Winter Record Attempt 12/22 - 12/31

[cbcbd]

haha, nice head



BTW, Drain STH called... they're rejoining just to rock in support for your attempt.

 

[Snowflea]

Hopefully the weather gods will be on your side this time around, Mats. Kinda cool that you're attempting the record in the darkest time of the winter, a la Frodo, Dr. Dasypodidae, & me. Bring lots of batteries!! I'll be sending good vibes & thinking of you as I pound the SoCal trails in shorts and work on my tan.

Stinkyfeet

 

[Dr. Dasypodidae]

Sorry that I missed the party at Jillian's tonight, but happy birthday, Mats. Also, I will be around northern NH the end of December this year, so I can help with some car spots. Think snow, but not too much snow, eh?

 

[Mats Roing]

Updated the itinerary on the intial thread. Skipped Owl's Head on the Pemiloop and then do something more realistic the following day - Hancocks and Osceola's. Owl's Head can be done relatively fast separately if using skis.

Starting with Pemiloop since 3:36am start and fresh legs. I doubt I'll start that early any other day unless called for badly......

 

[Woody]

Mats, I hope you have some nice crisp clear days for this trip. Maybe I'll run into you along the trail at some point (more likely you'll run into me). As you cruise past me, I'll hand you some refreshment!

Woody

 

[Double Bow]

If I'm still self-employed (thinking of laying myself off), I'll try to come out on a weekday and cheer you on. Go with the Santa hat so folks'll know it's you!

 

[Mats Roing]

Updated the itinerary for a rough first day including Owl's Head.....we'll see afterwards if I should thank Frodo for the suggestion

The Pressie traverse day especially is up for being swapped due to weather conditions.

 

[Dr. Dasypodidae]

Yikes, does that first day also include Hale, for a total of 14 peaks and about 45 miles? Sounds pretty audacious, even for a 1 a.m. start. Good luck, Mats!

 

[Frodo]

Remember, my recommendation on doing a one day 14 peak pemi loop is totally dependent on how much snow/ice we have, and chances are that we are going to have too much of one or the other. I'd say you have a 5-10% chance on getting conditions good enough to pull this off.

You should definitely focus on your original plan 1st.

I do plan on hiking the complete 1st day with you, whatever it ends up being...

 

[Dr. Dasypodidae]

So, would you guys drop down Lincoln Slide for OH, then head back up FBT to Garfield, then over Gale and the Twins before dropping down to Little River for Hale and back over Zealand and the Bonds, similar to what Mats did in September? Still audacious, even with perfect trail and weather conditions, I think. But, should be exciting! Good luck!!

 

[Mats Roing]

So, would you guys drop down Lincoln Slide for OH?

As Frodo says....it all depends on the conditions.....ideally we would go down Lincoln Slide to OH, then Lincoln Brook and past 13 Falls and up Garfield. North Twin to Hale via Old Firewarden Trail. The weekend before 12/15-16, I plan on doing the 14 peak loop over two days to check on the conditions and feasibility......those conditions of course can easily change overnight....if not Lincoln Slide.....Owl's Head might be done after the Bonds.....will sleep in the next day......and have a relatively short day maybe starting around noon.....it'll be interesting......if managing 14 peaks on the first day it will save a day basically.....lots of variables to deal with though....it's not a catastrophy to split it into two days either......

Working on incorporating a pair of short skis into the Kahtoola Flightdeck System.....removing the Flight Deck binding from the Flight Deck and putting them on the skis......saving some time on the long moderate downhills.....just have to carry the skis up the hills first

Winterhiking is so multi-faceted and its very interesting to experiment with different ways to deal with the variable conditions out there.....I might not get the winter record but it's a lot of fun trying More people should try it....great weight loss program as well

Another thing is the myth of having to be fast to break a record.....the key thing is to hike slow enough to pull through day after day.....it's like steamshipping the 48.....no need for speed....just keep you fueled up and on the trail and keep truckin'. Listen to people with clear minds is often a life saver and humiliating at the same time....."OK Chuck, you're done for today.....you're not going to do Isolation starting at 9pm....even if you say the green elephants will have a toga party there...."

 

[Mats Roing]

Here we go again

A modified itinerary:

12/22: Moosilauke, Tecumseh, Tripyramids - Passaconaway Traverse
12/23: Kinsmans, Cannon, Osceola's, Hancocks
12/24: Seven Dwarfs TH - Twins - Franconia Ridge Traverse
12/25: Hale - Zealand - Bonds - Owl's Head
12/26: Carrigain, Tom, Field, Willey
12/27: Waumbeck, Cabot, Isolation
12/28: Pressie Traverse
12/29: Moriah - Wildcat
12/30: Extra Day
12/31: Extra Day

Will have Lincoln as HQ from 12/21 - 12/25. Then I will stay in Randolph from 12/26 - 12/28. 12/29 - 12/31 will be in Betlehem.

Hamtero and I have been working on modifying a pair of miniskis by adding on the Kahtoola Flightdeck (http://www.kahtoola.com/flight-deck.html) bindings. It will be interesting to see if the boots will sit solid enough on the skis to be funtional. Depending on the conditions, I will also utilize ( in addition to the Kahtoola Flight Deck) the MicroSpikes and the Kahtoola KTS crampons (see Tim Seaver's detailed analysis of footwear:"Kahtoola-MICROspikes vs STABILicers" under "General Backcountry"

It looks like winter up there already

 

[Abster]

Nice to see you last night!!

I'm in - a Mats cheerleader!! GOOOOOOOOOOO Mats!

 

[SherpaKroto]

Good Luck Mats: don't forget the keg! Hydration is especially important in winter

 

[Double Bow]

While I'm no cheerleader, I'm gonna try to show up and cheer you on. Prolly either on Cannon (12/23) or Carrigain on 12/26.

Bein' a Frenchy Canuck, I ought to get out on Boxing Day. Course, I'll have to get back home in time to catch the World Junior Hockey Championship on the radio and to kick back some Labatt's!!

 

[Mats Roing]

I'm in - a Mats cheerleader!!!

Thanks Abster! Great to see you as well!

Got pom poms

 

[dr_wu002]

Are you going to include anything in Maine or Vermont, like Mansfield or Abraham? Just curious. I notice you have a bunch of "extra days" in there presumably for extra peaks.

-Dr. Wu

 

[Mats Roing]

Testing of Personal Tracker over the weekend

OK, so I went up Moosilauke on Sunday testing this device.

It's simple to use which also means it's not that fancy. In addition to the "Help" and "911" buttons, there is an "OK" button which triggers an e-mail to be sent out to those addresses I set up in advance to receive them.

I think the best way to use it would be that I get the e-mail address from people who would like to see these messages. There are three ways to view where I am: Map, Satellite or Terrain
No trails are on the maps unfortunately. I plan to send the OK from each summit at least.

Here is a sample message from yeterday - try out the link:

Everything is OK.
Unit Number: 0-7347635
Latitude: 43.9981
Longitude: -71.8211
Nearest Town from unit Location: Breezy Point, United States
Distance to the nearest town: 4 km(s)
Time in GMT the message was sent: 12/09/2007 16:04:32
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=43.9981,-71.8211&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1

Let me know if you want to receive these messages....

Mats

 

[bikehikeskifish]

I notice that Breezy Point has no state. Obviously it can be deduced from the lat/lon, which I notice is not anywhere near the summit.

What if you were not OK -- would it be close to your actual location?

Tim

 

[Mats Roing]

I notice that Breezy Point has no state. Obviously it can be deduced from the lat/lon, which I notice is not anywhere near the summit.

What if you were not OK -- would it be close to your actual location?

Tim

Observe that the GMT time it posts is 5 hours ahead. So deduct 5 hours from the posted time. Closest town information I wouldn't worry about......just look where I am on the map, satellite view or Terrain view......see upper right on the map. Zoom in as desired......closeby roads are named.....even the road to Ravine Lodge is there....the "Terrain" image gives you the names of the mountains also.

I use the "Help" button if I need help, and it will send a message to whoever you want to come look for you ( also needs to be entered on-line for beforehand). The "911" button goes to a national 911 operator....who in turn makes decision who to contact locally....

I believe the point on the link is on the intersection of Snapper/Gorge Brook Trail.

If you look on the three different maps and you know the area reasonably well, you can figure out where I am. There are probably trail/topographical maps on-line you can just enter the long/lat info and pinpoint me that way also.