K
Kerry
Guest
Headed up Wedge Brook at 8:30 in microspikes until about 1/2 mile before the LWJ turnoff. Switched to crampons as the fluffy snow simply hid the hard ice underneath. The trail up UW is extremely icy with, thankfully, some crusty snow. In five years I have used an ice axe exactly once in the high peaks--on cliff. I used it repeatedly yesterday on both UW and Armstrong. I'm simply not tall enough, and every rock is encrusted with ice, and solo I just can't reach anything to pull myself up on. All the ladders are pretty much clear. Snow deepens towards the Armstrong/Gothics col--but still unconsolidated over ice. Wonderful blizzard on the walk up Gothics. Cornice just beginning to form. No Views--but a white world of whirling snow. My footprints had already filled in on the descent. Beaver Meadows has much less ice than wedge brook (which is why I chose to descend this way), but again after the first few hundred yards not enough snow for snowshoes. I switched back to microspikes and skidded/slid down to the solid blue water fall. Signed out at 4:30 and watched the moon rise before the clouds rolled in. I carried snowshoes all day and maybe could have used them up Gothics, and certainly with the continued snow fall, snowshoes might now be necesary. That said, I'd be prepared with multiple forms of traction as conditions are really variable.
