Best way up Chocoura?

Hi,

I'm taking a newbie up Chocoura next week and was wondering what the easiest way is to the summit? Piper? Champney Falls?


thanks,
Bob

Can only speak of Champney...
took my wife up that way years ago...it is pretty exposed near the top, but otherwise a fairly gentle route...very nice falls in the lower part and nice views up high...a good mountain and route for a newbie. Ithink Piper may be a bit gentler, but still ends up summitting the same way.

I find the Liberty trail one of the easiest trails on Chocorua. there are a couple of spots that would be tough if it was wet but in good conditions it would be my trail of choice for someone new to hiking.

I've been up the Piper, Liberty and Champney Falls trails a few times - and prefer Champney Falls. Maybe because you can take a jag over to Middle Sister w/o much effort? The cascades? Because it the preferred winter route? Dunno - just prefer it.

I think Piper is easier than Champney. The first three miles will probably take you as long as the last 1½, but the views in that last 1½ make it worth the extra effort.

Champney goes by some sweet waterfalls near the halfway point and the climb is very easy. Can't speak for the others though.

Chocorua is one of my favorites and I've taken all the trails up it within the past few years. I would pick Champney from the Kanc for a newbie because it's protected most of the way up and has those nice Falls near the beginning/end that others have noted. Piper may be slightly easier, in that its grade is more gradual overall, but it's substantially longer and without those Falls.

My personal favorites are the Piper/Weetamoo/Hammond/Liberty approach from the SE, for the great views from the SE ridge, and the Piper/connector (forget name)/Carter Ledge/Middle Sister approach from the NE, for Carter Ledge and the Middle Sister summit, but the former has a stretch of slab near the top that might be tough for a newbie and the latter is hard to follow in places (a couple of slides in particular) and rough others. Those two combined make an excellent loop from the Piper lot.

Amicus said:

...and the Piper/connector (forget name)...

Click to expand...

Nickerson Ledge, aka Herd Path Hell.

I'm with Amicus on the loop up Piper/Weetamoo/Hammond...I've done this route a couple of times and it seems less crowded than the Champney Falls Trail and a lot more interesting. About a moth or so ago I came down the Carter Ledge Trail and that is another good one...awesome views from the ledges.

Enjoy!

-MEB

All good advice, you still might hit some slick spots on the switchbacks on Champney-Bolles, we did it two weeks ago and needed traction devices. It has been warm, not sure if this melted enough. I like liberty-weetamo as well surley clear from the south, same aprx difficulty. good Luck and Have Fun

Champney Falls is infinitely more interesting than the Piper Trail. I've taken many a newcomer up both, and Champney Falls is the no-brainer for me, for all of the reasons others have mentioned.

Champney Falls for the same reasons.

Also, just a short way from the Champney Falls parking is Sabbaday Falls parking and they are just a short easy walk. I bet your newbie would enjoy these, too. I still do.

Champney Falls is normally the easiest, but at this time of year it may still have some rotting snowpack, being a north-facing trail.

The south-facing trails have some hairy spots toward the top. I'd take a newbie up the Piper (which, come to think of it, is how I first did Chocorua one May).

Champney is pretty easy. Been up and down that one three different hikes. This year I was planning on going up Brook Trail and down Liberty Trail. How is that for a good loop? It looked pretty good reading up on it. After hitting Cardigan today, that loop up Chocorua may be the next hike of the season.

Brook-Liberty loop

I'm planning on going up Brook and down Liberty in a couple weeks (Sunday May 21). I've done the loop once before, and I really liked Brook. However, it has some fairly steep ledges that I'd rather not descend; hence Liberty.

I was thinking up Brook also and down Liberty. Steep ledges are fine as long as ya don't need too many hand hold areas. We just did the Holt trail on Cardigan and that was challenging for my 69 year old father-in-law. So is the top of Brook Trail anything like that? that bad?

Because other than that, I was thinking of maybe a loop of Piper, then off on that Carter Ledge by Middle Sisters to the peak and then down Piper all the way. Is that a good loop too?? Any preference on a Chocorua loop between these 2 mentioned? Or maybe something better?

I've never done anything worse than the upper Holt, including Huntington Ravine. But the ledges on the Brook Trail are also friction slabs (i.e. steep slabs but no handholds), not too scary on the ascent, and you can always stick to the sides and grab the vegetation.

One interesting route is to start on the Piper, take a right onto Nickerson
Ledge to Carter Ledge to Middle Sister. It is a little challenging to follow the Carter Ledge and Middle Sister trails, but you'll probably have them all to yourself. You can come down the Piper or else descend via Brook, Liberty, Hammond, Weetamoo and Piper trails if you want more variety.

They're both nice loops, but I've done the Carter Ledge route for two years running now, and it's been a few years since I've done Brook.

wow, so sounds like if I've done upper Holt up Cardigan, then I should have no trouble up Huntington Ravine? Is that right? I always think Huntington Ravine is tough and scary and I have yet to try it from what rumors say.

Huntington

The best description I've heard of Huntington is "the hard parts aren't that exposed, and the exposed parts aren't that hard".

That is, the difficult friction slab above the fan won't kill you if you slip. The places further up (where a slip could kill you) aren't particularly difficult.

Just take your time and do it on a dry sunny day. Awesome!

<<One interesting route is to start on the Piper, take a right onto Nickerson
Ledge to Carter Ledge to Middle Sister. It is a little challenging to follow the Carter Ledge and Middle Sister trails, but you'll probably have them all to yourself. You can come down the Piper or else descend via Brook, Liberty, Hammond, Weetamoo and Piper trails if you want more variety.>>

OK, so I've looked at those other options up Chocorua from that southeast side. I'm still not sure of what I want to do. I was originally thinking up Brook and down Liberty which is about 7.5 mi round trip. That didn't seem too bad but some people have stated that upper Brook is tough.

But then starting from Piper sounds good because the parking is right off 16 easy to find and that Nickerson and Carter Ledges along with Middle Sister sound pretty cool to check out along the way up to Chocorua. But adding all that brings the mileage up to 8.5 - 9.5. Even just up Piper and back Piper is 8.5. But if going up and hitting those Carter Ledges and Middle Sister, what would then be the best way down? Down Piper all the way or across the summit like you said and down Liberty/Hammond/Weetamoo/Piper. Or is the Brook and Liberty the better way to go? I'm just curious what people think of some of these options what they enjoyed over the others. Thanks