I have noticed a certain enthusiasm on this board for the oncoming winter / snow season as it pertains to hiking
While I do not (yet) share this enthusiam, I certainly understand it (heck my favorite cycling discipline is cyclo-cross, which even most cyclists think is nuts!) I call upon your combined experience to ask:
What does a semi-experienced east-coast hiker (12 of 48 done this year, many lesser/other-not-tracked hikes over the past 20 years) need to safely begin winter hiking in NH? I'm not gunning for the winter NH 48 list. Mostly, I'm looking for a fallback if the skiing is like it was last year
I have snow shoes (LL Bean/Tubbs) but they are the kind intended for flatter or groomed terrain, like my in-law's Christmas tree farm, poles, and yak trax. My current boots are LL Bean Crestas -- mostly leather, backpacking boots (I have a history of weak ankles so I like sturdier boots even for day hiking.)
Pointers to older threads are fine -- I started a search on winter and beginner but I got a lot of matches and nothing was an immediately obvious match... but I will go back and look some more.
When I asked Becky (see my earlier reply) these same questions her suggestion was that I take a private mountaineering lesson with EMS Climb and tell them exactly what I was looking for. It seems like overkill to me to spend that much money on an introductory experience. Plus at that co$t, it would pretty much constitute my Christmas present from the family. And if I like it, I'm really in trouble
Tim
p.s. if you're wondering what cyclo-cross is,
this will give you some idea -- from 2005 Master's Nationals in Rhode Island (December 9, 2005)