Adventurous
New member
Let me just start by saying…I’m sorry for not sending out a last minute e-mail about my finish but this was really a sneak attack on Jefferson.
So…here’s how the plan started. 7summits (HuiYeng) and I wanted to climb something that didn’t require being roped up (since I have YET to acquire those skills) so we recruited ferrisjrf (Jason) and started throwing out ideas. We had settled on climbing something in Tuckermans Ravine…route tbd. Of course, I still needed Jefferson so I suggested heading over there after the climb. Everyone was on board with that so we decided to meet Gillian on Adams at the end of the day and head down to Appalachia together.
And…here’s how the plan played out. Apparently I had not opened my pack since doing Katahdin a month ago because I had no food or hand/foot warmers in there. I scrambled around to get everything ready and then we headed to Pinkham for breakfast. We carb loaded and then hit the trail around 9am (well before I made one more trip back to the car to get the hat and gloves that I forgot). The weather forecast was calling for 20% chance of showers before 2pm…all we were seeing were blue skies, warm temps and no wind. We were the minority hiking up to the bowl…everyone else had skis and snowboards strapped to their packs…we had snowshoes and an axe. We soon arrived at HoJo’s and discussed which route we would take. We decided to climb Right Gully until we got up to lunch rocks and spotted a steeper route, The Sluice, to the left of Right Gully. We stopped for a brief snack, changed over to crampons and traded the trekking poles for the mountaineering axe.
We began the climb with blue skies and no wind…it was actually hot. Halfway up The Sluice, a skier came down and sprayed us with a stream of ice pellets. The ice was still coming down long after the skier was out of sight…it sounded like we were climbing next to a stream. We continued climbing, enjoying the phenomenal views the entire way up. I was very surprised to find that climbing on a steep slope was actually easier than climbing a slope that has less of a pitch. I enjoyed the climb so much that it didn’t even matter to me if we got over to Jefferson…this was definitely the highlight of my day.
So…we topped out on The Sluice and then made our way to the summit of Washington. We only saw a few people at the top which was quite a treat. We took summit pictures without the typical hordes of people. We also had little to no wind up there. The clouds had started to roll in at this point and we still had a long day ahead of us. Jason had already contacted Gillian to let her know our whereabouts and approximately when she could expect us on Adams. We had a snack and headed over to Clay. I could see my target in the background but I was trying not to get excited about it. I didn’t want Jefferson to know that we were coming
The hike down Washington was easy - the snow was crusty and we weren’t punching through it very much so it took very little effort to get over to Clay. We opted to go over Clay instead of around it. The clouds were getting darker and the wind was picking up a little bit. We soon reached the summit of Clay (which I was quite disappointed because I thought we were almost to Jefferson).
We continued on…next target…Jefferson. Shortly below the summit…the flurries started…there was a black cloud hovering over the summit. Jefferson must have realized that I was on my way. Well…it wasn’t getting away from me this time. I climbed over the last few rocks and met HuiYeng and Jason on the summit. Finally…Jefferson for my 48th NH peak. We took a bunch of summit pictures and took off for Adams to meet Gillian.
The flurries continued and temperature started to drop. The snow was harder than it had been earlier in the day. We had contemplated switching over to microspikes a few times but decided to stick with the crampons for today. We reached the snowfield on Jefferson and crossed it without any issues. We continued on towards Adams enjoying the views of the Great Gulf along the way. We reached a flat snowy area past the col (would be a very cool place to camp as Jason suggested) and spotted a figure on top of Adams. We waved our poles and the person in black waved back…that must be Gillian. Jason went ahead of us to meet her. We stopped for a much needed snack and contemplated hiking around Adams instead of over it…we realized there was one problem with that idea…there was no way to let Jason know that we’re changing plans. So, over Adams it was. The hike up Adams was much easier in the winter than it was last June when I did it for the first time with Una_Dogger and DaveBear - my knees had been in agony from the jagged rocks in the northern presi’s. Snow covered rocks definitely make it more knee friendly. We arrived at the summit to find Gillian all bundled up – she gave me a big hug and congratulated me on my finish. It was quite windy and the snow had picked up so we didn’t stay long. I layered up and actually put on my goggles to keep the snow out of my eyes.
We started heading down Adams and decided to stay on the snowfields instead of trying to follow the trail. HuiYeng and I headed straight down…I spotted some cairns heading towards the hut so we decided to wait for Jason and Gillian before continuing on. We continued to wait but didn’t see them. I heard voices (no, not the ones in my head) coming from the direction of the cairns. We soon spotted them coming down from the other direction. We reconnected with them and made our way to the hut. Food was calling so we didn’t hang out for long…we made the final descent to the car via Valley Way.
Started the day with no wind…blue skies and warm temps wearing a tank top in Tucks and ended all bundled up in the snow, wearing goggles on Adams with frozen water. Thanks HuiYeng, Jason and Gillian for an awesome day!!! What a way to finish!!!
Pics from the day:
http://adventurous-.smugmug.com/gallery/7883937_sbjwW#511132829_qLKBi
So…here’s how the plan started. 7summits (HuiYeng) and I wanted to climb something that didn’t require being roped up (since I have YET to acquire those skills) so we recruited ferrisjrf (Jason) and started throwing out ideas. We had settled on climbing something in Tuckermans Ravine…route tbd. Of course, I still needed Jefferson so I suggested heading over there after the climb. Everyone was on board with that so we decided to meet Gillian on Adams at the end of the day and head down to Appalachia together.
And…here’s how the plan played out. Apparently I had not opened my pack since doing Katahdin a month ago because I had no food or hand/foot warmers in there. I scrambled around to get everything ready and then we headed to Pinkham for breakfast. We carb loaded and then hit the trail around 9am (well before I made one more trip back to the car to get the hat and gloves that I forgot). The weather forecast was calling for 20% chance of showers before 2pm…all we were seeing were blue skies, warm temps and no wind. We were the minority hiking up to the bowl…everyone else had skis and snowboards strapped to their packs…we had snowshoes and an axe. We soon arrived at HoJo’s and discussed which route we would take. We decided to climb Right Gully until we got up to lunch rocks and spotted a steeper route, The Sluice, to the left of Right Gully. We stopped for a brief snack, changed over to crampons and traded the trekking poles for the mountaineering axe.
We began the climb with blue skies and no wind…it was actually hot. Halfway up The Sluice, a skier came down and sprayed us with a stream of ice pellets. The ice was still coming down long after the skier was out of sight…it sounded like we were climbing next to a stream. We continued climbing, enjoying the phenomenal views the entire way up. I was very surprised to find that climbing on a steep slope was actually easier than climbing a slope that has less of a pitch. I enjoyed the climb so much that it didn’t even matter to me if we got over to Jefferson…this was definitely the highlight of my day.
So…we topped out on The Sluice and then made our way to the summit of Washington. We only saw a few people at the top which was quite a treat. We took summit pictures without the typical hordes of people. We also had little to no wind up there. The clouds had started to roll in at this point and we still had a long day ahead of us. Jason had already contacted Gillian to let her know our whereabouts and approximately when she could expect us on Adams. We had a snack and headed over to Clay. I could see my target in the background but I was trying not to get excited about it. I didn’t want Jefferson to know that we were coming
The hike down Washington was easy - the snow was crusty and we weren’t punching through it very much so it took very little effort to get over to Clay. We opted to go over Clay instead of around it. The clouds were getting darker and the wind was picking up a little bit. We soon reached the summit of Clay (which I was quite disappointed because I thought we were almost to Jefferson).
We continued on…next target…Jefferson. Shortly below the summit…the flurries started…there was a black cloud hovering over the summit. Jefferson must have realized that I was on my way. Well…it wasn’t getting away from me this time. I climbed over the last few rocks and met HuiYeng and Jason on the summit. Finally…Jefferson for my 48th NH peak. We took a bunch of summit pictures and took off for Adams to meet Gillian.
The flurries continued and temperature started to drop. The snow was harder than it had been earlier in the day. We had contemplated switching over to microspikes a few times but decided to stick with the crampons for today. We reached the snowfield on Jefferson and crossed it without any issues. We continued on towards Adams enjoying the views of the Great Gulf along the way. We reached a flat snowy area past the col (would be a very cool place to camp as Jason suggested) and spotted a figure on top of Adams. We waved our poles and the person in black waved back…that must be Gillian. Jason went ahead of us to meet her. We stopped for a much needed snack and contemplated hiking around Adams instead of over it…we realized there was one problem with that idea…there was no way to let Jason know that we’re changing plans. So, over Adams it was. The hike up Adams was much easier in the winter than it was last June when I did it for the first time with Una_Dogger and DaveBear - my knees had been in agony from the jagged rocks in the northern presi’s. Snow covered rocks definitely make it more knee friendly. We arrived at the summit to find Gillian all bundled up – she gave me a big hug and congratulated me on my finish. It was quite windy and the snow had picked up so we didn’t stay long. I layered up and actually put on my goggles to keep the snow out of my eyes.
We started heading down Adams and decided to stay on the snowfields instead of trying to follow the trail. HuiYeng and I headed straight down…I spotted some cairns heading towards the hut so we decided to wait for Jason and Gillian before continuing on. We continued to wait but didn’t see them. I heard voices (no, not the ones in my head) coming from the direction of the cairns. We soon spotted them coming down from the other direction. We reconnected with them and made our way to the hut. Food was calling so we didn’t hang out for long…we made the final descent to the car via Valley Way.
Started the day with no wind…blue skies and warm temps wearing a tank top in Tucks and ended all bundled up in the snow, wearing goggles on Adams with frozen water. Thanks HuiYeng, Jason and Gillian for an awesome day!!! What a way to finish!!!
Pics from the day:
http://adventurous-.smugmug.com/gallery/7883937_sbjwW#511132829_qLKBi
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