Beginner Winter Hiking in the Whites

[Mike P.]

I find EMS sales clerks to be quite hit or miss giving advice, they want to sell but do not always give great advice. I prefer in this order the following stores. IME, ( not great on stock, but great on advice), Ragged mountain Equipment, ( great gear selection and great sales people), REI, good gear selection and well trained associates.

In North Conway, you're probably okay, probably at Lake Placid too. I'd agree with Sierra and I'm a fan and former (199_) employee. Some are very good with climbing gear, some good footwear people and some thru-hikers and peakbaggers. However, some know more about fleece then the backcountry too.

When beginning, start slow go often. Going to the more well known places, like near the huts, will get you out & with some company too. (I see in my last post, I put no destinations, most have been picked)

I'd skip Monadnock for a bit, it's proabbly not the first place to go.

As winter starts, you can actually walk up Administration Road (the southern approach) to its junction with the main road up Wachusett. Easy footing, and get used to climbing with heavier packs & more clothes on too.

I'd add, Greylock (MA), Indian Head, Blue Hills (MA), Willard, Lonesome Lake Hut, Carter Notch Hut (not first hike, it usually is a bit icy & iffy near the brook in a couple of spots) Tecumseh, Pierce, Waumbek, Tom, Martha is nice but you likely will not have much company, Hale is not hard but has a road walk so it's longer than the summer.

 

[Cristobal]

Mt. Tecumseh is a good hike for a beginner - it's quite popular, so there's little chance of getting lost or even feeling lost. And the trail is usually well broken in, at least in my experience.
Lots of suggestions regarding gear here, and while I also enjoy using various gadgets in my wilderness travels, there is very little gear needed to enjoy winter hiking. I've used an inexpensive pair of snowshoes (Redfeather Hikes) and old ski poles to bag plenty of peaks and have lots of fun.

 

[sierra]

Mt. Tecumseh is a good hike for a beginner - it's quite popular, so there's little chance of getting lost or even feeling lost. And the trail is usually well broken in, at least in my experience.
Lots of suggestions regarding gear here, and while I also enjoy using various gadgets in my wilderness travels, there is very little gear needed to enjoy winter hiking. I've used an inexpensive pair of snowshoes (Redfeather Hikes) and old ski poles to bag plenty of peaks and have lots of fun.

I think alot of beginners focus too strongly on having alot of high tech gear and clothes. I summited many 4k's in the winter, wearing layers of cheap sweaters and tromping in wooden snowshoes. I once spent 3 nights in the Pemi in the dead of winter in Herman Survivor boots, a 30 dollar tent, and a summer bag and loved every minute of it. Not that Im reccomending it.lol.

 

[erugs]

Remember that if you don't have "proper" gear and supplies and you do get into trouble, you can be fined a heft amount. Call me frugal, but I'd rather put the money into gear. Suggestion, start gentley and work up to more rugged stuff. No need to hit the biggest peaks. Suggest people pick up a copy of Steve Smith's book that details lots of good information on hitting the 4,000 footers in winter, which I don't believe has been mentioned in this thread. I did my first several times over - Pierce. I found it helpful to be familiar with the trail I was hiking from a non-winter perspective but also it gave me a good perspective on what the same trail looks like in differing conditions.

 

[erugs]

Here is the link to Steve's book, and I'd recommend buying it at his bookstore, The Mountain Wanderer, in Lincoln because there will be more books to look at and some good conversation, too. http://sectionhiker.com/book-review-the-4000-footers-of-the-white-mountains/

 

[dug]

The mountains were here, and were walked up, long before there was "proper gear"...

 

[sierra]

Remember that if you don't have "proper" gear and supplies and you do get into trouble, you can be fined a heft amount. Call me frugal, but I'd rather put the money into gear. Suggestion, start gentley and work up to more rugged stuff. No need to hit the biggest peaks. Suggest people pick up a copy of Steve Smith's book that details lots of good information on hitting the 4,000 footers in winter, which I don't believe has been mentioned in this thread. I did my first several times over - Pierce. I found it helpful to be familiar with the trail I was hiking from a non-winter perspective but also it gave me a good perspective on what the same trail looks like in differing conditions.

ERUGS you strike me as a very nice person, but your post makes me want to bow my head and cry. The mountains are the one place left where you can go out and do what you want, to seek and find freedom. To test yourself with or without great equipment. Nobody should go out buy every piece of good gear they need then start hiking. You start with the basics, you add as you go and learn. You just have fun as you learn and suffer. To base any trip into the mountains based on possibly getting fined? That is a crime. I never think of any reprucussions of my actions in the mountains beyond my own enjoyment. This point is one of the reasons I hate that new law. Tradition is that you help those that are hurt in the mountains, frankly I wouldnt charge anyone, no matter what.