View Full Version : Winter in the Whites, circa 1972.
Feral Bill
02-08-2019, 16:35
My old camping pal Bill just got photos of our winter jaunts in the Presidential Range digitized. Includes a winter ascent of Mt Washington in March of that year. Just a few samples.4461144612446134461444615446084460944610
Dan Roper
02-08-2019, 18:19
Cool photos. Thanks for sharing.
I love the orange packs and the clothes. Now, if you just have a photo of an aluminum canoe and a Vega or AMC, we can recreate an era.
Funny how the '70s now seem like a different age, almost like "olden days." When I think of people backpacking the AT in the '70s, I think of that as being just before the modern era began. We're the old timers, now.
Feral Bill
02-08-2019, 19:21
Cool photos. Thanks for sharing.
I love the orange packs and the clothes. Now, if you just have a photo of an aluminum canoe and a Vega or AMC, we can recreate an era.
Funny how the '70s now seem like a different age, almost like "olden days." When I think of people backpacking the AT in the '70s, I think of that as being just before the modern era began. We're the old timers, now.
One trip was in an Opel, one in a Fiat, and one in a Citroen. I still have my pack (the green one). My son uses it. My 50 year old SVEA is still a staple, too.
Hikes in Rain
02-08-2019, 20:05
Wow, these are great. I'd just graduated high school when you were doing this. Thanks for posting.
Sarcasm the elf
02-08-2019, 22:39
These are great! Thanks for sharing.
Slo-go'en
02-09-2019, 00:10
Back when we had real winters too. Pretty brave to camp above tree line in pup tents!
Tipi Walter
02-09-2019, 00:41
Back when we had real winters too. Pretty brave to camp above tree line in pup tents!
Do backpackers still pull these kind of overnight winter trips in the Whites????
44620
What you call Pup Tents remind me of high quality top of the line North Face A-frame tents from the 1970s---as in this catalog pic---
44621
Pretty good tents for their time. My old North Face had the snow tunnel entrance---
44622
(This is not my tent or my picture---it comes from here---
https://picclick.com/Vintage-North-Face-Tuolumne-tent-182509260395.html
Feral Bill
02-09-2019, 02:01
Back when we had real winters too. Pretty brave to camp above tree line in pup tents! They were proper mountaineering tents, rented.
Awesome pics. Thanks for posting.
My son still uses the Sierra Designs Wilderness tent with the snow tunnel entrance that I bought at the Skimeister shop in N Woodstock in 1971. My old Svea 123R Climber stove has been replaced but is still as good as most models on the shelf. I still use the North Face Chamios sleeping bag that also came from the Skimeister shop (in 1972). "The old that is strong does not wither"
Awesome pics. Thanks for posting.
My son still uses the Sierra Designs Wilderness tent with the snow tunnel entrance that I bought at the Skimeister shop in N Woodstock in 1971. My old Svea 123R Climber stove has been replaced but is still as good as most models on the shelf. I still use the North Face Chamios sleeping bag that also came from the Skimeister shop (in 1972). "The old that is strong does not wither"
For car camping, my Coleman lantern and stove I got as a teenager 40+ years ago still work like new and are essential pieces of gear for those types of trips even today. Nothing is more satisfactory than gear or other well made stuff that continues to function over time.
petedelisio
02-09-2019, 10:24
Cool photos. Thanks for sharing.
I love the orange packs and the clothes. Now, if you just have a photo of an aluminum canoe and a Vega or AMC, we can recreate an era.
Funny how the '70s now seem like a different age, almost like "olden days." When I think of people backpacking the AT in the '70s, I think of that as being just before the modern era began. We're the old timers, now.
It's like thinking about the 30's when back in the 70's.
Cool photos. Thanks for sharing.
I love the orange packs and the clothes. Now, if you just have a photo of an aluminum canoe and a Vega or AMC, we can recreate an era.
Funny how the '70s now seem like a different age, almost like "olden days." When I think of people backpacking the AT in the '70s, I think of that as being just before the modern era began. We're the old timers, now.
44623
You asked for it. It’s a bad photo but it was a good car for me at the time.
Dan Roper
02-09-2019, 11:53
I'm reading a National Geographic book published in the early 1970s about wilderness. The opening essay, about the Quetico Boundary Waters area, is written by a man who opens by saying he started canoeing those waters right after World War I!
David Brill's magnificent book about his 1979 thru-hike (published around 1991, I think) now seems like ancient history. He still found mountain folks hunting for ginseng and ramps and leeks.
Take another step back to read Walking with Spring about a late '40s thru hike and the mountain people and culture was still intact, including driving livestock to the balds during the summers.
Tipi Walter
02-09-2019, 12:04
I'm reading a National Geographic book published in the early 1970s about wilderness. The opening essay, about the Quetico Boundary Waters area, is written by a man who opens by saying he started canoeing those waters right after World War I!
David Brill's magnificent book about his 1979 thru-hike (published around 1991, I think) now seems like ancient history. He still found mountain folks hunting for ginseng and ramps and leeks.
Take another step back to read Walking with Spring about a late '40s thru hike and the mountain people and culture was still intact, including driving livestock to the balds during the summers.
This reminds me of Eric Ryback who thruhiked the AT back in 1969 at the age of 17. As far as I know the only written account of this event can be found in this two volume set---
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I think he used an old big Kelty pack. See---
http://www.pbase.com/image/112135376
https://aadl.org/taxonomy/term/73520
Wow - Great to see, and Very cool! Thanks for posting those up!
u.w.
WhiteBlazin
02-09-2019, 15:05
oof. even being from quebec, i couldnt stand that cold! looks like the top of the everest out there.
great pics
Do backpackers still pull these kind of overnight winter trips in the Whites????
Heading out for one on Wednesday.
Tipi Walter
02-09-2019, 23:46
Heading out for one on Wednesday.
I know there's the VFFT forum but is there a online source for reading about overnight winter backpacking trips in the Whites???
trailmercury
02-11-2019, 17:07
Ford Maverick?
Slo-go'en
02-11-2019, 18:39
I know there's the VFFT forum but is there a online source for reading about overnight winter backpacking trips in the Whites???
I don't know. Most people these days just do day hikes to bag peaks. The RMC Gray Knob cabin is a popular winter overnight spot as it's heated, as is Carter Notch (but the bunk house isn't) and Zealand Hut. Not a lot of people go out and actually camp in the snow. But there are some decent placers to go which aren't extreme.
Camping above tree line is still as rare today as it was in 1972. It really isn't a good idea.
We're undecided on Wednesday nights spot because the storm may affect our start time. Heading out from Appalachia and will choose between Gray Knob, sphinx col, and the outside chance of pushing to Lake of the Clouds. Weather looks good for now other than the 1-2 feet of snow through Wednesday evening.
Slo-go'en
02-11-2019, 23:22
We're undecided on Wednesday nights spot because the storm may affect our start time. Heading out from Appalachia and will choose between Gray Knob, sphinx col, and the outside chance of pushing to Lake of the Clouds. Weather looks good for now other than the 1-2 feet of snow through Wednesday evening.\
If your going up from Appalachia, it's unlikely you'd get past Gray knob. Probably best to head straight there, via Ampherbrach and Spur trail. The storm isn't getting here until Tuesday night and will linger well into Thursday. 95 MPH gusts at Madison Hut Wednesday night. Trying to cross the top of King Ravine on the Great Gulf trail will be treacherous in those conditions. The base is now basically ice, so new snow isn't going to stick very well. That means white out conditions. When it finally clears out sometime Thursday, it will still be very windy, which means staying on your feet isn't easy. It takes a lot of effort to walk into those winds, which will be basically in your face heading towards Washington. Make no mistake, it will be brutal up there. Then more weather moves in for Friday and the weekend. Hope your really up for this. Go to Gray Knob and figure it out from there. If it's not safe above tree line, you have a safe place near-by to retreat to. Just getting up to the summit of Adams could be an expedition.
I need to see if I can find any of my old photos of climbing in the High Peaks area during the 70's. Lol, lot's of Orange and Blue colors......and snow tunnels entrances.........and Woolrich Alaskan shirts (still wear that) with Green wool pants....Mouse boots.....
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If your going up from Appalachia, it's unlikely you'd get past Gray knob. Probably best to head straight there, via Ampherbrach and Spur trail. The storm isn't getting here until Tuesday night and will linger well into Thursday. 95 MPH gusts at Madison Hut Wednesday night. Trying to cross the top of King Ravine on the Great Gulf trail will be treacherous in those conditions. The base is now basically ice, so new snow isn't going to stick very well. That means white out conditions. When it finally clears out sometime Thursday, it will still be very windy, which means staying on your feet isn't easy. It takes a lot of effort to walk into those winds, which will be basically in your face heading towards Washington. Make no mistake, it will be brutal up there. Then more weather moves in for Friday and the weekend. Hope your really up for this. Go to Gray Knob and figure it out from there. If it's not safe above tree line, you have a safe place near-by to retreat to. Just getting up to the summit of Adams could be an expedition.
Sorry for the long delay in responding. I made last night's post before we'd seen the most recent forecast with the significantly increased winds above treeline. We're currently holding for 24 hours and hoping to step off on Thursday morning. Spent the day working with one of NEMO's guides on a second day of skills over at Whitehorse. We'll definitely be taking it one piece at a time, deciding whether to go at all, then how to proceed as things develop.
Feral Bill
02-12-2019, 21:19
I need to see if I can find any of my old photos of climbing in the High Peaks area during the 70's. Lol, lot's of Orange and Blue colors......and snow tunnels entrances.........and Woolrich Alaskan shirts (still wear that) with Green wool pants....Mouse boots.....
I still have my Mouse Boots. There is no real substitute. After 20 years of old stock and looking for something better the military is getting them put back in production. My wool surplus flight pants have somehow gotten smaller, mysteriously. If I recall, almost everyone used much the same gear. I look forward to seeing your pictures. I'd go back to winter camp in the Adirondacks, probably not the Whites.
Slo-go'en
02-12-2019, 21:23
Their talking rain for Friday, not good. At least its on the warm side. Until Monday, then it's back into the freezer. This winter has been nuts. Lots of warnings about potential avalanche danger with this new snow over hard pack and ice. Several hikers in Vermont have been injured due to falls and uncontrolled slides down icy trails in the last few days.
Saw 3 hiker cars in Lowes parking lot this afternoon, so there's already a small crowd at Gray Knob to ride out the storm tonight. It's starting to crank up now and it is windy. When it's windy where I live, it's really, really windy up high.