High Huts are Open for Full Service!


Today marks the first day of the full service season of the huts, and the higher huts (Lakes of the Clouds and Madison Spring) are finally open! One of our Backcountry Information Specialists, Olivia, went up to visit one of our crews opening Lakes of the Clouds last Thursday and got a beautiful 100 mile visibility day! The picture above is of Lakes of the Clouds Hut on the southwestern side of Mt. Washington, a 1.6 mile hike from the summit. The picture below is from the Crawford Path looking at Mt. Monroe.

She started her hike from the Pinkham Notch Visitors Center, hiked 2.2 miles up the Tuckerman Ravine Trail, then linked to the Lions Head Summer Trail and continued 2.1 miles to the summit of Mt. Washington.

Please keep in mind when planning your summit trip to Mt. Washington that the Tuckerman Ravine Trail from Lunch Rocks to the Lip is closed per orders of the United States Forest Service due to the seasonal hazards of falling ice, snow and very wet and dangerous conditions and will open later in June or early July when conditions become safe.

The picture below are the current conditions looking into the bowl of Tuckerman Ravine from the Lions Head Trail; Left Gully as you can see is still ski-able!
From the summit of Mt. Washington, a 4.3 mile one way trip with just over 4,000 feet of elevation gain, she grabbed a snack in the summit building and continued down the Crawford Path to Lakes of the Clouds Hut, a 1.6 mile hike. As you can see from many of the pictures that there are still some small patches of snow and ice still remaining on the high summits. Most lower elevation trails are free of snow and ice, but expect to have muddy conditions in some areas; having gaiters are great for this time of the year to keep your feet dry!


She also spotted some of our alpine flowers starting to bloom, this picture above is of Diapensia which is a commonly found plant found in many alpine zones in the White Mountains! The next couple of weeks will be our peak season for the flowers and if you are interested in a guided hike please call our reservations department to see if there are still some available spots!

For any general questions, conditions information, or trail advice, please feel free to contact us here at the Pinkham Notch Visitor Center front desk. We are available by phone at (603) 466-2721 every day from 6:30 AM to 10:00 PM or by email at amcpinkhaminfo@outdoors.org. To make reservations at AMC Lodges and Huts, please call (603)466-2727 available Monday through Saturday 9am-5pm. Be sure to check weather conditions and avalanche reports before you come and call us here with any questions! We'll see you up here!

Danielle
Backcountry Information Specialist
Pinkham Notch Visitor's Center




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