Franconia Notch/Kinsman Trail

[peakbagger05]

Does anyone know what the conditions are like up in Franconia Notch, specifically along the Kinsman Trail up over the Kinsmans and Cannon? What is the best place to call up there for this information? I always forget. Thanks so much!

 

[MichaelJ]

You're in luck - folks I know were just up there on the 17th/18th, from Rte 112 to the Mt. Kinsman Trail, and said:

As we headed down the north facing side of the mountain we encountered sections of trail that contained some deep snow. The monorail was eroding and in general the snow was consolidated enough that snowshoes were not necessary, but the caution needed to avoid post holing kept our pace down a bit.
...
The north facing slope of South Kinsman was also a corridor of deep but consolidated snow. This was the only section where snowshoes might have been the better choice but again we decided to keep them on our backs.

If you don't have access to a trip report of folks who have been up there recently, a good source of information is the AMC Backcountry Conditions Report.

 

[Mike P.]

In most place snow can be found above 3500 feet. If the trail is open & south facing, it may be open, if in a deep dense area of spruce & fir trees, you could find 3-4 feet still on trails like the Twinway (between Guyot & S. Twin) or Franconia Ridge (between Liberty & Little Haystack)

We found some Saturday near the Stairs Col & Davis Path junction, this was close to 3,000 feet.