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[PICTURES]
Because of the week's worth of sub-freezing temps the trails were rock solid. I used crampons the entire day and post-holed once.
Val, Mike (fior1212) and I met at 8AM to climb a few peaks on the last day of the official winter 46r season. We agreed to head up Gill Brook and over Nippletop first.
The road all the way to Gill Brook was bare booted. After that we switched to snow shoes and crampons. See the official trail report here if you want more about the trails.
Gill Brook was mostly frozen over, so we missed the nice cascading falls. There was also all the icy spots covered by an inch of snow that made the short hike to the Indian Head junction much longer than normal. Once past this junction it was clear sailing to Nippletop's summit, with only occassional slick spots.
All the while we were in and out of sunshine and light snow. Snow depths went from inches at the parking area to feet at Elk Pass to 6 feet or more on Nippletop. While heading up we could catch only glimpses of the Great Range. It wasn't until on the ridge we got to see a mountain in any detail - Dix. Most of the snow fall was West, so our eastward views of Dix were pretty good. We enjoyed the summit for as long as the 20-30 mph winds would allow, snapping photos and praying for a brief glimpse of anything West. The creator must have been too busy with making snow fall from the clouds to hear my pleas.
We stayed on top and ate lunch as Mike repaired a broken rivet on his snow shoes. Once ready we promptly headed off toward Dial with hopes of maybe getting some views and to get out of the persistent biting wind. Temps were probably around 10F, with 20+ mph winds the wind chill was sub-zero.
Only scary moment for me was during our walk over the ridge I lost all feeling in one of my toes. I stopped and added toe warmers. of course that's a long process with crampons, gaitors, and boots to remove on each foot. By time I was finished with that my fingers were numb. Thankfully I had already dropped in hand warmers into the gortex mittens, so in minutes I was toasty again.
Once on the side of Dial there's a very steep ascent and as I approached the steepest ice covered section I was waiving hi to Val as she was casually sliding on her side back down the trail.
It was pretty slick. With crampons I was fine heading up the gut but Mike and Val had to stay on the side and use the trees for stability. This was probably the toughest section of ice all day. Once finished we snapped a few photos of Dix (again) and headed the rest of the way up Dial. From the summit we could make out a little more of the Great Range, but it was still snowing heavily enough that any details were lost.
After a few minutes on Dial, it was getting kinda late (maybe 3:30PM) so we headed off for Bear Den. We had read reports of recent blow down on this stretch, and none of them exagerrated the impact. There was a lot of blowdown but most of it was benign (easy to get under or around). It wasn't until we were starting the climb up Bear Den that we followed tracks suddenly heading left that led to a false summit and a dead end. Having 'been there and done that' too many times, I walked back a few minutes and found that at that junction where we had gone left, there was indeed a trail right around some blowdown which eventually put you back on the trail. This wasted about 20 minutes of time. I broke some branches off one of the downed trees and blocked the wrong way. Good luck to whomever has to clean this mess up!
From Bear Den to Noonmark's shoulder the trail was in much better condition, but we could hear the winds starting to pick up overhead. It was obvious to me the winds in general have picked up quite a bit. Once to Noonmark's shoulder, with Mike well ahead of Val and I, we were hit with some very strong winds and gusts. This section of Noonmark is bare from a recent fire, so the winds just cut right across like they would on a summit. A few of the gusts actually pushed me around, and with the cold temps I started to feel the effects on my exposed face. Val was as tired as I was, so our progress across the burn area was slow. All the while the high winds seemed to be clearing the snow falling to the West and the Great Range was opening up before us. Although at the best spot to take a picture I was too cold to be bothered, I was able to snap a few later on. The filtered sun was reflecting off the clouds over Gothics, casting an ominous glow on its slides and summit, almost like a soft light effect. Meanwhile, I was officially freezing my ass off. Heading down now was more a matter of comfort at this point. Once back into the trees we stopped for a snack.
The rest of the trip back to the car was uneventful. Despite the long day, cold, and now wind, we were in good spirits. Mike was waiting for us in his truck. I was glad he had enough sense to head to warmth. He said he hit that cold and wind on Noonmark and, like us, felt the urgent need to get the hell off that mountain. He had waited about an hour for us, it was now 6:50PM
. We stopped for gourmet instant coffee from the machine at the high peaks rest stop, Wendy's off exit 19, and home for a shower and long nights sleep.
Most definitely an interesting adventure. This was the first time I had worse weather conditions (cold/wind) heading down than when I was on the summit. Just goes to show how fast the weather condtions can deteriorate. Had we chosen to hike this in the opposite direction I doubt wewould have been in good spirits at the end. Coming down Nippletop we would have been facing into the wind.
It's been a while since I took account of any peak bagging milestones. Here's the breakdown of a few:
Valerie (after climbing #43 and 44 yesterday) only needs Seymour and Seward, scheduled for May, to finish her 46.
Mike has Wright, Algonquin, and Iroquios to finish his winter 46. He JUST finished his regular 46 this past December. 
I climbed #16 and 17 for my winter 46. Reclimbing Dial yesterday means I have only 5 more peaks left for my second round (Iroquios, Seward, Seymour, Donaldson, and Emmons).
Because of the week's worth of sub-freezing temps the trails were rock solid. I used crampons the entire day and post-holed once.
Val, Mike (fior1212) and I met at 8AM to climb a few peaks on the last day of the official winter 46r season. We agreed to head up Gill Brook and over Nippletop first.
The road all the way to Gill Brook was bare booted. After that we switched to snow shoes and crampons. See the official trail report here if you want more about the trails.
Gill Brook was mostly frozen over, so we missed the nice cascading falls. There was also all the icy spots covered by an inch of snow that made the short hike to the Indian Head junction much longer than normal. Once past this junction it was clear sailing to Nippletop's summit, with only occassional slick spots.
All the while we were in and out of sunshine and light snow. Snow depths went from inches at the parking area to feet at Elk Pass to 6 feet or more on Nippletop. While heading up we could catch only glimpses of the Great Range. It wasn't until on the ridge we got to see a mountain in any detail - Dix. Most of the snow fall was West, so our eastward views of Dix were pretty good. We enjoyed the summit for as long as the 20-30 mph winds would allow, snapping photos and praying for a brief glimpse of anything West. The creator must have been too busy with making snow fall from the clouds to hear my pleas.
We stayed on top and ate lunch as Mike repaired a broken rivet on his snow shoes. Once ready we promptly headed off toward Dial with hopes of maybe getting some views and to get out of the persistent biting wind. Temps were probably around 10F, with 20+ mph winds the wind chill was sub-zero.
Only scary moment for me was during our walk over the ridge I lost all feeling in one of my toes. I stopped and added toe warmers. of course that's a long process with crampons, gaitors, and boots to remove on each foot. By time I was finished with that my fingers were numb. Thankfully I had already dropped in hand warmers into the gortex mittens, so in minutes I was toasty again.
Once on the side of Dial there's a very steep ascent and as I approached the steepest ice covered section I was waiving hi to Val as she was casually sliding on her side back down the trail.
It was pretty slick. With crampons I was fine heading up the gut but Mike and Val had to stay on the side and use the trees for stability. This was probably the toughest section of ice all day. Once finished we snapped a few photos of Dix (again) and headed the rest of the way up Dial. From the summit we could make out a little more of the Great Range, but it was still snowing heavily enough that any details were lost.After a few minutes on Dial, it was getting kinda late (maybe 3:30PM) so we headed off for Bear Den. We had read reports of recent blow down on this stretch, and none of them exagerrated the impact. There was a lot of blowdown but most of it was benign (easy to get under or around). It wasn't until we were starting the climb up Bear Den that we followed tracks suddenly heading left that led to a false summit and a dead end. Having 'been there and done that' too many times, I walked back a few minutes and found that at that junction where we had gone left, there was indeed a trail right around some blowdown which eventually put you back on the trail. This wasted about 20 minutes of time. I broke some branches off one of the downed trees and blocked the wrong way. Good luck to whomever has to clean this mess up!
From Bear Den to Noonmark's shoulder the trail was in much better condition, but we could hear the winds starting to pick up overhead. It was obvious to me the winds in general have picked up quite a bit. Once to Noonmark's shoulder, with Mike well ahead of Val and I, we were hit with some very strong winds and gusts. This section of Noonmark is bare from a recent fire, so the winds just cut right across like they would on a summit. A few of the gusts actually pushed me around, and with the cold temps I started to feel the effects on my exposed face. Val was as tired as I was, so our progress across the burn area was slow. All the while the high winds seemed to be clearing the snow falling to the West and the Great Range was opening up before us. Although at the best spot to take a picture I was too cold to be bothered, I was able to snap a few later on. The filtered sun was reflecting off the clouds over Gothics, casting an ominous glow on its slides and summit, almost like a soft light effect. Meanwhile, I was officially freezing my ass off. Heading down now was more a matter of comfort at this point. Once back into the trees we stopped for a snack.
The rest of the trip back to the car was uneventful. Despite the long day, cold, and now wind, we were in good spirits. Mike was waiting for us in his truck. I was glad he had enough sense to head to warmth. He said he hit that cold and wind on Noonmark and, like us, felt the urgent need to get the hell off that mountain. He had waited about an hour for us, it was now 6:50PM
. We stopped for gourmet instant coffee from the machine at the high peaks rest stop, Wendy's off exit 19, and home for a shower and long nights sleep.Most definitely an interesting adventure. This was the first time I had worse weather conditions (cold/wind) heading down than when I was on the summit. Just goes to show how fast the weather condtions can deteriorate. Had we chosen to hike this in the opposite direction I doubt wewould have been in good spirits at the end. Coming down Nippletop we would have been facing into the wind.
It's been a while since I took account of any peak bagging milestones. Here's the breakdown of a few:
Valerie (after climbing #43 and 44 yesterday) only needs Seymour and Seward, scheduled for May, to finish her 46.
Mike has Wright, Algonquin, and Iroquios to finish his winter 46. He JUST finished his regular 46 this past December
. I climbed #16 and 17 for my winter 46. Reclimbing Dial yesterday means I have only 5 more peaks left for my second round (Iroquios, Seward, Seymour, Donaldson, and Emmons).
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