Snow Conditions on the Mt. Washington Auto Road

[kltilton]

Hi all. My name is Kevin and I am new to the forum. I was planning on doing some snowhshoeing during Thanksgiving week. Does anyone know what the snow conditions are like on the Mt. Washington Auto Road? I don't mind running/hiking up for quite a while, I'm just afraid there may be a lot of ice.

Thanks,

Kevin

 

[Waumbek]

I was at the Auto Road base station today, and the bottom section is snow free. Just so you know, Great Glen Trails has the concession on use of that road for snowshoeing and skiing, and they're not selling trail passes yet. They're still doing maintenance on the snow coaches that take you up to treeline (4600') for a ski/snowshoe back down. You can hike on the road without a pass, at least that's my understanding, but you should check with Great Glen on the current status of the road. The shop at the base station is open. In any event, here's a picture taken today of Nelson Crag and Chandler Ridge. If you enlarge it to "full size" (below picture) you can probably make out the switchbacks of the lower part of the Auto Road.