It's still winter in the Presidentials

[rlharris]

As two hikers found out this week, there is still lots of snow up there.

See http://www.unionleader.com/article.a...b-28da95843475
for the details.

Fortunately, they are well and safe after getting out on their own.

[Bob S]

I thought we had a Global Warming problem? I guess they were / are wrong!

[Frolicking Dinosaurs]

::: Dino seen diving back under pile of down quilts :::

[rafe]

By the same token... peak weekend for skiing Tuckermans used to be Memorial Day weekend, but it's already past prime as you can see in this live cam. Here in Boston, it seems to have been a cool spring so far.

[Bob S]

If it’s warmer or cooler, I just wish it would quit raining. Camping on muddy, damp ground sucks. And it seems to rain enough (for the last 3-months) that the ground won’t really dry out.

[dessertrat]

He lost a sneaker in the snow. A SNEAKER? Jeeze Louise.

[rafe]

He lost a sneaker in the snow. A SNEAKER? Jeeze Louise.

Ever read "Snow Leopard" by Peter Matthieson? The Sherpas were mostly barefoot... in the snow. The climbers had to nag them to wear sneakers.

[Bare Bear]

Be prepared or be prepared to be rescued at many costs.
Your life, money for the searcher, embarassment, injury......

[Pokey2006]

Ever read "Snow Leopard" by Peter Matthieson? The Sherpas were mostly barefoot... in the snow. The climbers had to nag them to wear sneakers.

The porters in Nepal do indeed have poor footwear. Most wear flip flops. Can you imagine? Hiking in the Himalayans with flip flops...

Still, I had the same reaction -- sneakers???

The lesson here is that people should turn back AS SOON as they realize they are in over their heads. These guys should have given up as soon as they saw snow.

[weary]

I thought we had a Global Warming problem? I guess they were / are wrong!

Global warming has nothing whatsoever to do with this incident. The villains, if any, are the many trail sites -- including White Blaze -- on which the ignorant praise trail runners and such as the new way to hike.

They are absolutely right for most trail hiking. But with, or without, global warming, such footwear is inappropriate through the Whites between the first snows of fall -- typically October -- and usually through early July -- depending a bit on the trail, and the nature of the season.

Yeah, I know. We'll get a lot of anecdotal evidence, from folks who happened to hike during optimal moments, and thus will claim the opposite.

The season of severe conditions is narrowing. But the Whites -- and some of the higher ranges of Maine -- continue to have life-threatening conditions and will for a few years yet. Only the ignorant and fools ignore this fact.

Weary

[Scaper]

Compared to the last 20 years in the whites the snowpack is less then normal for mid May.

[Tin Man]

Compared to the last 20 years in the whites the snowpack is less then normal for mid May.

Well, Moosilauke sounds like it has more snow than when I went same time last year. I guess it depends where you are.

http://www.viewsfromthetop.com/forum...ad.php?t=22393

[Uncle Tom]

I don't know about the Whites, but this weekend General Tso, Rangoon, and I hiked the Grafton Loop Trail. We stayed one night at the Speck Pond Campsite, traveling north on the AT over to East Baldpate back to Rt 26, completing the 40 mile loop. There was snow deep enough over the 3,500 foot mark that we were post holing up to our thighs. There was a place where we were walking on snow for over a 1/4 mile. There was also a lot of water on the trail. Looking west to the Presidentials, the tops of the mountain were solid white. On Monday afternoon, on the way up to Puzzle Mountain the black flies hit us hard. The Loop trip is awesome.

[woodsy]

Thanks for the trip and snow report Uncle Tom.

[Peaks]

1.5 inches of new snow on Washington on Friday, May 24. Currently expect to find snow above 3500 feet in sheltered areas and north facing slopes.

Still skiing Hillman's Highway almost to the top in Tuckerman's Ravine. In recent years, the only skiing over Memorial Day weekend is Left Gully, but not this year.