Rols
New member
Date: 4/2/10
Conditions: Snow all the way to tree line. Because of an early start the trail to was fairly hard packed until the junction to the falls. The snow deepened prior to the fall and increased until treeline. The snow after the falls was easy to posthole. Water was running under the snow in several places (waiting for people to posthole). The trail was quite solid on the ascent but by the time I descended it had been turned to Swiss cheese by people traveling without snowshoes. Water was running several places on the trail. After treeline the rock was mostly snow free. There was a snow ramp on the steep part just prior to the summit.
Equipment: I started with Kahtoola steel crampons (shallow points). I switched to showshoes after an hour. These were essential to avoid frequent and deep postholing. I switched back to crampons for the snow ramp leading to the summit (the snow was slick on this section and a slip would not have been good). I actually took my ice ax off my pack for some extra traction & in case of a slip on this section.
Comments: It was a great day out. I had the mountain to myself until the summit. I was in a tee shirt shortly after starting. First trip without overpants in months. Hard to believe I was in -5 temps last week. There was much more snow than I expected. Snowshoes were absolutely essential. On the way down I passed people going up in sneakers and Teva's. They were postholing frequently and deeply (sometimes breaking through to running water. I enjoyed the day immensely. The falls were half water and half ice and were really beautiful. Chocorua is a great hike.
Conditions: Snow all the way to tree line. Because of an early start the trail to was fairly hard packed until the junction to the falls. The snow deepened prior to the fall and increased until treeline. The snow after the falls was easy to posthole. Water was running under the snow in several places (waiting for people to posthole). The trail was quite solid on the ascent but by the time I descended it had been turned to Swiss cheese by people traveling without snowshoes. Water was running several places on the trail. After treeline the rock was mostly snow free. There was a snow ramp on the steep part just prior to the summit.
Equipment: I started with Kahtoola steel crampons (shallow points). I switched to showshoes after an hour. These were essential to avoid frequent and deep postholing. I switched back to crampons for the snow ramp leading to the summit (the snow was slick on this section and a slip would not have been good). I actually took my ice ax off my pack for some extra traction & in case of a slip on this section.
Comments: It was a great day out. I had the mountain to myself until the summit. I was in a tee shirt shortly after starting. First trip without overpants in months. Hard to believe I was in -5 temps last week. There was much more snow than I expected. Snowshoes were absolutely essential. On the way down I passed people going up in sneakers and Teva's. They were postholing frequently and deeply (sometimes breaking through to running water. I enjoyed the day immensely. The falls were half water and half ice and were really beautiful. Chocorua is a great hike.
