Bombadil
Active member
12/1/12-12/2/12
Light snow fell all day on Saturday. A couple inches covered the trail until working up Bondcliff, where microspikes helped a little bit with traction as the snow depth grew to maybe 3-6". No ice/snow drift issues on Bondcliff. Some deep drifts heading up into treeline en route up Bond but short in duration. The blowdown on W Bond is still there-easy to walk around. Consistent snow depth and powdery conditions to S Twin though there was enough snow to obscure awkward rocks and wood planks but definitely not enough snow to warrant snowshoes. Wind was really howling on S Twin after dark so we skipped N Twin. Easy descent to the hut, no ice issues surprisingly. Galehead had one section of hidden ice in the steep part, probably will be more obvious now with the warmer temps. We broke trail to Garfield, loads of hidden water ice on the first half, as was expected. The ice bulge was ascended carefully with just microspikes. There are flat sections of snow/ice on it so it can probably descended in the same manner with care, then again there's always the option to descend off-trail.
Temperatures moderated during the night resulting in some sleet/rain. Some consolidation en route to Garfield, quite breezy though. A few sections of hidden ice heading over to Lafayette and a few blowdowns too. Trees were raining on us until treeline on N Lafayette with the sun out and blue skies. Deep drifts in places above treeline before we got to Lafayette summit in the clouds. We had heard there was a chance of rain Sun afternoon, never saw it coming as we got pounded by 60 mph winds and rain with 35 degree temps. Rain only intensified and after my partners gore-tex jacket became a glorified sieve we descended Liberty Springs instead of heading over Flume, so not a true pemi loop. Much less snow on Liberty Springs. Mostly just slush, mud, and patches of ice. It'll be super icy if it freezes in the next day or two-lots of standing water.
Pat
pcushing21 at yahoo dot com
Light snow fell all day on Saturday. A couple inches covered the trail until working up Bondcliff, where microspikes helped a little bit with traction as the snow depth grew to maybe 3-6". No ice/snow drift issues on Bondcliff. Some deep drifts heading up into treeline en route up Bond but short in duration. The blowdown on W Bond is still there-easy to walk around. Consistent snow depth and powdery conditions to S Twin though there was enough snow to obscure awkward rocks and wood planks but definitely not enough snow to warrant snowshoes. Wind was really howling on S Twin after dark so we skipped N Twin. Easy descent to the hut, no ice issues surprisingly. Galehead had one section of hidden ice in the steep part, probably will be more obvious now with the warmer temps. We broke trail to Garfield, loads of hidden water ice on the first half, as was expected. The ice bulge was ascended carefully with just microspikes. There are flat sections of snow/ice on it so it can probably descended in the same manner with care, then again there's always the option to descend off-trail.
Temperatures moderated during the night resulting in some sleet/rain. Some consolidation en route to Garfield, quite breezy though. A few sections of hidden ice heading over to Lafayette and a few blowdowns too. Trees were raining on us until treeline on N Lafayette with the sun out and blue skies. Deep drifts in places above treeline before we got to Lafayette summit in the clouds. We had heard there was a chance of rain Sun afternoon, never saw it coming as we got pounded by 60 mph winds and rain with 35 degree temps. Rain only intensified and after my partners gore-tex jacket became a glorified sieve we descended Liberty Springs instead of heading over Flume, so not a true pemi loop. Much less snow on Liberty Springs. Mostly just slush, mud, and patches of ice. It'll be super icy if it freezes in the next day or two-lots of standing water.
Pat
pcushing21 at yahoo dot com
