LRiz
New member
Date of Hike: 5/2/2009
Trail Conditions:
Tripoli Road: 99.999% snow/ice free on the approach to the Osceola trailhead.
Mount Osceola trail to Osceola: Well-described by the previous poster. Barebootable up until the last 2/3 mile or so, at which point the snow cover increases substantially. It's deep, it's rotten, and there is no discernable monorail. After one serious posthole which left my legs pretty scratched up, I switched to snowshoes... and was grateful that I did. There was one blowdown from HELL just before the summit.
Mount Osceola trail to East Osceola: Solid monorail, for the most part - albeit very narrow and "interesting" in places. I encountered a hiker who was barebooting, but I found snowshoes extremely helpful.
Mount Tecumseh trail to Tecumseh (from Waterville Valley): Once again, well-described by the previous poster. All three water crossings are rock-hoppable. Bare boots --> microspikes (I put them on well after the last water crossing, about 1/2 mile or so from the viewpoint) --> snowshoes. The whole trail could be done with light traction, but after my lovely postholing incident on Osceola I decided to switch to snowshoes as the snow depth increased.
Special Equipment Required: Light traction extremely helpful. Snowshoes a must for the Tripoli Road Osceola approach at this point, but I'm sure that will change quite quickly as the snow melts...
Comments: Initially, I'd been considering a Tecumseh traverse --> Osceolas. Boy, am I glad that I changed my plans. The snow/poor monorail conditions on Osceola/East Peak slowed me down tremendously. Fortunately, at the end of the day I still had plenty of time to climb Tecumseh, where the conditions were far more pleasant.
Email: larisa [dot] dannis [at] gmail [dot] com
Trail Conditions:
Tripoli Road: 99.999% snow/ice free on the approach to the Osceola trailhead.
Mount Osceola trail to Osceola: Well-described by the previous poster. Barebootable up until the last 2/3 mile or so, at which point the snow cover increases substantially. It's deep, it's rotten, and there is no discernable monorail. After one serious posthole which left my legs pretty scratched up, I switched to snowshoes... and was grateful that I did. There was one blowdown from HELL just before the summit.
Mount Osceola trail to East Osceola: Solid monorail, for the most part - albeit very narrow and "interesting" in places. I encountered a hiker who was barebooting, but I found snowshoes extremely helpful.
Mount Tecumseh trail to Tecumseh (from Waterville Valley): Once again, well-described by the previous poster. All three water crossings are rock-hoppable. Bare boots --> microspikes (I put them on well after the last water crossing, about 1/2 mile or so from the viewpoint) --> snowshoes. The whole trail could be done with light traction, but after my lovely postholing incident on Osceola I decided to switch to snowshoes as the snow depth increased.
Special Equipment Required: Light traction extremely helpful. Snowshoes a must for the Tripoli Road Osceola approach at this point, but I'm sure that will change quite quickly as the snow melts...
Comments: Initially, I'd been considering a Tecumseh traverse --> Osceolas. Boy, am I glad that I changed my plans. The snow/poor monorail conditions on Osceola/East Peak slowed me down tremendously. Fortunately, at the end of the day I still had plenty of time to climb Tecumseh, where the conditions were far more pleasant.
Email: larisa [dot] dannis [at] gmail [dot] com
