Mad Townie
New member
Our group of six headed into Baxter State Park on January 11th for a four day weekend and a climb of Baxter and Hamlin Peaks.
Parking: We parked in the sand pit up behind the Abol Bridge store, not in the big lot across the Golden Road. The BPS ranger told us the pit is the last place to be plowed after a storm, so if you’re going in when snow is expected, it might be better to park in the “regular” lot. The rangers park in the pit.
Weather: Snow turned to rain on Friday as we skied from Abol Bridge to Roaring Brook.
Saturday started cloudy and got better, and Sunday was a beautiful, blue sky day with only the slightest hint of cirrus clouds. Monday the snow held off until we were just past Roaring Brook. From there it snowed, varying in intensity, all the way to the parking lot and, in fact, all the way home! 35 mph on I-95 isn’t fun, but we had more fun than the drivers whose vehicles we saw off the road.
Route: In from Abol Bridge on the winter trail to the perimeter road. Up the Chimney Pond Trail, mostly summer route, to Chimney. Ascent via the next gully to climber’s left from the Saddle Trail, then up to Baxter Peak, back down to the Saddle and up to Hamlin Peak, down Hamlin Ridge and back to Chimney Pond.
Surface conditions: There was a good base for skiing and hauling sleds on the way in. The rain really didn’t adversely affect the skiing (though my inadequate wax job did ). The perimeter road and the Chimney Pond trail are packed by snowmobile, the latter only as far as Lower Basin Pond. There was still quite a bit of open water on Lower Basin, and everyone is still using the summer trail. It was well packed and bare bootable without postholing, though I wore my snowshoes for the traction. The mountain itself got rained on Friday night, at all elevations. The gullies had lots of serious boilerplate, though there were small pockets of softer snow here and there. Everything on top was pretty hard. Hamlin Ridge had almost no snow, just ice-glazed rocks, which made for some interesting walking. Good thing crampons grip rock! On the way out we started on broken crust, which made a fast surface for the downhill runs, but the heavy snow on Monday changed all that, I’m sure. In fact it was changing as we made our way out. (See also Jay's report in the Trail Conditions forum.)
Temperatures: It was quite nice all weekend. Friday was right around 33 with the rain. Summit day was in the single digits up high, with wind, and in the low teens at Chimney Pond. More temperate on Monday.
Special equipment: The usual above-treeline gear that BSP requires, including crampons, ice axe, helmet, etc. We did not rope up but were prepared to do so, and we had pickets with us. Had we been forced to return via our ascent route we would have needed running belays at the very least. Goggles or sunglasses and face masks were necessary at the Baxter summit. A good sense of balance was an asset on the descent of Hamlin Ridge. We also carried snowshoes but did not use them during our summit ascent and descent.
Accommodations: There’s a new bunkhouse at Chimney Pond! It’s in the woods just beyond the crew camp next to the old bunkhouse (which will be torn down later this winter). The new one sleeps 10 and is quite spacious, including windows in the 2 bedrooms and a good sized enclosed porch for removing crampons and storing some gear. It’s also where the stove wood is kept. The ranger wanted feedback so that they can improve it to better serve its users, but I don’t think they’ll go along with our suggestion of a large screen TV for the Patriots game.
Photos: We all took some. Mine are here.
Parking: We parked in the sand pit up behind the Abol Bridge store, not in the big lot across the Golden Road. The BPS ranger told us the pit is the last place to be plowed after a storm, so if you’re going in when snow is expected, it might be better to park in the “regular” lot. The rangers park in the pit.
Weather: Snow turned to rain on Friday as we skied from Abol Bridge to Roaring Brook.
Saturday started cloudy and got better, and Sunday was a beautiful, blue sky day with only the slightest hint of cirrus clouds. Monday the snow held off until we were just past Roaring Brook. From there it snowed, varying in intensity, all the way to the parking lot and, in fact, all the way home! 35 mph on I-95 isn’t fun, but we had more fun than the drivers whose vehicles we saw off the road. Route: In from Abol Bridge on the winter trail to the perimeter road. Up the Chimney Pond Trail, mostly summer route, to Chimney. Ascent via the next gully to climber’s left from the Saddle Trail, then up to Baxter Peak, back down to the Saddle and up to Hamlin Peak, down Hamlin Ridge and back to Chimney Pond.
Surface conditions: There was a good base for skiing and hauling sleds on the way in. The rain really didn’t adversely affect the skiing (though my inadequate wax job did
). The perimeter road and the Chimney Pond trail are packed by snowmobile, the latter only as far as Lower Basin Pond. There was still quite a bit of open water on Lower Basin, and everyone is still using the summer trail. It was well packed and bare bootable without postholing, though I wore my snowshoes for the traction. The mountain itself got rained on Friday night, at all elevations. The gullies had lots of serious boilerplate, though there were small pockets of softer snow here and there. Everything on top was pretty hard. Hamlin Ridge had almost no snow, just ice-glazed rocks, which made for some interesting walking. Good thing crampons grip rock! On the way out we started on broken crust, which made a fast surface for the downhill runs, but the heavy snow on Monday changed all that, I’m sure. In fact it was changing as we made our way out. (See also Jay's report in the Trail Conditions forum.)Temperatures: It was quite nice all weekend. Friday was right around 33 with the rain. Summit day was in the single digits up high, with wind, and in the low teens at Chimney Pond. More temperate on Monday.
Special equipment: The usual above-treeline gear that BSP requires, including crampons, ice axe, helmet, etc. We did not rope up but were prepared to do so, and we had pickets with us. Had we been forced to return via our ascent route we would have needed running belays at the very least. Goggles or sunglasses
and face masks were necessary at the Baxter summit. A good sense of balance was an asset on the descent of Hamlin Ridge. We also carried snowshoes but did not use them during our summit ascent and descent.Accommodations: There’s a new bunkhouse at Chimney Pond!
It’s in the woods just beyond the crew camp next to the old bunkhouse (which will be torn down later this winter). The new one sleeps 10 and is quite spacious, including windows in the 2 bedrooms and a good sized enclosed porch for removing crampons and storing some gear. It’s also where the stove wood is kept. The ranger wanted feedback so that they can improve it to better serve its users, but I don’t think they’ll go along with our suggestion of a large screen TV for the Patriots game. Photos: We all took some. Mine are here.
