Wildcats A & D:
Date Hiked: 02/20/2006
Distance: 9.15 on the trails including 2.75 on Wildcat's Polecat Ski trail + a three mile road walk on Route 16
Difficulty: It's subjective, I'd call it Moderate to streneous
Conditions: lower 19 Mile was bare rock & icy, 1/2 way up it was snow & ice, appears to be less than 3 feet based on how high te trail markers are, chest high.
Special Equipment: Traction devices of some sort. While snowshes would have worked on most of the trip for traction, (you did not need them for floatation,) a couple of spots on Wildcat Ridge trail below A peak were very narrow including the small slide. You had a steep sidehill with a beaten foot path across these areas only boot wide, using snowshoes here instead of crampons would have required great care. With crampons you wanted to make sure you did not catch the front points on the slide. Other gear was your typical gear needed to stay warm when temps are in the teens & single digits in the mountains.
Trip Report: after a couple of real cold days Monday was just 5 or 10 degrees below normal. On our way up (Double Bow from VFTT & me) saw several members of another VFTT group descending from Carter Notch Hut. (Why I did not ask one or two of my friends in this to move my car up to Wildcat is beyond me, I though about it while we were walking on Route 16! :angry: :idea: )
Good day weather wise, good views of Presidentials, Northern peaks were out of the clouds most of the time, Washington's summit was in the clouds all day, you could see they were getting flurries over there too. We started at 8:08 & finished back at the car at 5:30. Plastic boots are not the preferred shoe for 3 mile road walks, even if almost all down hill.
Date Hiked: 02/20/2006
Distance: 9.15 on the trails including 2.75 on Wildcat's Polecat Ski trail + a three mile road walk on Route 16
Difficulty: It's subjective, I'd call it Moderate to streneous
Conditions: lower 19 Mile was bare rock & icy, 1/2 way up it was snow & ice, appears to be less than 3 feet based on how high te trail markers are, chest high.
Special Equipment: Traction devices of some sort. While snowshes would have worked on most of the trip for traction, (you did not need them for floatation,) a couple of spots on Wildcat Ridge trail below A peak were very narrow including the small slide. You had a steep sidehill with a beaten foot path across these areas only boot wide, using snowshoes here instead of crampons would have required great care. With crampons you wanted to make sure you did not catch the front points on the slide. Other gear was your typical gear needed to stay warm when temps are in the teens & single digits in the mountains.
Trip Report: after a couple of real cold days Monday was just 5 or 10 degrees below normal. On our way up (Double Bow from VFTT & me) saw several members of another VFTT group descending from Carter Notch Hut. (Why I did not ask one or two of my friends in this to move my car up to Wildcat is beyond me, I though about it while we were walking on Route 16! :angry: :idea: )
Good day weather wise, good views of Presidentials, Northern peaks were out of the clouds most of the time, Washington's summit was in the clouds all day, you could see they were getting flurries over there too. We started at 8:08 & finished back at the car at 5:30. Plastic boots are not the preferred shoe for 3 mile road walks, even if almost all down hill.
