btausend
New member
Date of Hike: 12/31/13
Trail Conditions: The Glencliff trail is covered in snow. The coverage is fairly thin at lower elevations and increased as we climbed to the summit. When I arrived at the trail head I was happy to see that the trail was broken out since the storm on Sunday. I'm not sure exactly how much new snow there was at the lower elevations, maybe 4" or so, but at higher elevations it was closer to 12" or more. With that said rocks are still present the entire length of the Glencliff trail, but we were able to step around them most of the time. The stream crossing early on was bridged, but it looks like someone broke through it in one spot. There were also a couple of open water areas along the trail that you could step over. The only ice I saw all day was a couple of ice floes which were easy to hike over. I didn't have any issues with ice under the snow, but I also had snowshoes on car to car and may not have noticed it. There was one blow down within 10 minutes of the trail head that we had to walk around.
The Carriage Road is well covered with 12" or more of snow, but even in a few spots there were a couple of rocks poking through. As we climbed to the summit it was a combination of snow, bare frozen ground, wind packed snow and a few drifts 2' to 3' deep.
The snow on the lower elevations of the Glencliff Trail is kind of packing probably because it has a little more moisture content in it. At higher elevations it is a unpacked powder.
Special Equipment: We used snowshoes from car to car. We wanted to help break out the trail and try and pack it. We saw others with snowshoes, Microspikes, Crampons and even barebooting it. If you don't use snowshoes you are not going to post hole, but I think footing is better with snowshoes.
Comments: It was a cloudy and cold day. Temps were in the single digits when we headed out. Even though it was cloudy the ceiling was high and we had pretty good views. Winds were very light, but on a cold day it still makes a difference. As we were leaving the summit some light snow moved in and the views disappeared. Thanks to John W. for another great hike in the whites.
Brian
Trail Conditions: The Glencliff trail is covered in snow. The coverage is fairly thin at lower elevations and increased as we climbed to the summit. When I arrived at the trail head I was happy to see that the trail was broken out since the storm on Sunday. I'm not sure exactly how much new snow there was at the lower elevations, maybe 4" or so, but at higher elevations it was closer to 12" or more. With that said rocks are still present the entire length of the Glencliff trail, but we were able to step around them most of the time. The stream crossing early on was bridged, but it looks like someone broke through it in one spot. There were also a couple of open water areas along the trail that you could step over. The only ice I saw all day was a couple of ice floes which were easy to hike over. I didn't have any issues with ice under the snow, but I also had snowshoes on car to car and may not have noticed it. There was one blow down within 10 minutes of the trail head that we had to walk around.
The Carriage Road is well covered with 12" or more of snow, but even in a few spots there were a couple of rocks poking through. As we climbed to the summit it was a combination of snow, bare frozen ground, wind packed snow and a few drifts 2' to 3' deep.
The snow on the lower elevations of the Glencliff Trail is kind of packing probably because it has a little more moisture content in it. At higher elevations it is a unpacked powder.
Special Equipment: We used snowshoes from car to car. We wanted to help break out the trail and try and pack it. We saw others with snowshoes, Microspikes, Crampons and even barebooting it. If you don't use snowshoes you are not going to post hole, but I think footing is better with snowshoes.
Comments: It was a cloudy and cold day. Temps were in the single digits when we headed out. Even though it was cloudy the ceiling was high and we had pretty good views. Winds were very light, but on a cold day it still makes a difference. As we were leaving the summit some light snow moved in and the views disappeared. Thanks to John W. for another great hike in the whites.
Brian
