Mount Tripyramid, North and Middle Peak, via Livermore Road, Livermore Trail, Scaur Trail, Pine Bend Brook, Mount Tripyramid Trail. 12.7 miles, 3402 feet total ascent, 7:55 total time, 2.0 mph average speed (so says Ed's GPS.) Winter #28 and #29 for me.
Livermore
Today's trip began at Livermore Road (Depot Camp) and follows the groomed ski trail of the same name. I have skied this trail many, many times as it accesses the some of the best groomed skating trails around. Last time I hiked it was for Tripyramid in the summer. This was my first time on snowshoes. The temperatures were in the single digits, and although the wind was light, it was cold. In T+35 minutes, we connected with the Lower Snow's ski trail where Livermore Road is no longer groomed. Here we continued along a faint snowshoe track with fresh powder on top. At about T+1:30 we'd reached the left turn just below the Scaur Ridge trail. To this point, the grade is very easy and provided a beautiful warm up. Turning right on the Scaur Ridge trail, things got steep and the layers came off quickly. As we headed up to Scaur Ridge itself, the North Slide dominated the view. Turning away from North Tripyramid and ascending the final steep to Scaur Ridge required some attention to follow the trail.
Group Break at north end Mt. Tripyramid Trail, North Tripyramid Slide from Scaur
North Tripyramid
At Scaur Ridge, we turned right on Pine Bend and ascended the ridge to the summit cone. Through this section, the trail again required some thought to follow. Sections were drifted in and required breaking, while other sections were blown clean down to the ice. Maybe two sections were challenging on snowshoes but all hands made the summit unscathed at T+3:50. Despite the high-wind predictions for the high peaks, it was surprisingly calm on top. After a bit of a lunch, we set out for Middle.
Carrigain, Washington (from North Tripyramid lookout)
Middle Tripyramid
The Mount Tripyramid trail between North and Middle had many sections of snow-laden spruce. Brushing this trail would be helpful, especially for those of us over 6 feet tall. This section was easy to follow and we made great time to the summit at T+4:25. Both outlooks provided 100-mile views on this day - looking east well into Maine, and west well into Vermont. My first time through, I did Tripyramid followed by Whiteface and Passaconaway, and this week I did them in the reverse order. I enjoyed looking at them and the connecting ridge (Rollins Trail) from the west-facing outlook.
Chocorua(L) and Passaconaway(R), Moosilauke(L), Osceola(C), Franconia Ridge(R)
We returned to North Tripyramid and quickly checked out the outlook to the west. We met a hiker who had come up the North Slide (crampons) and was descending in flat-country Tubbs snowshoes. Descending from North provided some opportunities for butt sliding although the snow is still not that deep and there are rocks and stumps to avoid. Just above the Scaur Ridge junction, we ran into Bill (Pucknuts), Tom (Wild Peaks) and Jerry (who at age 75+ was doing his I-don't-remember-how-many-times-this-is through the winter 48.) From this junction back to Livermore, we removed what blowdowns we could. When the hairpin turn and drainage were visible from Scaur Ridge, we bushwhacked straight down, avoiding about half a mile of trail.
All Photos
Tim
Livermore
Today's trip began at Livermore Road (Depot Camp) and follows the groomed ski trail of the same name. I have skied this trail many, many times as it accesses the some of the best groomed skating trails around. Last time I hiked it was for Tripyramid in the summer. This was my first time on snowshoes. The temperatures were in the single digits, and although the wind was light, it was cold. In T+35 minutes, we connected with the Lower Snow's ski trail where Livermore Road is no longer groomed. Here we continued along a faint snowshoe track with fresh powder on top. At about T+1:30 we'd reached the left turn just below the Scaur Ridge trail. To this point, the grade is very easy and provided a beautiful warm up. Turning right on the Scaur Ridge trail, things got steep and the layers came off quickly. As we headed up to Scaur Ridge itself, the North Slide dominated the view. Turning away from North Tripyramid and ascending the final steep to Scaur Ridge required some attention to follow the trail.
Group Break at north end Mt. Tripyramid Trail, North Tripyramid Slide from Scaur
North Tripyramid
At Scaur Ridge, we turned right on Pine Bend and ascended the ridge to the summit cone. Through this section, the trail again required some thought to follow. Sections were drifted in and required breaking, while other sections were blown clean down to the ice. Maybe two sections were challenging on snowshoes but all hands made the summit unscathed at T+3:50. Despite the high-wind predictions for the high peaks, it was surprisingly calm on top. After a bit of a lunch, we set out for Middle.
Carrigain, Washington (from North Tripyramid lookout)
Middle Tripyramid
The Mount Tripyramid trail between North and Middle had many sections of snow-laden spruce. Brushing this trail would be helpful, especially for those of us over 6 feet tall. This section was easy to follow and we made great time to the summit at T+4:25. Both outlooks provided 100-mile views on this day - looking east well into Maine, and west well into Vermont. My first time through, I did Tripyramid followed by Whiteface and Passaconaway, and this week I did them in the reverse order. I enjoyed looking at them and the connecting ridge (Rollins Trail) from the west-facing outlook.
Chocorua(L) and Passaconaway(R), Moosilauke(L), Osceola(C), Franconia Ridge(R)
We returned to North Tripyramid and quickly checked out the outlook to the west. We met a hiker who had come up the North Slide (crampons) and was descending in flat-country Tubbs snowshoes. Descending from North provided some opportunities for butt sliding although the snow is still not that deep and there are rocks and stumps to avoid. Just above the Scaur Ridge junction, we ran into Bill (Pucknuts), Tom (Wild Peaks) and Jerry (who at age 75+ was doing his I-don't-remember-how-many-times-this-is through the winter 48.) From this junction back to Livermore, we removed what blowdowns we could. When the hairpin turn and drainage were visible from Scaur Ridge, we bushwhacked straight down, avoiding about half a mile of trail.
All Photos
Tim
