i won't say finally, but...cold and snow has come to our neck of the woods! kevin also made it over sunday night before any white stuff started. we woke up monday morning with 4-5 inches and geared up for a ski. first, oatmeal pancakes, second skis/boots/poles, and third a loaded truck headed for the hills.
i have a snow depth 'rule' that helps me choose the hill of the day: 4" la salette; 6" cardigan; 8" moosilauke or carr; 10" anywhere! given that this was one of our first snows we were pretty much confined to la salette's trails with no appreciable rock-age. that fact matched kevin's new skis and his desire to keep the bottoms as scratch-free as possible. still, it was deep enough to get us out and raising heel.
speaking of raising heel, one of the reasons kevin got his new skis--with free pivot bindings no less--was for the nh 4000 footer project i had dreamed up last winter. we all know what came of those hopes--a nearly open, snow free, year in all but the highest backcountry. this year has already outpaced last for snowfall and got me sending out the call again to all who ski up to ski down. i even drew up a little logo to swag those who answered the call.
back at la salette, i was treating this as the practice session any first time out should be. we started with a quick run down the bottom of the 'hay field trail', to test out our ability to still link turns. that worked so we took off and up the james jewitt trail. we decided on one more test run back down after getting about 2/3 of the way up. one more time back up--all the time admiring our figure-8 turns--and we got to the top of the moses johnson trail, or what skip calls the little sherburne south. the real sherburne, is up on mt washington coming down from tuckerman ravine to pinkham notch. the resemblance is they are both fairly narrow and sustained for a good long way. the real one is more than 2 miles while this one is not even a mile, but for around here, it is long enough.
before sliding down we stopped for tea and sandwich. after our spot of lunch, we buckled up and started off and i couldn't stop thinking about how wonderful it was to be outside and playing. i won't go overboard and say "it was the best skiing ever." even if skip was not home sick, he probably wouldn't have phrased it quite that good, especially after plowing up a good deal of leaves if you carved much at all. but, and i have a pretty big butt (sorry if you have read that before), it was a fine first day out. and despite that one tangle with a trail side tree, i bet kevin would write the same thing. with the forecast for half a foot on the weekend, it was only going to get better.
before we made it to the weekend and deeper snow, we were slated for some pretty cold weather and really high winds on thursday. what better time to head up cardigan with a wind gauge. on the appointed day, with the thermometer showing a solid 10°F and snow showers blowing about like wild, i packed some extra warm clothes: my wooliest hat, fluffiest mitts, and puffiest jacket. i was the only truck in the winter lot, but a trail of boot prints led past the gate and up the road. i thought i saw a very faint ski track but there had been more snow since monday when we were at la salette. even though it crossed my mind to bring skis, i couldn' t imagine that beyond the road there would be enough coverage.
once i got onto the west ridge trail that lack of coverage was evident with plenty of rock sticking up. it would take at least one more good snow event to have any chance of rock-free skiing. hiking was fast and i warmed up quickly, doffing the hat, removing the gloves, and unzipping the jacket. the snow was almost heavy, but i knew it to be blowing through as a shower and didn't get too excited. i stayed off the ski trail and kept to west ridge. soon enough i was getting more and more wind as the trees got thinner and shorter. right after turn around rock, i got out the anemometer and took the first reading, where the wind started to really blow. it was a steady 10-20 mph, i actually saw it hold at 15 for quite a while, with gusts up to 30. i put the hat and gloves back on, and zipped up the jacket and kept going.
on the last, mostly treeless summit segment, it actually got hard to walk straight. at one point i measured a consistent 30 mph, gusting into the 40's fairly regularly with one or three blasts even going above 50. walking with my head sideways and hood up to cut the wind, i made it up without blowing over or away. the tower was plastered with ice and snow, carved in crazy fashion by the extreme winds. i wondered what it was like during the actual precipitation event with every single side of the structure covered thick.
as i was sheltering on the lee side, the snow squall that was with me the whole way up blew through to the southeast. i figured a couple of the huge bursts of wind that shook the tower, were likewise above 50 mph. but i was warm and comfy in the sudden sun so i didn't go out and check. i did add a neck gaiter to my layering in preparation for the descent.
between the summit and treeline, i was glad to be well clad. there was a funny wind drift, standing about five feet high with a path plowed through it. i stopped and carved the MOC logo on the sidewall. below the bare rock, the wind was more a noise above my head than at my back. the sun warmed me enough that i could unzip and take layers off. i came the rest of the way down wearing a big smile.
at one point i caught myself looking ahead for somebody coming up in all this 'nice weather' but never saw anybody. when i spotted the truck in the parking lot, there was another vehicle there as well. having seen no tracks besides mine, i guessed the hiker was still gearing up. sure enough, a person i have seen on cardigan in all kinds of weather, was shouldering his pack. i wished him a good time and un-shouldered my own pack. it was bound to be a good time for someone looking to hike in the cold and wind.
as i drove down the hill, i remembered that i had a couple of computer problems at ces that i could stop and attend to on my way by. if i could actually fix things, it would be a good end to the outing...
i have a snow depth 'rule' that helps me choose the hill of the day: 4" la salette; 6" cardigan; 8" moosilauke or carr; 10" anywhere! given that this was one of our first snows we were pretty much confined to la salette's trails with no appreciable rock-age. that fact matched kevin's new skis and his desire to keep the bottoms as scratch-free as possible. still, it was deep enough to get us out and raising heel.
speaking of raising heel, one of the reasons kevin got his new skis--with free pivot bindings no less--was for the nh 4000 footer project i had dreamed up last winter. we all know what came of those hopes--a nearly open, snow free, year in all but the highest backcountry. this year has already outpaced last for snowfall and got me sending out the call again to all who ski up to ski down. i even drew up a little logo to swag those who answered the call.
back at la salette, i was treating this as the practice session any first time out should be. we started with a quick run down the bottom of the 'hay field trail', to test out our ability to still link turns. that worked so we took off and up the james jewitt trail. we decided on one more test run back down after getting about 2/3 of the way up. one more time back up--all the time admiring our figure-8 turns--and we got to the top of the moses johnson trail, or what skip calls the little sherburne south. the real sherburne, is up on mt washington coming down from tuckerman ravine to pinkham notch. the resemblance is they are both fairly narrow and sustained for a good long way. the real one is more than 2 miles while this one is not even a mile, but for around here, it is long enough.
before sliding down we stopped for tea and sandwich. after our spot of lunch, we buckled up and started off and i couldn't stop thinking about how wonderful it was to be outside and playing. i won't go overboard and say "it was the best skiing ever." even if skip was not home sick, he probably wouldn't have phrased it quite that good, especially after plowing up a good deal of leaves if you carved much at all. but, and i have a pretty big butt (sorry if you have read that before), it was a fine first day out. and despite that one tangle with a trail side tree, i bet kevin would write the same thing. with the forecast for half a foot on the weekend, it was only going to get better.
before we made it to the weekend and deeper snow, we were slated for some pretty cold weather and really high winds on thursday. what better time to head up cardigan with a wind gauge. on the appointed day, with the thermometer showing a solid 10°F and snow showers blowing about like wild, i packed some extra warm clothes: my wooliest hat, fluffiest mitts, and puffiest jacket. i was the only truck in the winter lot, but a trail of boot prints led past the gate and up the road. i thought i saw a very faint ski track but there had been more snow since monday when we were at la salette. even though it crossed my mind to bring skis, i couldn' t imagine that beyond the road there would be enough coverage.
once i got onto the west ridge trail that lack of coverage was evident with plenty of rock sticking up. it would take at least one more good snow event to have any chance of rock-free skiing. hiking was fast and i warmed up quickly, doffing the hat, removing the gloves, and unzipping the jacket. the snow was almost heavy, but i knew it to be blowing through as a shower and didn't get too excited. i stayed off the ski trail and kept to west ridge. soon enough i was getting more and more wind as the trees got thinner and shorter. right after turn around rock, i got out the anemometer and took the first reading, where the wind started to really blow. it was a steady 10-20 mph, i actually saw it hold at 15 for quite a while, with gusts up to 30. i put the hat and gloves back on, and zipped up the jacket and kept going.
on the last, mostly treeless summit segment, it actually got hard to walk straight. at one point i measured a consistent 30 mph, gusting into the 40's fairly regularly with one or three blasts even going above 50. walking with my head sideways and hood up to cut the wind, i made it up without blowing over or away. the tower was plastered with ice and snow, carved in crazy fashion by the extreme winds. i wondered what it was like during the actual precipitation event with every single side of the structure covered thick.
as i was sheltering on the lee side, the snow squall that was with me the whole way up blew through to the southeast. i figured a couple of the huge bursts of wind that shook the tower, were likewise above 50 mph. but i was warm and comfy in the sudden sun so i didn't go out and check. i did add a neck gaiter to my layering in preparation for the descent.
between the summit and treeline, i was glad to be well clad. there was a funny wind drift, standing about five feet high with a path plowed through it. i stopped and carved the MOC logo on the sidewall. below the bare rock, the wind was more a noise above my head than at my back. the sun warmed me enough that i could unzip and take layers off. i came the rest of the way down wearing a big smile.
at one point i caught myself looking ahead for somebody coming up in all this 'nice weather' but never saw anybody. when i spotted the truck in the parking lot, there was another vehicle there as well. having seen no tracks besides mine, i guessed the hiker was still gearing up. sure enough, a person i have seen on cardigan in all kinds of weather, was shouldering his pack. i wished him a good time and un-shouldered my own pack. it was bound to be a good time for someone looking to hike in the cold and wind.
as i drove down the hill, i remembered that i had a couple of computer problems at ces that i could stop and attend to on my way by. if i could actually fix things, it would be a good end to the outing...
