Phelps, Dec. 8,07

[BlackSpruce]

In spite of the packed trail and little snow cover, a Ranger standing guard at the trail register forced us to wear our snowshoes from that point. As we tried to argue that it didn’t yet seem the 8”rules should apply, his answer was we must work on building a good base for the skiers. The skiing conditions were adequate on the flat but rocks aren’t well covered yet, past Marcy Dam the trail had a couple more inches of snow but we didn’t found that much more on the summit of Phelps where there is barely a foot in the woods. The steep trail is the best we have ever seen it when in winter mode, very little ice made for easy footing up and down. A climber returning from Marcy said that up there 3 feet of snow was the norm.
To our surprise we saw a mink running about the summit area… unless it was a very small black panther!

PS: South Meadow road will not be plowed this winter. A snowbank already blocks the access but parking is still available at the intersection.