It's Decided: Sunday...

... is a hike up to, um, uh, ... okay, it hasn't all been decided, but we're getting there. tMail is running a 77-percentathon tomorrow and on Sunday we ... uh... do whatever we end up doing. We're getting about another four inches of snow in Danville and are expecting some bitter cold. Current forecasts (for Danville) are for 4°F Sunday morning. It's likely that things'll be a tad chilly, but calm and sunny on Sunday.

More information as the plans develop. Likeliest candidates: Edmands via The Castles and The Backbone.

[Update 3/29, 10am] The final decision: unless anyone who might be coming along has any last minute changes of attitude, the consensus is: Lincoln's Backbone. This will make the third weekend in a row I spend bushwacking, but I'm kind of into it. Conditions will be hard to anticipate. I'd guess there's at least 6" of new snow up high on the ridge, unless it's all blown off into the ravines. tMail and I saw combinations of strong crust and weak older snow on Carrigain that made the crampon/snowshoe decision a little tough but high up we were grateful for the snowshoes. The only gear I'm specifically not bringing is poles. They'll just tangle in the boughs, and if we make it out of treeline we'll want axes anyway. As far as poking into Tucks is concerned (from the USFS):

"As active loading continues through the day it's good to remember that a number of our avalanche paths have been running to their historic maximums. With this in mind I wouldn't get too close to the floors of either ravine even if you're just 'taking a look.'"

[Update 3/29, 5pm]
Meeting Time: Between 8 and 8:30, goal of starting around 8:30am.
Meeting Place: East side of 93 (Northbound) in the Lafayette Place parking area (south section of parking area).
Route: Falling Waters trail to bushwack turnoff (approx 1 hr up trail, head up left-hand ridge just before final brook crossing). Seek treeline and eventually Lincoln summit. Descend via Falling Waters or OBP depending on conditions, time and mood.