Colvin & Blake 2-9-12

Conditions definitely have improved since the prior posting of February 5th. Three of us did this hike. We used Microspikes from the register and back. There is ice along the early section of the Lake Road. The short trail also is icy. From the junction of the Gill Brook trail there is packed snow to the summit of Blake with a few very short sections of ice. The rungs of the ladders heading off Colvin to the Colvin/Blake col are exposed. The trail from the summit of Colvin to the summit of Blake is really quite good, but the sun was strong, and there was some melting on the Blake side of Colvin so more ice in the future is possible.