Ahhhh! Snow!!!

Ahhh!  Snow!!!  Don’t know how long it’s going to stay with us folks but for the moment the world is fresh, beautiful, and peaceful!  We have 2 new inches here in the Notch and there’s 1.5 inches new on the summit of Mount Washington.  In the valleys where it’s a bit warmer, you do have to deal with a bit of sloppy stuff on the roads but we have yet to see any of that “wet stuff that must not be named” here!

It is 27* with 14 mph winds this morning here at Pinkham!  We have a mainly blue sky out there with some minor flurries still coming down.  The winds are supposed to increase later this afternoon however so make sure you are fully covered to protect from wind chill!  

I would also expect the next day or so to be an interesting combination between new snow and previous conditions so to understand trail conditions, its going to be important to understand what we had previous to the snow! 

         The Little Headwall in Tuckerman’s increased all the way to Moderate avalanche danger overnight with the Central Headwall and other gullies all the way to High so skiing in the Bowl today is NOT a good idea!  Folks are skiing the Sherburne however and experiencing good conditions.  Before the new snow the lower section of the Sherburne was pretty hard due to cold temperatures and wind scouring so you may find patches similar as the winds continue to work their magic of moving snow around.  The upper sections of the Sherburne were already softer so with the new snow they should be pretty darn nice!  Enjoy!  

       Our backcountry trails should be skiing pretty nice with this new coverage, increasing traction where the wind had scoured them out previously!  Reports are coming in that the rocks are still pretty much under snow so I would consider all backcountry trails in Pinkham pretty fair game with possible areas of scouring to watch out for!

        Avalanche danger in Huntington’s increased to Considerable today from Low yesterday so be sure to check avalanche conditions in any gully you are considering ice climbing in today!!!  Folks coming in this morning from climbing yesterday said previous to this little snowfall, the climbing was pretty good with a bit of a rocky approach but not horrific.  Just be very aware of avalanche conditions today!

           Snowshoeing today should be terrific!  You may want to make sure you remain in the trees to cut the effects of the increasing winds but even without the new snow, there were still TONS of trails to explore that were yet to be packed out.  If you need suggestions for such, please give us a call and we’ll do some brainstorming with you!!!  (603-466-8116) 

           I was saddened to not get out myself on trails this past weekend due to the wind and due to a need to pack for a longer adventure next week!!!  I am heading into the AMC Maine Wilderness Lodges for 2 nights to do some backcountry skiing lodge to lodge with my family!  So you won’t hear from me next Wednesday but I’ll get you an update the following week with a bit of a report from some of our sister facilities!      
          To make Reservations for the Joe Dodge Lodge or any of our other camps or lodges please call 603-466-2721 or visit www.outdoors.org!  Happy Hiking! 

Joyce Scott
Backcountry Information Specialist
Pinkham Notch Visitor's Center