The Winter Storm

The heavy rain you kids in Beantown are seeing is moving north as all snow. in between, in g-$$$-ville, it's looking like freezing rain and snow and other stuff.

It looks kind of mixed on the bad boy.

The bottom line: it looks like this is the first of many storms to lay down a beautiful, chewy base (I know the stuff on Jackson was terrific). While i get my hopes up every year, last year we got hammered with so much rain that the bottom base was hard, nearly unscratchable ice. Maybe this year it'll be a snow layer bonded to the rocks that becomes the gift that keeps on giving. Of course by spring it could be the weak layer for many terrific avis, but until then I've got hopes for a great season.

Slow descent to 12/6: Holiday Ennui

It's time to start the chatter about 12/6 (Saturday). Maddog is out (I'm pretty sure) and I have to be back early. It's a 'tween holiday weekend which makes it a bit suspect for getting a large group together, so I've already got a backup plan if nobody else will be around: Jackson, for my third and final finish of my 96. Great Caesar's Ghost!

[Update 12/6 6:30am] Spanky and I are packing for Jackson. With a 10°F trailhead temp we'll be as cold as we've been all fall. I'll bring her coat for emergencies. We're just going up the Webster/Jackson trail from the AMC lodge over by Saco Pond so this won't be a huge event, but the cold will be a good reminder of what winter is. We're not planning on hitting the trailhead until 9am to let the sun come up and warm things for a few hour so this will be quite the leisurely jaunt.

[Update 12/7] Didn't get around to uploading pics until this morning due to rockin' party at mr. & mrs. maddog's last night! woo hoo! done w/ 96 (for real).

Chocorua

None of the above (or below). tMail and I are hitting Chocorua from the Piper Trail, hoping to loop over the summit and the Three Sisters, going up the Hammond Trail (from Piper) and down the Carter Ledge trail.

[Update] We'll probably be doing it in the reverse.

Mutha's Trip Report (Pics Here, Video Here):

• tMail banged the untrodden trail the entire way. Once we left Piper, we were able to follow the actual trail for the most part, with some minor bushwacks. The last bushwack off the Left Sister was kind of harrowing Elev Vs. Time Plot
  because the view from up there was DOWN into a nearly vertical notch over 150' below. It dawned on us that we might not make it back by dark, however the plunge into the thick of it turned out to be only about 15 minutes until we found the trail again.
  
• In the Book, the ascent of the Three Sisters carries the warning that in wet or slippery conditions this route is to be avoided. No kidding. We were both missing a few key pieces of gear: gaiters, crampons, axes, helicopter, ladder, flamethrower and pack-mule. On the other hand, the bareboot thing was hysterically fun and sketchy enough to suggest danger.
• g-$ claimed that his two first attempts to summit this sucka were foiled by conditions. No crap. This mountain in completely unassailable except in Photo Credit: tMail
  exceptional conditions.
• It took us 3:45 to ascend to summit, and 1:15 to descend to car. On the way down we surprised two snowshoers. We figured they'd hear us (mutha: "we sounded like a herd of elephants", tmail: "we sounded like a herd of angry rhinos"). They didn't. One lady almost fell over from shock. I felt pretty bad because of the horrified look on her face, but we were gone by the time I stopped laughing.
• All the summits over 4k were totally socked in. We had bluebird skies the whole day.
  

tMail's Trip Report (Pics Here):

The Gear I had:

1. 3 Hats
2. 1 Pair Heavy Gloves, Liner Gloves, Shell Mittens, OR Mittens
3. Smart Wool
4. Dufold Mid Weight baselayer
5. North Face Cipher
6. Mountain Hardwear Windstopper Vest Photo Credit: Mutha

7. 2 Headlamps
8. Med Kit
9. Bivy Sac
10. Food and 2 Liters
11. A random pair of Injinji socks that must have been stuck to my smartwool
12. My wallet so I could pay for my mountain rescue.

Gear I should have had:

1. Ice Ax 2 of them
2. Crampons
3. Gaiters
4. Plastic Boots
5. Soft Shell Pants

Chocorua is a cool mountain it was pretty gnarly going up via the Sisters there was one time MZ went left I went right and was on snow covered rock slab...MZ said Tmail, "If you fall just yell something" I called his name to test if he would hear me no shot I would have slide to 302.

Off Middle Sister no clue everything seemed like a drop off up there. Once on the ridge to summit either side is a straight drop off to the death.

And file this under technique 137 going up ice next to tree shrubs...get on all fours and get as close to the tree as possible head ram the lowest branch until it breaks off slide on stomach until you can use the tree to push off with your feet.

It was nice to blast down the Piper Trail.

Osceolas & Tecumseh: Plan E

96. Done. Starting on 144.

I got a late start (8:30am) so decided on the following strategy: If I could tag the Osceolas from the Greely Ponds side from the Kanc and get back to the car by 1pm I'd drive down to Waterville Valley and hit Tecumseh. I got back to the car around 1:30 and guessed I could still make twilight. I didn't know how long it would take to get to Tecumseh, but spread all my clothes out in the car and blasted the heat to have dry tops and shell. That worked well.

I hit Tecumseh around 2:15 and was back at the car around 4:30, just at the end of twilight.

Notes:

• I didn't bring traction or gaiters. Good choice, although the going was a little slow at times due to all the cascades on the Osceola Trail being frozen solid.
• A long day out at about 0-5° takes its toll. The rapid transitions from hot/sweaty to cold/chilly are tiring.
  
• Gear Note: need to find alternative to Precip shell... something that breathes.
• Lost a pair of mitten shells w/ liners somewhere... not sure... think at Greely Ponds trailhead during change of gear before heading to Tecumseh.
• Winds weren't bad - but things were howling in the woods. I've never had such high winds so far below treeline (at least 1,000ft). I think it's the geography of the area. It was pretty intimidating to think that it was only going to escalate at the summit. As it turned out, I never put on goggles and only had to wear my facemask on the East summit to avoid frostbite on my north-facing cheek.
• Food Note: Osceolas: 1/2L of water, 1 sardine sandwich, 1 bottle boost. In car to Waterville Valley: 1/2L of water, 1 peanut butter sandwich, 1 handful of trail mix. On Tecumseh: 1L of water. On ride home: 3L of liquid, including 1L of chocolate milk, 1 Large coffee w/ milk, 24oz of Sobe peach mango something. Close to 3000 calories of stuff I don't even want to talk about. Basically, high fat, high salt, high carb, high protein, etc. At home: bowl of miso soup w/ noodles (thanks Sue), 1/2 salmon steak w/ capers and lemon, 5 chocolate chip pecan cookies, large piece of candied ginger.
  
• Almost nobody was out. Saw nobody on Osceolas, one couple on Tecumseh.

Pics are posted [Here].