Rooster Comb, Hedgehog, Lower Wolf Jaw: 1/7/11

[Paradox]

This was a tough hike for me or maybe I'm just getting old. The trail from Keene Valley (Rt 73 parking) was pleasant. I saw a deer, that looked at me while I got my camera out to to take her picture. Only about a quarter inch of snow and solid footing underneath. The spur trail up Rooster Comb is very pretty. I got some photos of myself and the surrounding area through the light snow that was falling. After The Rooster Comb spur the nature of the trail and the conditions changed a great deal. The light snow that had been falling continued and about 2" had fallen on top of glare ice. Hence my microspikes would not "bite", and there was too little snow for snowshoes, too many rocks for crampons. The Eastern slope of Hedgehog Mtn. took me a while and the the air took on a slight blue tinge, as I fell many times going uphill. Falling while proceeding uphill, is not something within my experience. Conditions improved considerably after the summit until I got to the col, then got worse. Near the summit of LWJ, there is a steep pitch that ascends at about a 45% grade. This pitch was pure ice under about 3" of fresh powder that gave it a benign appearance from below. It took me over 20 minutes to cover the 350' of distance until the flat area near the summit. I broke out the ice axe that I purchased to climb Rainier. I used it for its intended purpose for the first time on the decent of that steep ice grade. Going down had me falling quite a bit and the air turned a deep angery blue. After I passed the Rooster Comb Spur Trail, everything became lovely again and I even saw the deer (or a close relative) in the same place I saw her on the way up.

Wikiloc track and photos