Mt. Washington in January ??

thinking about hiking the "Big Boulder" trail to Lake of the clouds shelter, then to the top of Washington sometime in Jan or Feb... I know the conditions change drastically on Mt. Washington, but can anyone give any suggestions to what I may expect - trail wise and also staying at the lake of the clouds shelter? I hiked the Big Boulder trail this past summer and expect the open face rock just above tree line to be very icey.
Thanks!
Voyàgêr

Um, it's the Glen Boulder Trail. Not sure how far above it you went, but once you reach the ridgecrest you will be slammed, generally, with high winds. You will come across ice, the high winds I mentioned, steep slopes that fall into the Gulf of Slides...or, you could see sunny days in the 40's. There is no way to tell what you are going to have, but I would certainly plan on some ice and tough conditions getting above treeline.

You then have to walk about a mile straight into the winds, only to reach the Lakes of the Clouds HUT...which is closed in the winter. Not sure if you were planning on staying in it, but you might want to re-think the plan.

Not saying you can't summit Washington via Glen Boulder, but it's not a direct route and will add a couple of miles. You do avoid much of the steepness, but not all of it. It's not a route I personally would take, considering that you may not be totally familiar with the area.

Voyager

I think you should do a lot more research about the area and the conditions you might face. Here is a website that shows the weather conditions on top of Mt. Washington. It also has some info on the dangers of the Presidentail Range.

MT. Washington Weather Obs Link

Your going to want to have a very good route plan and schedule. You'll also want bail out spots if things get hairy.

As has been said, Lakes of the Clouds is closed in winter. There is no camping allowed within 1/4 mile of the hut and no camping above treeline anywhere unless there is 2' of snow on the ground. There is a dank, dismal emergency shelter in the basement of Lakes, called the Dungeon, but it is for emergency use only. Don't plan on spending the night there.

The Hermit Lake Shelters are down below Tuckerman Ravine and they are available all winter. Is that what you meant?

Temps and conditions up there in winter can range from 30 degrees, bright sunshine, and no wind, compared to -40, zero visibility, and winds too strong to stand up. There's no way to know what you're going to get in advance.

From the questions you've asked it sounds like you've never travelled above treeline in winter. If so, this probably isn't the first trip to choose. The skills and gear needed take a little while to safely aquire. There are lots of folks here who will be organizing winter hikes that can help you gain some of that experience and plan your trip safely.

-dave-

What Dave said. Depending on your experience, I'm one of the people looking for people to hike with from time to time.

just going to second david , dug and brent - don't want to sound crass here -but your questions raised some red flags as you may be underestimating george a tad for a winter try. (jan and feb are probably the toughest months to do it due to the sheer cold and wind)

at the least - hook up with someone who has done it and would probably recomend the jewell trail for your first winter try up it.
if you do the glen boulder and get caught in a bad situation between that and summit - its a long way to safety. There are much more direct routes.

The lakes dungeon ain't a place you want to stay anyway - if you have seen it - you know what I am taking about. Think prison cell - but worse!!

As far as conditions you might expect given the route youve chosen, think of the worst possible, it can get worse then that. The route youve chosen is long, exposed and as others said chooses a questionable destination at best. I would say stay at hermit lake, this allows you to gauge the conditions above treeline in the morning, they used to post them at the cabin there (Ive been away for a few years) that should help even more. If your set on your chosen route,know how to get off it in adverse conditions, bailing out from given points on your route can put you in some undesiarble places to say the least,ie desending into tucks is no prize and desending the other side of the mountain can put you FAR from safety.

What, did I step in dogshit recently or something?