back inside, everyone was safe, and relieved that the efforts of the long wintry day were over!!!
Many thanks to Rick & David for making this trip with me! I couldn't (or wouldn't) have done it without you guys!!!!
P.S. Thanks, also, to ALG for going along on my trip last week to Donaldson & Emmons--that one wouldn't have happened without your help, either!
We met as a party of 12 on Wednesday (01/05/05) at the Peggy O’Brien cabin, a meeting that has become an annual ritual. The first week of January has become the time for this event, to sit around the table under the gas lights and swap stories of adventures in the woods, as we plan for the next day’s adventures. Wednesday evening, while plans were made to tackle Basin & Saddleback, or Saddleback, Gothics, Armstrong, and Upper Wolfjaw, or Gothics & Sawteeth, two of the others, Rick and David, decided to accompany me on my sojourn to Haystack.
We left as a party of five on Thursday morning (01/06/05), with Matt and Anthony joining us as far as Slant Rock. We parted ways there, as Matt and Anthony went up the Shorey Shortcut toward Basin and Saddleback with plans to head back down the Ore Bed Brook trail. Rick, David, and I continued up the trail to the col between Marcy and Haystack.
We made good time up and over the nubble, and back down to trail junction at the base of Little Haystack. It was noon, the earliest in the day I’d ever stood there! My hopes were high, despite the high winds, and the snow that had started falling—or rather was propelled by the wind! We ditched our packs, except for Rick, who carried a small pack where we each deposited a few items we considered essential in an emergency. We also took a moment to make radio contact with Matt and David, who were on the final ascent to Basin, and Ron, Dan, David, and Adam who were on the open rock on Gothics.
David and I had made it this far in crampons, and Rick had worn his snowshoes. At this point, Rick realized David wouldn’t be able to traverse the open rock with his 6-point crampons, so he relinquished his 12-point crampons to David, and decided to continue with his snowshoes. I still wore my 12-point step-in crampons, but I was the only one with an ice axe, while the others each carried one ski pole. I was also the only one with the advantage of wearing goggles.
We began picking our way up Little Haystack, and found the wind and constant pelting of the snow granules to be relentless! Visibility was low, but we could always see at least one or two cairns ahead, so we were able to make steady progress. Once over the top of Little Haystack, we faced the most challenging part of the hike—the steep southern side of Little Haystack. We gingerly found our way down the steep icy slope, although I had to use my ice axe several times to self-arrest (
) when the crampons didn’t “bite” or the ice broke loose. That was a rather disturbing experience, but it also reminded me how important it was to try to stand straight for maximum traction—the natural tendency is to lean toward the rock to have something to hold onto, but that creates a bad angle for traction on a steep slope. I developed my “technique” a bit more after that, and didn’t need to self-arrest any more.We had gone most of the way down Little Haystack, when we encountered a steep slope of sheer ice. All three of us began trying to figure the best way to get down, but it was David who came up with the solution. He began traversing a small ledge at the top of the slope, so we’d end up on the opposite side where the ice wasn’t quite as steep. I followed, and Rick followed behind me. When David reached the end of the ledge, he reached out to grab a rock before he realized that the strap on his ski pole had come loose!
The pole flew, then skidded down the icy slope, and disappeared into the scant woods below. I passed David at this point, and picked my way down the slope. I spied the wayward pole a few yards off, and set out to retrieve it. Once I had found the “needle” in the Haystack, I turned around to discover that David & Rick had made it down behind me! We followed the trail around a boulder and into a small stand of evergreens where we stopped to rest—the most sheltered spot on the ridge. The final assault on the summit was difficult, but not as treacherous as Little Haystack had been. We continued following the cairns, and finally tagged the summit at about 1:30 p.m. A brief stay (amounting to less than a minute), and we turned back to head out, still exposed to the high winds and snow pellets. We stopped again at the same spot in the grove of trees for brief rest and snack before tackling the steep southern slope of Little Haystack again.
Going up proved to be simpler for Rick and me, but David got “stuck” at the top of that first steep icy slope. I had already moved about 20 yards ahead, and Rick was below me, reaching out with his pole to try to help David get up. I waited several minutes, thinking David should appear at any moment. Finally, I decided to head back down to see if I could lend a hand. I had gone down a few yards, when I saw David suddenly stepping over Rick onto the ice and rock around him. Once they were on their way toward me, I turned and headed back up the slope.
Stepping out onto the open summit of Little Haystack, the wind at our backs now tried to propel us forward faster than we wanted to move on the ice! We gradually picked our way down, and I found that some of the slopes were most easily descended by walking backwards, kicking my toes (with crampons) into the ice, like walking backward down the stairs. I used the ice axe in front of me to dig in between steps. Soon, we were standing at the trail junction again, dusting a couple of inches of fresh snow off our packs. It was 2:30 p.m. David and I switched to snowshoes, and off we went!
We went up and over the nubble, and then had the best time going down! There were several step sections, where we did the “butt slide.” Makes you feel like a kid again!!!
We stopped briefly at the trail junction at the col, then again at Slant Rock. We continued on through the woods, and made it to the lean-to at Bushnell Falls, where we stopped for our last snack and to don our headlamps. With only a mile and a half left to go to get back to the Peggy O’Brien, we felt pretty good about the day’s accomplishments!
We were back in the cabin by 6:20 p.m., enjoying the warmth and safety, and the chance to change into dry clothes. We swapped stories of the day with the others, until our attention was drawn to the party returning from the Great Range. Once Phil, Mike, and Aaron were back inside, everyone was safe, and relieved that the efforts of the long wintry day were over!!!
Many thanks to Rick & David for making this trip with me! I couldn't (or wouldn't) have done it without you guys!!!!
P.S. Thanks, also, to ALG for going along on my trip last week to Donaldson & Emmons--that one wouldn't have happened without your help, either!
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