winter hut traverse

the plan is to start at carter notch and hit all the huts to lonsome lake. i've been told by a reliable source that it's never been done in a day just need to wait for a weather window. I'll update this when conditions look right. like a wise man once said Shake and Bake!!!!

TFF! I was just about to respond to your Osgood Trail query, saying "I know what you're thinking!!", but you posted this before I could do so.

Go for it!!

FARMER said:

the plan is to start at carter notch and hit all the huts to lonsome lake. i've been told by a reliable source that it's never been done in a day just need to wait for a weather window. I'll update this when conditions look right. like a wise man once said Shake and Bake!!!!

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Yikes, that's over 50 miles!

There are some notes about this on the 'Death Marches' page!

Cool Beans!

This is definitely doable with good conditions, and one hell of a "dayhike"

If you haven't set your route in stone ( up Osgood to Mad Hut then across the Presis, I am assuming), one other possible variation is starting at Mad Hut ( after a high camp overnight, perhaps) and then zooming down and over to Carter Notch, then linking into the "Open Hut" route ( which traverses only the huts that are open in winter), which is about 42 miles ( for a total of about 52 miles).

This route would probably be faster, but not be nearly as aesthetic as starting at Carter, going to Mad Hut, and then crossing the Presis.

Whatever way you go - all the best!

g'luck dude! i'll be trying my 2nd attempt next summer. hey, we met for the first time when i was giving it a go the first round. ahh the memories. think of me at madison hut!

Tim Seaver said:

one other possible variation is starting at Mad Hut ( after a high camp overnight, perhaps) and then zooming down and over to Carter Notch, then linking into the "Open Hut" route ( which traverses only the huts that are open in winter), which is about 42 miles ( for a total of about 52 miles).

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So, the original H2H route in the mid-60's run by Alex MacPhail in 12 hr, 11 min, right?

When I was visiting with Mats at the Carroll cabin waiting for Ryan and Jason to check in on Friday night, we were amusing ourselves by what it would take to do a 48wNH4s Directtissima.

Dr. Dasypodidae said:

So, the original H2H route in the mid-60's run by Alex MacPhail in 12 hr, 11 min, right?

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Although this route would start at Mad Hut, it would be a bit different from Alex's H2H Route in a few ways:

...From Cata I took the Wildcat Ridge Tr to the gondola station and ran down the Wildcat Ski Tr to Rt. 16 and then ran up the road to Pinkham (1hr. 15 mins [3 hrs. 10 mins.]) arriving there at 8:40 am.

I rested/ate at Pinkham for 10 mins and then climbed to Lakes via Tuckerman's (47 mins. [4 hrs. 7 mins.]) arriving at 9:37 am and rested at Lakes for 10 mins.

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Here is the same section from the Open Hut Route:

...From Carter Notch Hut, descend Nineteen Mile Brook trail to a point where it's possible to cross the brook and access the Aqueduct Ski Trail leading from the brook to Great Glen. This is directly across the highway from the Mount Washington Auto Road, which leads for slightly less than 2 miles to the Raymond Path, connecting to the Huntington Fire Road within a stone's throw of the Winter Lion's Head Route. The route continues up the Lion's Head to the Alpine Garden Trail, then left to the Tuckerman Ravine Trail and on to the Tuckerman Crossover Trail, which leads to the Crawford Path just above Lake of the Clouds Hut.

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The only other change to the OH route (in order to hit all the huts) would be visiting Mizpah Hut, which would add a bit of time.

One "technical" problem exists with the OH route, in that is uses the MW auto road to get to the Raymond Path, which in theory should be a paid venture. This is where the midnight start is useful.

a young Mr. Ferris is excited to do this one too. And we all know what happens when he gets excited.

FARMER said:

And we all know what happens when he gets excited.

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Yes, that's why they make Beano.

Awesome, best of luck!

I attempted the Hut Traverse this fall. Everything was going great until I got to Lafayette, where I absolutely got pummeled in the dark with high wind and freezing rain. Spent about 3 hours above treeline on Lafayette stumbling around in a whiteout trying to figure out how to get to the hut below Lafayette. I made it 46 miles according to the AMC book. I crashed on the floor of the hut hear Lafayette (can't remember the name of the hut). Surprisingly, they didn't kick me out when that saw me sleeping on the floor the next morning. Anyway, definitely going to hike it again this summer when I have lots of daylight and good weather. I think it is a challenging hike under good summer conditions, but insane in winter. I would give major props to anyone who could pull off a winter hut traverse, go for it!!

I think a couple guys broke out the trails for you too!

Taking a closer look at the two routes, it seems that starting at Madison would actually be about 3 miles longer ( with backtracking the 19 mi. brook) and a bit more elevation gain, so if that's the case, the "High Route" (starting at Carter) would probably be the better choice given similar trail conditions and a great weather day.

Hey Farmer, just as I was about to say, "I'm in" for this 1 day hut to hut hike, I suddenly noticed...it doesn't go over Scar Ridge...Opps! I'll have to pass on this easy fun day hike.

donna

saturday may be the day. plan is to start at carter and ascend madison via osgood trail. then mozy on over to lonsome lake. how many calories will we burn?

Good Luck!

good luck. I'm headed for Carter Dome on Saturday but I just realized if I'm starting at 7:30, you all probably be at Lake of the Clouds by then!

a challenging hike under good summer conditions, but insane in winter

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My thoughts exactly. Look, stay safe. And hope somebody has broken out the Zealand-> South Twin and Garfield-> Lafeyette stretches for you. Either one of those could be a game-changer.

And, like I said, stay safe. I don't mean to lecture, but do please give some serious thought to your fallbacks and bailouts and plans B, C, D, and E. A lot can happen.

I wish you well.

mirabela said:

My thoughts exactly. Look, stay safe. And hope somebody has broken out the Zealand-> South Twin and Garfield-> Lafeyette stretches for you. Either one of those could be a game-changer.

And, like I said, stay safe. I don't mean to lecture, but do please give some serious thought to your fallbacks and bailouts and plans B, C, D, and E. A lot can happen.

I wish you well.

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hmmmmm thats why we hiked the 48 2 weeks ago so we would know what was broken out.

FARMER said:

hmmmmm thats why we hiked the 48 2 weeks ago so we would know what was broken out.

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Screw safety! There's not even that much new snow! Hope you dudes have a good day out there.

-Dr. Wu

Good luck and have lots of fun out there. The presidential and the
Franconia ridge in the same day, wow....

Good weather and snow condition for it.