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Long Trail is mostly bare (a little muddy) for first .5 miles from Smuggler's Notch. Well-tracked snow thereafter to Taft Lodge - snowshoes not really necessary, but do watch for holes. Above Taft Lodge the trail becomes difficult to follow due to very deep snow (blazes are mostly buried) and numerous ski/snowboard tracks. We just picked one of these and aimed for Eagle Pass. From Eagle Pass to the summit it's mostly deep snow - steps can be easily kicked; a bit slick in one section. Summit ridge - mix of loose snow and rime ice. Profanity Trail - soft snow and lots of steps; we glissaded down most of it. Also hard to follow near the lodge - lots of tracks leading in different directions!
Gear: bare boots to Taft Lodge, microspikes above. Poles particularly useful for the minor stream crossings on the lower Long Trail. Ice axe may be prudent for the final ridge above Eagle Pass and for upper Profanity Trail, especially if glissading.
Note of caution: the trails here are very poorly marked. We didn't see a single readable trail sign, including at the start of the Long Trail from the road through Smuggler's Notch! There also don't appear to be any cairns above treeline. There is, on the other hand, a myriad of boot, snowshoe, ski and snowboard tracks leading in all directions. We started down TWO wrong gullies before finally finding the one that actually contained the Profanity Trail, and all of them looked very well-trodden. I imagine that in low visibility it would be very easy to get lost!
Gear: bare boots to Taft Lodge, microspikes above. Poles particularly useful for the minor stream crossings on the lower Long Trail. Ice axe may be prudent for the final ridge above Eagle Pass and for upper Profanity Trail, especially if glissading.
Note of caution: the trails here are very poorly marked. We didn't see a single readable trail sign, including at the start of the Long Trail from the road through Smuggler's Notch! There also don't appear to be any cairns above treeline. There is, on the other hand, a myriad of boot, snowshoe, ski and snowboard tracks leading in all directions. We started down TWO wrong gullies before finally finding the one that actually contained the Profanity Trail, and all of them looked very well-trodden. I imagine that in low visibility it would be very easy to get lost!
