finally some cold--but don't put away the raincoat. we have had a spate of reasonable winter weather--and by that i mean below freezing so that when it precipitates, it snows. the freezes and thaws this winter have been crazy. but, the few inches of white stuff we have gotten over the past week has given me hope. a wild snow squall yesterday morning lured me out seeking altitude, that and i needed to check out cardigan's high cabin for next week's deepfreeze overnight. what a day...
it actually seemed like winter down at the parking lot. one other hiker, at least the one with the other vehicle next to mine, was up on the mountain and her/his tracks were already filling in with the fluffiest of snow. as i headed up toward the summer lot, there were stretches where the tracks were completely gone. i started to dream of skiing through this amazing powder--even at four inches it would be like heaven.
as i started on the trail leaving the summer parking area, the still obvious rocks reminded me that under such softness there is often something hard. my hand went down to the bruise on the back of my leg, still painful nearly a month after my last ski. sketchy cover or not, i still wished i could be skiing. there are some sections on the ski trail we keep clear that are relatively rock free--they would have been sweet!
at the first junction, the other hiker came down the south ridge trail, crunching along in a pair of regular crampons, with two pairs of micro-spikes jingling about, hung on the back of his pack. i was just putting my own pair on and taking off one of my layers. i was curious as to why he had so many anti-slipping devices. when i got to the ice bulges at the falls, a few slips of my micro-spikes answered that question. crampons would be just the ticket here and at the heavily iced flows at that steep section where he had come down.
as i approached the upper bridge i saw the south ridge cutoff and decided to take it. climbing out of the trees a half mile later, i was rewarded with breaks of bright sunlight. by the time i got to the upper stone outcropping--i think this one is called south peak--the sky was fairly blue and i snapped the picture above. the drifting path wound back down into the trees and joined the trail dropping down to the high cabin.
i shoveled and swept the steps and went in to check out the facilities--this would be much different than the cabin up on smart's mtn. where we had always stayed before. there were not only bunks and a commodious central table, but a small wood stove with a full wood box promised a new level of comfort. as one MOC deepfreezer had said last year, the hole in the wall and floor--probably where a stove had been taken out--was big enough to fall through. it had been nearly twenty below last year, both outside and in! i locked things back up and headed back to the west side.
i skipped the summit and trammped downhill to the truck, still amazed at all the snow up high. it was tempting to go home and get those skis and come back up. but it was thursday, ap-chem lab day, and so far i had been very good about showing up. ms doody and i had mixed the chemicals yesterday afternoon and i was looking forward to telling the four or five students in her class who would be going on the deepfreeze all about the beautiful snow and posh digs.
later...
ps those who know me, especially from the school, are familiar with the MOC--mascoma outing club--and our activities, like the deepfreeze mentioned above. i want to give a shout out to a student we missed, she graduated more than a few years before we started, but she typifies the shy, athletic youngsters more interested in the a-typical sports, not often offered in a high school setting. emilie drinkwater found the mtns early as a skier--her parents mistakenly signed her up for racing lessons rather than the normal get down the hill ones. in college and after she really took to the winter, despite not liking the cold, and started climbing ice (check out "chicks with picks")as well as rock. she now is a climbing guide and avid backcountry skier.
it actually seemed like winter down at the parking lot. one other hiker, at least the one with the other vehicle next to mine, was up on the mountain and her/his tracks were already filling in with the fluffiest of snow. as i headed up toward the summer lot, there were stretches where the tracks were completely gone. i started to dream of skiing through this amazing powder--even at four inches it would be like heaven.
as i started on the trail leaving the summer parking area, the still obvious rocks reminded me that under such softness there is often something hard. my hand went down to the bruise on the back of my leg, still painful nearly a month after my last ski. sketchy cover or not, i still wished i could be skiing. there are some sections on the ski trail we keep clear that are relatively rock free--they would have been sweet!
at the first junction, the other hiker came down the south ridge trail, crunching along in a pair of regular crampons, with two pairs of micro-spikes jingling about, hung on the back of his pack. i was just putting my own pair on and taking off one of my layers. i was curious as to why he had so many anti-slipping devices. when i got to the ice bulges at the falls, a few slips of my micro-spikes answered that question. crampons would be just the ticket here and at the heavily iced flows at that steep section where he had come down.
as i approached the upper bridge i saw the south ridge cutoff and decided to take it. climbing out of the trees a half mile later, i was rewarded with breaks of bright sunlight. by the time i got to the upper stone outcropping--i think this one is called south peak--the sky was fairly blue and i snapped the picture above. the drifting path wound back down into the trees and joined the trail dropping down to the high cabin.
i shoveled and swept the steps and went in to check out the facilities--this would be much different than the cabin up on smart's mtn. where we had always stayed before. there were not only bunks and a commodious central table, but a small wood stove with a full wood box promised a new level of comfort. as one MOC deepfreezer had said last year, the hole in the wall and floor--probably where a stove had been taken out--was big enough to fall through. it had been nearly twenty below last year, both outside and in! i locked things back up and headed back to the west side.
i skipped the summit and trammped downhill to the truck, still amazed at all the snow up high. it was tempting to go home and get those skis and come back up. but it was thursday, ap-chem lab day, and so far i had been very good about showing up. ms doody and i had mixed the chemicals yesterday afternoon and i was looking forward to telling the four or five students in her class who would be going on the deepfreeze all about the beautiful snow and posh digs.
later...
ps those who know me, especially from the school, are familiar with the MOC--mascoma outing club--and our activities, like the deepfreeze mentioned above. i want to give a shout out to a student we missed, she graduated more than a few years before we started, but she typifies the shy, athletic youngsters more interested in the a-typical sports, not often offered in a high school setting. emilie drinkwater found the mtns early as a skier--her parents mistakenly signed her up for racing lessons rather than the normal get down the hill ones. in college and after she really took to the winter, despite not liking the cold, and started climbing ice (check out "chicks with picks")as well as rock. she now is a climbing guide and avid backcountry skier.