Lower Wolf Jaw in the winter

[AlphaDog]

I have attempted the hike/climb from the ausable club side and failed to reach the summit in the winter due to many factors i won't bore you with.

It's a "shorter" hike from the ausable club side rather than from the JBL but my question is: Is it an easier hike (distance and all) from the JBL side to the summit of LWJ due to the increased traffic on the trails?

Any thoughts??

[mike1889]

It's a "shorter" hike from the ausable club side rather than from the JBL but my question is: Is it an easier hike (distance and all) from the JBL side to the summit of LWJ due to the increased traffic on the trails?

Yes it is generally easier from the JBL side due to the increased traffic. The distance isn't much more from the JBL side either. The 3 mile trail from the Garden to the DEC Interior Outpost is almost always broken and relatively easy and flat. From there it's only about 2.5 miles to the top. You need to cross Johns Brook somewhere to get to the Southside Trail. The bridge across the brook at the Outpost is still officially closed but still useable. You can also cross on the bridge that is used to access the ADK camps, Grace Camp and Camp Peggy O'Brien. If there is enough snow and it has been cold enough, you can skip the bridges and walk across the frozen brook.

[percious]

The hike into JBL is nice. plus, if it is really cold out, the warming hut may be open. Sometimes its nice to visit there.

-percious

[JimB]

Alphadog, a couple of years ago my brother and I did Upper WJ(same trail) from the garden with a ski approach and it was a great trip. We went in a short ways towards JBL and took a left on the Southside trail. It crosses the brook and meets what is actually a road that follows the brook all the way to the trail to the WJs.(as far as we went) It is very skiable and we only walked a few sections where it was too steep near stream crossings. Of course this must be done when the Johns Brook is frozen over, but it makes for a fast trip out after the climb.

[Skyclimber]

Let me tell you the Wolf Jaws and Armstrong in Winter from the AuSable Club can turn into one of the biggest nightmares of your life. Let me tell you a little story, when my former husband and I climbed these peaks for the first time in Winter, from the AuSable Club, which actually my story is pretty lengthy. I took this out of my journal:

It was Leap Day 1992. Everything from the beginning that day was going wrong, after getting up late, we lost a precious hour trying to unthaw the frozen car doors. I kept going into our daughter's bedroom to kiss them that morning and to tell them that I loved them. I packed an extra sandwich, put more clothes in my pack and wore more than usual. Did I have some kind of intuition?
Thick fog was slowing down our drive to the trailhead, stepping out into what felt like 50 MPH wind, I wanted to get right back in the car. Sparse trail markers on the unbroken West River Trail caused us to lose our way. Breaking trail in knee deep snow up the Wedge Brook Trail, it took us 5 1/2 hours to reach the col between the Mountains. But the last steep 500 feet wasn't bad.
Standing on Lower Wolf Jaw's summit, John said, "since we've already gained all this ascent, why not go for Upper Wolf Jaw and Armstrong? It's only a mile and a half away."
The going was getting tougher on Upper Wolf Jaw and the snow was getting deeper, but we made the Summit. We finally reached the vertical cliff up Armstrong. A large ladder is bolted to the lower half of the cliff and a metal cable hangs down to a ledge halfway to hold and maneuver up to the top. It was all buried in deep snow.
"I can't get a secure foothold," I muttered, frustrated. John managed to scale the cliff and lowered a rope for me. We kept losing the trail and going off in different directions looking for it.
"We've got to bushwack straight to the summit and stop wasting time searching for the trail, " John decided.
"It's my turn to break trail." I made my way around him. He kept us on course with the map and compass, but suddenly we reached the edge of the ridge in deep snow, the cliffs were right at my side. In sudden panic I yelled, "I don't want to die!"
"You're not going to die!"
Four long hours after leaving Lower Wolf Jaw, sometimes in up to waist deep snow, we reached the summit of Armstrong and found the trail, it was four o'clock. Conditions had really slowed our expected progress.
"Now we're home free, it'll be fairly easy sailing, downhill,"John grinned.
"We'll at least get back to the Lake Road before dark," I agreed. But we lost the trail again at the col between Armstrong and Gothics. We found a clearing to begin bushwacking down the mountain.
"Fine with me! that narrow trail along the cliff-face scares me anyway," I shivered involuntarily. "It always seems that one step and you're over that side of the cliffs and mountain." Do you know where we are?" I asked. "We're heading for the lakes, every streambed leads somewhere to the bigger body of water and we're on a tributary of Beaver Meadow Falls."
Going down through the streambed, suddenly one of John's snowshoes went through the ice and got lodged, it seemed a long time, but soon the ice-hammering released it. By now it was dusk, nearly
6 P.M. and we knew we weren't going to make it out by dark. So John immediately started gathering firewood and trying to start a fire. I began searching for a blown over tree or large boulder or thick clump of trees to protect us, the temperatures were to be twenty below zero overnight.
"Don't ever be afraid of the woods," I could hear Grace Hudowalski saying these words to me and it helped. "I can't get it started!" John yelled. "We're just going to freeze to death!" "Bull!" ( BEEP! other words) I tossed my weather-beaten map over to him. "We won't need that if we freeze to death, will we!" It worked. We huddled together and I put my feet practically into the fire. Snow falling on my face woke me up, but we were well dug into the snow under a clump of spruce trees protected from the wind. Looking at the falling snow scared me, so I kept my eyes closed. The night went rather quickly. By daybreak, we set off and found the trail just ten minutes away, we had been so close.
We met a search party organizing in the Village of Keene Valley, across from the Noonmark Diner, we knew they were looking for us and stopped to tell them we were out of the woods. They told us that a ranger and local caretaker had searched around the AuSable Lakes on snowmobiles for two hours after my sister notified State Police that we hadn't returned. Wind Chill factor was Forty Below Zero !!!

MEMO: When in doubt, "STAY PUT!" That Summer we explored the bivouac site, retracing the bushwack and found the main trail was just over the bank, above our heads all along that February Night!
Funny because the sign "Lost Lookout," above the bivouac site, is exactly where we were. It took five Winter Climbs, five Winter Seasons, going back to that area, before I overcome my fear of those Mountains in "Ice and Snow !"

[fvrwld]

WOW...what a story. I'm glad you made it out ok.

Let me tell you the Wolf Jaws and Armstrong in Winter from the AuSable Club can turn into one of the biggest nightmares of your life.

Or any winter hike/climb for that matter. This is a strong reminder to always be prepared to survive through the night.

[AlphaDog]

Skyclimber,

exact same experience on my attempt to LWJ. Deep snow, unbroken trail, very few trail markers, on top of that there was a driving snow storm. We were sinking 2 feet into the wet snow even with the snowshoes.

...and thanks to all who replied!

[Skyclimber]

I would like to add out of the multiple times I climbed the Wolf Jaws in Winter, I found the successful climbs to these peaks, were done from the Garden. Easier terrain, trail broke, etc. Remember the AuSable Club trails aren't really well travelled, especially the Wolf Jaws, nor well marked!!

[docpmiller]

Lower Wolf Jaw winter ascent

I just completed an ascent of Lower Wolf Jaw yesterday. Started at the Gate at Ausable Club, took the West River Trail to Wedge Brook Trail to summit. The trail conditions were great, with ice and hard packed snow...perfect for a quick crampon ascent. I think that good trail conditions in the winter is key to summiting Lower Wolf Jaw from the Ausable Club side. I hope to do a few more high peaks this winter.