Winter Katahdin via Abol Trail Questions

[Brambor]

Can anyone comment on what the ascent to Katahdin via Abol Trail is like in the winter? I have always done winter treks from Chimney Pond. I hiked up Katahdin via Abol 20 + years ago so I have an idea of the steepness but I was wondering what it is like on winter ascent?

 

[nartreb]

Haven't done it in winter, but FYI the Abol trail was just recently re-routed to avoid the steepest bits, because the rock slide was unstable. In winter you would have a choice between the new trail and just heading straight up the slide along the route of the old trail, though the latter option would expose you to some avalanche hazard.

 

[Brambor]

this might sound ridiculous but I'm about to go on a trip to BSP, spending 3 nights at Chimney where the first day has us hauling from Abol Bridge to Chimney in one day. ... I thought about it a little and realized the possibility if the weather conditions were mint, to basically go up Abol and then down Hamlin route to Chimney

 

[nartreb]

With three nights' worth of gear? Yeah that sounds a little ridiculous Certainly more fun than slogging around on the road, but don't you want to save some fun for the next day? BTW, wouldn't Saddle be shorter, more direct, easier than Hamlin?

 

[Brambor]

sure, have You ever gone down Saddle in the winter? OTOH I'll be packing 2 ice axes and crampons...might as well put them on.

With three nights' worth of gear? Yeah that sounds a little ridiculous Certainly more fun than slogging around on the road, but don't you want to save some fun for the next day? BTW, wouldn't Saddle be shorter, more direct, easier than Hamlin?

 

[bikehikeskifish]

Last winter the ranger strongly discouraged us from using the Saddle Trail as it had avalanched and was poised to do so again. Highly recommended out and back via Hamlin Ridge.

Tim

 

[Snowflea]

Can anyone comment on what the ascent to Katahdin via Abol Trail is like in the winter? ...I hiked up Katahdin via Abol 20 + years ago so I have an idea of the steepness but I was wondering what it is like on winter ascent?

It's really, really steep. Even with the new reroute, you still need to climb the crazy steep upper 2/10 mile (?) or so. Went up/down that way 3 times in winter back in the 1990s... not sure I'd do it again! Certainly wouldn't want to lug a full winter pack with three days' stuff up it.

 

[ChrisB]

Can anyone comment on what the ascent to Katahdin via Abol Trail is like in the winter? I have always done winter treks from Chimney Pond. I hiked up Katahdin via Abol 20 + years ago so I have an idea of the steepness but I was wondering what it is like on winter ascent?

This is the preferred route for a single-day winter ascent, and several groups have done it. But, it's arduous even without three days of food and gear .

The first problem is getting up mile-long Abol hill just after you join the Tote Rd. Pulling a loaded sled I found it difficult to ski this stretch and eventually took em off and walked to the top. OMG. (We were going to Kidney Pond on that trip.)

Are you not using a sled?

And as far as the Saddle descent goes, the last time I did it several in the group asked for a fixed rope as we went over the lip!

Good times!

cb

 

[egilbe]

This is the preferred route for a single-day winter ascent, and several groups have done it. But, it's arduous even without three days of food and gear .

The first problem is getting up mile-long Abol hill just after you join the Tote Rd. Pulling a loaded sled I found it difficult to ski this stretch and eventually took em off and walked to the top. OMG. (We were going to Kidney Pond on that trip.)

Are you not using a sled?

And as far as the Saddle descent goes, the last time I did it several in the group asked for a fixed rope as we went over the lip!

Good times!

cb

That is scary enough in the Summer. I would be scared to death if it was icy and snowy. I'd ask for a rope, too! First time I summited Katahdin, it was raining. We went up Hunt trail and it was pretty slippery, with all the weather worn rounded rocks and all. The rangers had said Saddle trail was an easier, or shorter, descent so we chose to go down that trail. When we got to the top, I looked down and the sharper, jagged edged rocks of the slide all slick with rain and gritted my teeth and carefully crept down. We had to get off that mountain, somehow.

 

[Brambor]

I am not using a sled.

I did descend saddle in the winter, once. It was bitter cold and windy and the face was wind packed with snow so hard it was pretty icy. I used my ice axe to traverse laterally and down to spots where the rest of our group tossed anything that hindered their descent, snowshoes and poles ...

I brought the gear to them at the bottom to continue to Chimney Pond.

 

[ChrisB]

I used my ice axe to traverse laterally and down to spots where the rest of our group tossed anything that hindered their descent...

Wow. Sounds like a yard sale!

When condx are "right," the saddle has a very hard and fast surface that makes self-arrest unlikely. And it's a loooong way to the trees.

On the Winter trip I refer to above, several folks who were fine on the Knife Edge traverse were very nervous descending the Saddle. Of course it was also at the end of a long day. But that's when accidents happen. We were quite careful and conservative.

We also kept the old adage in mind "The party that ropes together falls together."

Thus the fixed line.

cb

 

[Tahoma]

Can anyone comment on what the ascent to Katahdin via Abol Trail is like in the winter? I have always done winter treks from Chimney Pond. I hiked up Katahdin via Abol 20 + years ago so I have an idea of the steepness but I was wondering what it is like on winter ascent?

Brambor, Im not really sure what youre looking for in terms of beta. You've hiked Abol before and are comfortable with its steepness, have climbed Katahdin in winter via other routes including the Saddle descent. Sounds to me like you know what the mountain is like in winter. What else can we say about Abol? The road in is steep and with skis and sled its arduous. The trail itself is like all the others, steep. Its mostly south facing so that can affect snowpack. The scree field can be thin as it gets a lot of sun but none of this is more dangerous than any other upper sections of the Mtn.

The Abol approach is a great way to do it to CP BH if you go lite and skip the sled. Down Hamlin is a fine idea if the group is moving fast enough and has the energy.

If you have not descended Hamlin ridge before in winter the exit is a little tricky to spot where it enters the trees. If others have been out and tracked it up you should have no problem however if it is nearing dark and youre tired and it is untracked finding the trail can be difficult off the ridge. I'd strongly recommend a caltopo map on your phone as a back up for locating the entrance to the trees.

 

[alexmtn]

I was on Abol a month ago. We decided to turn back at about 4200' when the cloud ceiling fell below the table lands and the winds had kicked up to ~70mph, all in defiance of the idyllic NOAA forecast we were working from. We had only 12" or so of trail breaking to do at the time while in the woods, but once exposed, we were dealing with deep (as in 2-5'), drifted powder beneath/between protruding rocks and ledges. We chose the new bypass route, but on the next attempt probably will opt for the slide. The bypass was fine -- even fun -- in terms of hikeability, but appeared to depend completely on blue blazes on the rocks for navigation once above tree line. Had we gone further, we would have had to deploy our wands early in order to keep to the route and find our way back into the woods on the backswing. Alex

 

[Brambor]

Gotta love that mountain. There ain't no easy way up in the winter. I just got back. I ended up as planned by NOT pulling a sled. The pack was a bit heavier than usual because I was carrying my mountaineering boots in the pack.

First day we all went all the way to Chimney Pond. That is a slog just to Roaring Brook Continuing up to Chimney on the same day just give it an extra edge. I brought 2 pairs of skis. Ended up choosing my faster, skinny, waxable skis. I think it was a mistake as the weight of the pack probably contributed in wearing my kick base. I only brought blue and green kick wax, perhaps another mistake as I might have benefited from a red kick wax for the first half of the route. To put it plainly I felt a lack of kick base even though I ended up gradually waxing the whole ski with kick wax. I was also picking up iced snow on my kick base so had to take my skis off and on about 15 times. Shortly before I reached Bear Brook the temperature seemed to drop to the 'blue zone' of the wax, the snow deepened and the skiing improved. I ditched the skis and boots on the porch at Roaring Brook and put my snowshoes on for the final leg to Chimney Pond. The snow conditions were, to put it mildly, sublime. The Chimney pond trail is loaded with so much snow it is just a joy. The rangers are doing a great job packing it down with snowmobiles. I have immediately had another regret that I did not choose my wider waxless skis as I also had climbing skins for them. I wanted to skin up to Chimney pond and enjoy the ride back. Nevertheless...snowshoes were the transportation choice and they got me to Chimney Pond just fine.

The next two days at Chimney were two attempts to summit via Hamlin ridge. The ranger orange blazed the route 3/4 of the way up to help navigating. We made it up 3/4 of the way both days but the winds were simply too strong on the exposed face and since they were westerly/northwesterly we estimated even stronger hit once we would crest the Hamlin peak. It was still wonderful to be there. We all did a few voluntary and involuntary self arrests when descending the exposed Hamlin route.

After the third night, early in the morning we headed back down. The condition of the Chimney pond trail was even better this time, soft and fluffy, full of snow and reasonably wide for a great ski down. I wish I had my skis. This is something I will definitely not forget next time. The ski out from Roaring brook was much better. The temperatures were lower and my wax worked great almost all the way to Togue Gate. From there the snow was churned up by snowmobiles, dirty with branches from high winds and my wax wore off quick and seemed to be less effective. I literally finished the ski on a thread of wax, grasping every tiny feeling of kick I could.

A great time.

 

[Brambor]

ooh, I forgot to add the most relevant part ... ;-) On the ski out I ran into a friend who happened to summit via Abol about a week before. He said, crampons on the exposed trail up all the way without major issues.

 

[ChrisB]

Gotta love that mountain. There ain't no easy way up in the winter...A great time.

Sounds like a great trip! Chimney Pond in a day is a real achievement!

I plan to use a fat bike towing my sled on my next slog into Roaring Brook. Apparently the Park is now cool with that on most roads.

Did you see any fat bikes (or tire tracks) in your travels?

cb

 

[Brambor]

Yes, my buddy actually used a fat bike. He created a pretty cool hookup to the sled rods right of the seat post. He had studded tires and pretty heavy sled. The first 3/4 of the way he was smoking everyone, even unhooked his sled at Togue Gate and came back to help another person's sled. When the hills get steeper after right around Bear Brook area, the snow got softer and he had to push some of the hills and commented that it was generally a tough time to push the whole rig.

We also ran into 3 Fat Bikers on Sunday just going for a stroll to Bear Brook and back to Abol Bridge.