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Myself, quentin, and valerie (fvrwld) intended to climb Dix, but because of the recent snows it was a chore to break trail. After the first 2.5 miles we decided on Noonmark instead (less mileage and ascent). This was the first ascent of Noonmark for any of us.
We took turns breaking trail. The trailhead had only about a foot of new snow and the summit 18"+. There was a layer of ice under the snow pack, and the manner in which the snow seemed pasted to everything would indicate a very heavy, wet snow had fallen. This actually made things slightly easier for us (gave us/our snow shoes some buoyancy). When starting the ascent of Noonmark we slowed quite a bit. The 3.5 miles from the car to the summit took us over 4 hours. Descending was fun, cutting that time in half on the already packed trail. Snow shoes CAN act as sleds!
The views were nice even though the neighboring larger peaks were all shrowded in clouds. With snow pasted to everything it was picturesque. Only ran into 2 hikers that came from the Ausable club parking area. No one else was on the trail today besides us.
There's a nice, level path from Route 73/Dix TH all the way to Noonmark's summit. If you have time in the coming days, I highly recommend the hike and views from Noonmark.
We took turns breaking trail. The trailhead had only about a foot of new snow and the summit 18"+. There was a layer of ice under the snow pack, and the manner in which the snow seemed pasted to everything would indicate a very heavy, wet snow had fallen. This actually made things slightly easier for us (gave us/our snow shoes some buoyancy). When starting the ascent of Noonmark we slowed quite a bit. The 3.5 miles from the car to the summit took us over 4 hours. Descending was fun, cutting that time in half on the already packed trail. Snow shoes CAN act as sleds!
The views were nice even though the neighboring larger peaks were all shrowded in clouds. With snow pasted to everything it was picturesque. Only ran into 2 hikers that came from the Ausable club parking area. No one else was on the trail today besides us.
There's a nice, level path from Route 73/Dix TH all the way to Noonmark's summit. If you have time in the coming days, I highly recommend the hike and views from Noonmark.
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