steepness off the kancamagus...

while i have not given up totally, the 4000 footers is less of a priority, and more of a dream. still, with kevin and mariel here for one more day of skiing, i got out the maps and argued for a try at the osceolas up off the kancamagus highway. i had never been up there from the north side, but figured we could ski some of it and then switch to crampons when it got steep. we loaded everything and got out of the drive late, but the actual route on the trail was not that many miles, once we got up there and going.

since the 'kanc' is so close to the conways and hence brownfield me, kevin and mariel drove their vehicle and i drove mine, so we could split after the tour. we pulled into the usfs lot after noon and ran a chk on the trail conditions before paying the prkng fee--at least i needed to pay, kevin has a free senior pass that i have to wait until july to pick up. the two of them decided to hike only, leaving skis in the fit. they put on the micro-spikes, i booted up, and we all took off together. the hiking trail had a few interesting stream crossing in the first mile and a half, including single, maybe foot-wide log bridges. i managed not to fall off any of those or in to any open streams--i did need to take my skis once to stay dry.

the day was again, very warm for february and i was in a t-shirt with my bibs unzipped to air out the leg heat. mariel and kevin cuffed their pants to expose some leg or long underware. when we turned up toward east osceola, the trail steepened and i switched to shoes and crampons. as we crossed a marked ski trail for the greeley ponds, i thought that i would try that going out and maybe keep my 'dry' record intact. i would be much more tired after the summits and acknowledge the concept of 'if you are going to get hurt, it is often on the last run.'

in case i could possibly ski the mile over to mt osceola and then back to east osceola--scoring two 4000 footers seemed like a cool idea--i stapped skis and boots to pack and continued to carry them. at times that was a problem given the high snow levels making the tree branches that much closer and subject to catch my tips sticking up over my head. ducking under limbs got a bit tricky as the trail steepened, but at one point i looked up and caught site of the sun hitting the top of a ridge. having studied the map, i knew that point and thought, if i wasn't going to use these tree catchers to ski, i might as well stow them.

as i topped that ridge and broke into the sun, kevin and mariel were perched off to the side, enjoying a banana. when i joined them, i had a chance to scout out that mile from east to 'west' osceola. when kevin supplied the time, i dropped the pack, deciding to not ski across, and just turn around atop the east summit. after  my piece of that banana, a handful of trail mix, some water to drink, and a couple of pictures, i left everything but a jacket on the ridge and took off for the high point.

one of mariel and kevin--with banana:

and a silhouette of east osceola and mt osceola summits--with sticks:

we didn't stay too long at the top of east, but i did snap another picture looking out to the east at a spot free of trees. i remember kevin's comments about those trees being one reason some people choose "to live out in utah--maybe someday the forest service will come to their senses and clear cut all the peaks..." i was not going to take that bet, just thinking about the logistics of such an operation made me doubt it would ever happen. maybe fire could burn off the higher summits as it had in the 1800's on our local mt. cardigan. but even though that bald summit is beautiful now, i would not wish that destruction on anything.


we got back to our sunny lunch perch and broke out the rest of our sandwiches. as the sun edged toward the horizon, we stopped eating and started thinking about getting down--i think the expression was, "before things set up!" as we descended i got a bit fancy with my technique limiting tree-ski interaction. many pirouettes, dips, and tips later, i dropped the pack at that above mentioned ski trail. kevin and mariel went on as i removed shoes and crampons, switching back to boots and skis. going down, on the 'ski only' trail was slow-ish, but free of all the stream crossings, including those log bridges. when i popped out at the kanc, i was just a quarter mile west of the trailhead parking. by the time i took my skis off and started up the road, i saw mariel come out to the road and wave.

when i got there, they had a couple of oranges cut up on my tailgate. after redistributing any gear we had shared, a final snack, and some chatting, we shared a round of farewell hugs. kevin had invited me to turn their way, "it's only thirty miles to our house" but i went left back toward canaan and pam. i figured with only a stop for gas, i would make it home in time to cook us something for dinner. that in mind, and so as to not nod off on the way, i put in run the jewels latest album, cranked it up, and headed 'down the mtn'.

it was indeed a grand day out, and i felt lucky to have shared it with mariel and kevin. now, if this damn rain falling as i type, changes to snow, i will be able to give them a call and arrange another...

this week, more warm, less snow...

last week--the week that was winter (so far)--we got a couple of feet of the white fluffy and those of us who ski the backcountry, were very happy. this wednesday and thursday, kevin and mariel joined me in an attempt to enjoy what was left, though fast dwindling. wednesday around noon, their new little fit pulled into the mud pit now serving as our driveway. after a spot of lunch, we geared up and went in search of going down. the warm, sunny afternoon's goal was la salette, a little front- a lotta back-country.

we didn't bother with skins as we scaled up the main sledding hill, stripped down to t-shirts and wishing we were in shorts. a warm-up run there gave me small hope that the woods roads and trails would be any less sticky and slow. but, back up to the top of the upper hayfield, we went in hoping for something akin to fun.



on the first section of down in the woods, mariel and kevin got in enough linked turns to smile about. i took advantage of that to coax them up another route. tactfully avoiding the grabby snow sure to be in the much narrower, back woods--it gets a little tight in some of the steeper places--we went for the road up to the potato field. going uphill, even though it wasn't all that steep and much shadier in the woods, was hot work. in the field the snow seemed to change, getting a bit crustier--grabby in a new and different way.

after posing for a postcard photo op, we stopped for a snack break, with tea. i laid out the options for getting back to the car: less than a half-hour down the moderate pitch we just came up; a little less than that down a sustained, steeper section ahead; or up another twenty minutes and then down through what skip and i refer to 'loosely' as the glades. of course kevin asked "which do you suggest"--we headed to the sustained pitch on the old road.

up to this point, i hadn't buckled up my boots yet, or put on jacket and gloves, but now figured if that was going to ever be needed today, it would be here. we pulled off the trail and readied ourselves before shoving off. i followed the group and was psyched to see some sinuous tracks off in the fresh snow. i smiled at kevin as i passed and then gave a little friendly hop over the water bar mariel was stopped at. the snow actually seemed ok, especially where it wasn't packed out by snowshoes. it was slower than preferred, but i got in a solid run until i stopped at the last pitch to take some pictures of the other two cutting some fine turns. as i waited, i wondered if they would be as smily this run down as the last.

not quite as smily, and a bit of snowplowing mixed in with cutting turns, they caught up. i pointed out my favorite little side trail, the 'spine', and suggested they not follow me in as i was going to go at least part of it, to clean up some branches. when i cut back to the trail kevin was banking left, so i went right and again, the fresh untracked snow was not all that bad, considering. that last section has two of the bigger water bars which always provide a little lift making for a bit of a fancy finish asone hits the main trail at the bottom.

we finished by skiing out to the mill building where we had to de-ski to get across the footbridge. kevin showed me the bottoms of his skis where residue skin-glue had picked up a pattern of dirt. as he followed me across the bottom field, i showed him a long brown streak in the snow, wearing off the resi-'doo' some dog had left for my ski to pick up. the sun was down over the ridge by the time we got to the car and stowed our skis and boots. as we pulled out of the parking lot, we were talking more about the traditional shaker buildings vs the modern catholic ones than the great or not so great skiing. but, we weren't giving up totally, there was still thursday to ski--maybe up in the whites...

MOC going outside to play...

on the MOC deepfreeze overnight! at our first meeting about a month ago, more than a dozen people voted to go back to the smarts mountain unheated cabin. i gave them a couple of the colder stories over the past 17 years and a couple of the students who went up to cardigan's heated high cabin last year talked up the benefits there. the trick with deciding a month ahead, you never know what the weather will be. this year we hit the warm spot!



sunday, dawned clear and forecasted to get into the 40's, °F, with some sort of front coming through late in the afternoon. jeff, my co-advisor, came over in the morning and we packed up the food, sleds, and snowshoes while in our shirtsleeves, we were very comfortable. as we drove over to the skiway to meet with everybody before heading over to the trailhead, we were downright giddy about how nice a day it was.

almost everybody was waiting for us and after 15 minutes the last 3 showed up. we left a few cars in there and took only three vehicles over to the trailhead. it was such a nice day, that lot just might be full. as we pulled in we were happy to see only one other vehicle and plenty of room for us to park for the night. no sooner had i shut the truck off than jeff and the andrew boys were running up the trails testing conditions. that led us to our first two decisions--which way? and snowshoes or no?



we went with clockwise, up the AT today, down the ranger trail tomorrow, and no snowshoes. having been caught in the wrong before, i had some second thoughts about that last decision, nobody i know likes post-holing up four miles deep snow. on such a warm day, that would lead to wet feet as quick as wading into water. but, both trails had obviously been packed by hikers with snowshoes already (see last friday's post where matt had gone up with me thursday) and seemed pretty solid going. maybe the biggest advantage was coming down tomorrow morning would be a lot easier without having to strap snowshoes on our packs as we were hoping to sled. as the group started up ahead of me, i kept my fingers crossed.

the group was mixed between experienced winter hikers and those who were less so--one or two complete ingenues. liz, ben, maia, and olivia had gone up to the cardigan high cabin with MOC last year. maia and ben had been up to smarts with us the year before--and woke up to -10°F inside the cabin. liz, ben, julia, olivia, torey, cam, brandon, dirk, and justin all went up to tuckermans last year. dirk and justin also cross country ski race throughout the northeast--justin is even going over to norway to race in the birkebeiner. matt and jeff are avid backcountry skiers/winter hikers while logan loves to ski the frontside. given our varied skills, we planned to gather at the rock overlook and eat some lunch, a mile or so up the hill.




at 'lunch rock' people spread out and ate their goodies. as the pictures show, it was sunny and warm enough to be very comfortable. i was glad to have remembered my dark glasses. a couple of hikers asked if the next hill just to the north was where we were headed. they kind of shrugged off that no, we weren't even half way there yet and that where we were going wasn't even visible until we got up on that ridge. as we packed up and started out again, i noticed that predicted front approaching from way west.


up on the ridge, the dark clouds were building overhead, blowing in fast by the increasing winds. now that you could see the summit i heard a couple of hikers wonder, if they would ever make it. we had time on our side and with every step we were getting closer.


after dropping off the ridge there is a little less than a mile to a steep climb up to the junction of the ranger trail. tori and i were bringing up the rear as we were going along that section and we stopped to saw out a few obstructions. i knew of a couple more blowdowns later so i kept the saw out and tromped on. up on the last steep switchbacks i started seeing my ski tracks from thursday. they were pretty melted down and when i got up to that next blowdown, i watched tori and logan barely duck and go right under. those branches were at my belly three days before that--now they could be pretty much ignored. cam and i stopped to cut them out anyway and as i did, i dreamed their removal would bring another big powder day--that would make it really worth doing.

while we were cutting and clearing, henry came by stepping pretty slow. he had mentioned that his back was pretty sore. i had been impressed with maia, cam, and logan each helping him problem solve his pack and load, repacking or shifting his waste-belt and shoulder-straps. i suggested that rather than hurt himself, he drop his pack off and continue on to the cabin, only about twenty minutes ahead--but with two fairly steep sections. i had asked an earlier hiker to drum up someone feeling strong and lively already at the cabin, and send them back this way to ferry a pack if needed.

just in case my 'send help' message didn't work, at the last steep pitch, i borrowed julia's sled, dropped my own pack, and backtracked to bring up henry's. just as i started back up, justin came hopping down the bunny trail raring to carry something. we hustled back up to my pack, which he shouldered quickly, and took off. i was breathing pretty well trying to stay on his heels up that pitch. onto the summer ridge, we stopped at a last blowdown and cleared that out of the trail, before loading up one last time and tramping to the cabin.




with everybody inside, we planned out the sleeping arrangements and set up the 'kitchen' atop the new board i brought up thursday. a few went up to the firetower to watch the sunset and others got into their sleeping bags to play a game of 'ha-ha'. it seemed like both groups got their money's worth. i got after cooking up dinner which i had promised would be worth it as well. we had beans on tortillas, with cheese and salsa, and mac & cheese, with added pesto if desired. after food was all distributed, i noticed dirk was sitting there licking out his dish, so i handed him the mac & cheese pot to clean out. i scraped out the beans for a last tortilla and had the happy thought that unlike some years, we had eaten everything up. for dessert, we heated water for hot cocoa and passed out the hermit cookies. people looked satisfied.





as it got dark, i told the story of "the cat that ran out of gas..." that got us to sleeping-bag-o'clock. some of the heartiest campers had the idea that it would be way cool to sleep in the tower. my rule was if it was above 10°F, that was fine. my only suggestion was they lay down the space blanket cam had packed up--along with practically everything else but the kitchen sink. having that under their pads would help keep the wind out. that, the wind, was supposed to be pretty strong overnight. four students and jeff, grabbed their gear and went up. the others of us, settled down head to head in two rows of five.

in the cabin, people chatted for about two hours--marked every fifteen minutes by olivia announcing "i'm so hot"--trading a few more stories including logan's lonesome lake scary one. things finally quieted and folks mostly fell asleep a bit after 9:00p, at least i did. when i woke about midnight, i lit the night candle for those that had to get up and pee. while i was out doing that, the wind was really howling. i imagined the tower crew was not as quite as cozy as we were. my second, trip sometime after 3a, it seemed even blustery-er, and here i was standing out there barefoot, in a t-shirt and long johns. i bet that the tower five would come down cold.

around 5:30a i woke to justin dressing to go up and spook the tower folk. when he got back in a few minutes i suspected he had done the deed and come right back as it was a lot colder this am than yesterday. that was my signal to get out of my bag and start breakfast. as it got lighter and the sun came over the horizon, the cocoa was heating and the cereal cooking. the tower sleepers took in sunrise and came on down for some heat and food.

bowls and cups came out and folks took their portions, topping them off with fruit, brown sugar, chocolate chips, and almond milk--in whatever combination they desired. people ate and packed up much quicker than i remember in years past. it seemed we were all out on the porch, ready for the pre-descent picture with the early light in our eyes. as soon as the 'sled-safe' lecture was done, they took off. jeff and i made a final sweep and as i shut the door, i was thinking we would be down about long before our 10:30a plan.

things were a lot stiffer this am making the sledding pretty bumpy, but wicked fast. jeff and i started picking up sled pieces right at the first steeper pitch. i was hoping the breakage would be at a minimum, but as we went on pieces grew both in number and size. i got ahead of jeff and captured a picture of him coming over the bulge at the junction with the AT--we were staying on the ranger trail on jour way down. i could hear some whooping from the main group below and figured while we might catch up with some, the 'whoopers' sounded like they were not waiting around for anything.



sure enough i caught two, then two more, taking a break from sledding for various reasons. julia showed me a hand size hole in the bottom of her sled. torey was dragging a pretty small piece of sled along by its leash in one hand, and carrying some big pieces in the other. as we got down to the fire road and the old garage, we caught up to four more. brandon and cam still had their unbroken sled and attested to their controlled two person decent was what kept it whole. we trooped along the track, every once in a while sliding down the steeper pitches. i did catch one shot of the double sledders, though they were going fast enough to mostly beat the camera's slow recovery on the second shot.



almost to the truck i found dirk and justin scooping snow over a huge birch trunk, building a jump "just for fun." it didn't really have enough speed in the approach, but it was "for fun" and was keeping them busy as more than likely they were one of the first ones down.

at the truck people had already loaded their gear, after unpacking what they carried out for me and putting things in the back of my truck. this group was really good at helping each other, noticing what needed to be done and doing it--the overnight was a total deepfreeze success. it made me think of MOC's motto, "go outside and play!"...