Mount Osceola and East Osceola via the Greeley Ponds loop - 11/27

Mount Osceola and East Osceola via the Greeley Ponds loop

Like most of us, I had a bit more calories on Thanksgiving day than I needed. I had a great visit with my son and his in-laws and my two young grandchildren. But the calories were weighing on me. So I talked to Steve and Liz, some friends who lived nearby in the Boston area and we decided to drive up to the Whites and do some hiking on Saturday. They had completed the 48 years ago, so they just asked what was on my plate and after some discussion in the car we decided to head to Osceola and East Osceola and then complete a loop down to Greeley Pond returning to the car via a road walk along Tripoli road (which I was told, is pronounced Trip-o-LIE). So we were off around 8:00 AM and after getting briefly lost among the condominiums in Waterville Valley, we got to the trail head off of Tripoli Road about 10:15. Our route would take longer than just an out-and-back, but would be more interesting, especially as the Greeley Ponds area was supposed to be very pretty. The sky stayed blue for much of our drive on Route 93, but clouds started to move in as predicted by the time we got our boots on. We were not too worried since rain was not expected till late that night. Although we expected it to get dark sometime by the time we got to our road walk, we all had headlamps and the route after Greeley Ponds (the Greeley Pond Trail and the road walk) would be wide, flat and easy.

We got off about 10:35 with temperatures around 30 and the ground dry. The trail up is rather easy and if it were dry and clear we could easily beat book time. But today there was a lot of ice starting about a mile in and eventually Steve and Liz put on crampons and I put on my Stabilicers which I hoped to give a good test today. We saw one lone hiker coming down and he said it was rather icy up high, but not enough to need crampons. When we got to the ice, and it got worse, we decided either he had not come this far, or he just didn't like crampons. It wasn't that we couldn't bypass or struggle over or around the ice, it was just that we could move much faster and easier with them on. To each his own.

When we were putting on the crampons and Stabilicers we were passed by a lone woman hiker who was moving fairly well with bare boots. There was also a group of 6 or 7 young people who were struggling along and were just within sight coming up. They looked a bit unprepared for these conditions. Once we had the traction on our feet, we moved along rather nicely and soon passed the woman who had passed us. She also had stopped to put her crampons on. We reached the summit about 1:00 PM and were soon joined by the woman who introduced herself as Cath. I found out later that Cath is a member of the VFTT forums and is well known to a number of area hikers. It was nice to unexpectedly meet someone you know from the internet in person (although I didn't realize who she was till later after we exchanged an email after I had put a Trail Conditions report up).

Anyway, we moved on to the view point a little past the summit, and enjoyed the views of the mountains both near and far. I was especially impressed by the beauty of East Osceola and the connecting ridge line as seen from this close vantage point. There was no ice, to speak of, on the top of the mountain but we kept the crampons and Stabilicers on since we knew there would be more on the steep sections below the summit. And there was. Both on the ledges leading down to the col and again on the far side of East Osceola we encountered nasty sections of ice.

The ridge line over to East Osceola is a beautiful narrow snaking ridge. This time of year when the evergreens have a touch of white highlighting their shapes, and the dusting along the trail made for a "Christmas Card" type of scene. We got to the East Peak fairly easily. The best views were from along the ridge, and again on the trail down to Greeley Ponds. Once past the wooded East peak the trail has several steep sections and we could see a series of cliffs ahead of us on this side of the ridge.Luckily we would be off the ridge before this very steep section. Our progress was rather slow going down since we took great care to avoid the kinds of falls that are so easy when descending over icy rocks and ledges.

We reached the bottom of the notch about 3:40 and got onto the Greeley Ponds Trail heading back south towards Waterville Valley. We took a break at Upper Greeley Pond and had a late lunch. The ice was now behind us and our crampons and Stabilicers were packed away. We got moving again at 4:00 PM and we knew it would be dark before we could make it to Livermore Road, nearly 4 miles away. But we also knew that the trail had become quite wide and level, and except for a stream crossing we hit just below the ponds, it would be a very fast and easy stretch of trail. The trail seemed to be groomed for skiing and all the water crossings had substantial bridges, Steve thought that the Waterville Valley Ski Resort groomed this trail, although it was completely on USFS land. In any case, we were glad for the way it was, and we made the 3.5 miles or so from the Upper Pond to the road in just 1 hour and 15 minutes. We managed to use just one head lamp and once on the road we turned that out. There was enough ambient light to follow the road rather easily. The road walk was long and tiring, although we made very good time. As we were making our way up through Thortnton Notch along Tripoli Road, what do we see peaking over the ridge but the moon, just a day past full! So even tired and in the dark, we enjoyed this sight. We reached the car at 6:20. Yes, it was a great day to be out and the weather gods and even the moon had cooperated and all of our Thanksgiving caloric guilt was now behind us.

Distance: Mt. Osceola trail: 5.7 miles, Greeley Ponds Trail: 3.8 miles. Total trails: 9.5 miles.
Road walk: Livermore Road: .3 miles, Tripoli Road: 3.0 miles. Total roads: 3.3 miles
Total distance: 12.8 miles

Elevation gain: 3360' (from my Suunto)

Total time: 7:45

Photo album: Osceola pictures

Ice on the trail:



Pb

Stabilicers

A word on Stabilicers: I had just bought these and this climb of Osceola was a perfect proving ground. They provided good sure traction over the icy sections (nearly as well as the crampons my friends were wearing), and they were easier to walk on when the trail was it's usual, rocks, gravel and dusting of snow. A good choice for these mixed conditions.

Mystery peaks

Can anyone give an ID of the two pointy peaks, one behind the other, which are seen behind East Osceola (to the right of the high point) as seen from the view point on Osceola:

Pointy peaks behind East Osceola

Green's Cliff (front) and Mt. Tremont (rear) maybe?

^MtnMike^

Looks like Bartlett Haystack and North Kearsarge to me. Other thoughts?

stabilicers

tell me about these things. where to get them price etc. i used instep crampons and they kept slipping behind my heel, causing me to slip. i bought these rubber jobbies with 10 carbide tips on them at beans, i use them running in the winter, they go over my boots. i dont know if these have traction enough for hiking at angle, or if the rubber would just tear. no good solution yet. i have those 6 point crampons also but i think unless it was icy or hard snow the whole way i would feel like on stilts..

I bought the Stabilicers at EMS for $48. Not cheap but not expensive either. They have a Vibram sole and the thing is held on by velco straps. They fit nicely to my boots and don't slip or slide. The lugs can wear out, but for 5 bucks you can get a new set and replace the worn ones.

here's a link: Stabilicers

When I was in the store, I asked for any size 11.5 boot (my size) and got some EMS thing. I put the boots on and then put the Stabilicers on - to get the right size and to get the 'feel". They felt good so I bought them.

Pb

Pointy Peaks

This view might help: Pointy Peaks, another view. Now the pointy peaks are in the middle.

I think in the forground (just behind East Osceola) you have Huntington on the left and Kancamagus on the right. Then tracing on the map, the rounded mountains (right behind East O's high point) would be Tremont, with Bartlett Haystack as the first pointy peak. Incidently, you can see the Kanc pretty clearly to the left Of East O in this picture in front of Huntington, where it belongs. And I guess it's the Hancocks or maybe the flank of Carrigain behind Huntington.

I'm still trying to work out the further peaks. One problem is that Kearsarge North is off my AMC map so I can't trace a sight line. The best I could do is this 1:500,000 Topozone map (red cross is on Bartlett Haystack): Topozone map which shows Kearsarge N. lines up with Osceola and Bartlett (if you squint).

My instinct was that the farthest cone-shaped mountain was Kearsarge N. To me, it is the mountain in Robert Frost's poem:

Moon Compasses

I stole forth dimly in the dripping pause
Between two downpours to see what there was.
And a masked moon had spread down compass rays
To a cone mountain in the midnight haze,
As if the final estimate were hers,
And as it measured in her calipers,
The mountain stood exalted in its place.
So love will take between the hands a face...

Click to expand...

That would make the other one Bartlett Haystack, which is a good guess based on its shape. For some reason I was expecting to see more of the mountains east of Conway -- the bearing is more northerly than due east.