Mark Renson
New member
Saturday morning, hunters everywhere !! High tech bows, rifles with scopes, brand new shotguns, etc - sweet toys to thin out the herd ! <BR> Anyway, Wildcat was making snow (still not opened), though it appeared that Cannon was not. Hiked up to Hermit Lake on Mt Washington and pitched my tent (yes, there are 3-4 tentsites, there). Some turns have been made on the Sherburne Trail, and the ranger claimed that there are some "pockets" .... hmmm, it sure didn't look worth it! A snowboarder and a guy with snow blades went into the bowl, but they were disappointed. There was not even enough snow for me to practice ice axe self-arrest; many ice-climbers, though, and I was envious. I did some bouldering/cramponing around on the ice bulges, ledges and ramps and worked on my ice axe handling and even plunged into some drifts up to my knees. My new 0 degree Marmot bag was toasty last night as the temps dropped to 14F. Today, I ventured above the ravine and found some great cramponing until I ran into thigh deep drifts of unconsolidated snow and I plunged in between boulders which slowed me, burned me out and discouraged me from summitting. I opted to hike around the Alpine Gardens, instead. Not much snow and no skiable potential, anywhere. Pillows and drifts of snow above the ravine and especially at the top of the Left Gully - 4 more months of work ahead ! It was great being out, though. In many ways, this is my favorite time of the year to go North as there are no crowds and the sublime feel of early Winter in the high elevations touches my heart.
