Rangeley 4000's W

Was wondering what the normal approaches are for the ten 4000fter peaks in the Rangeley Region in the Winter. I am interested in scouting out the trails in a few weeks. Is a winter traverse through the AT done often? Also, are there any shuttle services in the area if I decide to do a traverse in July to get me back to Rt4? I know alot of questions, but I havent done much hiking in this area. Thanks. Steve

i've been thinking about trying to climb some of these in winter myself at some point. i have not heard of anyone doing them all in a single back pack style traverse in the winter. i know people will often combine them in various ways. sugarloaf, spaulding, abraham via ski trails to the a.t. seems to be popular. bigelows via firewardens trail. redington via caribou valley rd. i've heard of the crockers done via the a.t. from both directions. saddleback and the horn seem to most often be hiked via saddleback ski trails to the a.t., but i have seen some use the a.t. all the way.
the main impression i've gotten about hiking these peaks in winter is that the snow depth can make things really difficult. groups of strong hikers have had posted some pretty epic reports about some of these hikes that time of year. i'd say that will be your biggest variable whatever way to decide to hike these peaks.
i'm sure there are people who provide shuttle service to the area, but have no specific suggestions off the top of my head. hopefully someone can speak to that for you. maybe try getting in touch with the "maine road house". they could probably give you some numbers.
take it easy.

bryan

Shuttle

Susan, at www.maineroadhouse.com will shuttle people to and from the Route 4 and Route 27/16 trailheads.