peakbagger
04-24-2018, 10:28
I was out hiking Sunday on Mt Flume just down the ridge from the Franconia Ridge section of the AT and there was more snow in the wood for late April then in many years. The snow depth went from bare ground down low to 5 to 6 feet up high. The above treeline areas were totally white with no rocks sticking out. Usually Franconia ridge is melted out down to bare ground long ago but it is still solid white. Sure the sun may knock back the exposed stuff but the snow/ice under the softwoods is going to hang around for a long time. I still have snow on the ground in my front yard at 1400 feet in full sun. South facing slopes may be bare down low but expect that north facing slopes are going to take awhile. Folks definitely will be skiing Tuckermans well into late June assuming the avalanche threats reduce. Some notorious shaded trail like Mahoosuc Notch will probably be very difficult to go through for quite awhile as usually the snow pack undermines with the potential for crevasses to make things interesting. I expect black fly season may shift back a bit.
I used microspikes, crampons and snowshoes all in one hike on Sunday and they really werent optional. The snow pack was steady in the morning after a cold night but in the afternoon it was postholing conditions unless snowshoes were used. Anyone with plans of heading up early the the whites to get ahead of the tourists had best keep a close eye on the conditions as its going to be awhile before the snow pack is gone.
I used microspikes, crampons and snowshoes all in one hike on Sunday and they really werent optional. The snow pack was steady in the morning after a cold night but in the afternoon it was postholing conditions unless snowshoes were used. Anyone with plans of heading up early the the whites to get ahead of the tourists had best keep a close eye on the conditions as its going to be awhile before the snow pack is gone.