Just finished a two-day/one-night trip to Mount Adams.
We left from Appalachia on Thursday morning about 11:45. Took Airline to Shortline to Spur Trail to get to Crag Camp. Total trip distance - 3.8 miles.
We did the first three miles in 2 hours and 25 minutes.
We did the last .8 miles in 2 hours and 50 minutes.
The trail was unbroken, and the snow was 3 to 6 feet deep.
After we arrived, we immediately started melting snow for hot drinks and supper. Indoor cabin temperature was about 5 deg F when we arrived (sun was still up at 5:00 pm). Overnight low was about -10 F outdoors, indoors was probably -5F.
When it's that cold and dry when you're hiking, you lose a lot of liquids between perspiration and exhalation. So we spent the hours between 5:00 pm and 8:00 pm just constantly slamming hot tea, hot chocolate (and some single malt), and then had a nice chicken pot pie dinner. Went to bed (in my nice sleeping bag rated for -20 conditions) and felt OK. Woke up every three hours and had to go outside to pee. There's nothing like getting up in the middle of the night, putting on frozen boots, and going outside. Multiple times.
On Friday morning, we tried to ascend Mt. Madison (from Crap Camp, it's easy to reach either Madison or Adams). Once we got above treeline, we noticed the wind. It wasn't too bad, but combined with the sub-zero temperature it was a little concerning. I turned back after an hour of hiking, as I didn't feel comfortable going on. The rest of the group stayed out another hour or so, and made it up to Thunderstorm Junction. The wind was still acceptable, but two of the group had feet so cold that they didn't feel good about going on, either. So by noon we were all back at Crag Camp, and rather than staying on for one more night (the original plan), we hiked back out, and drove back on Friday night.
When you're wearing a 50 lb pack, and snowshoes, and you fall in 5 feet of powder, it doesn't hurt. But it takes every joule of energy in your body to regain your footing. And it's really easy to fall when you're going downhill and you're top-heavy because of the pack.
And this was about the same place as where the hiker from NY was killed (I don't know if you've heard about her, but it was front page news in the NY Times and Boston Globe). We were one trail over - she went up the Valley Way path. The big difference was that we were watching the weather, and postponed our trip by a week to avoid the extreme wind conditions. Cold is not a problem if you have the right gear. But no one with experience in the mountains in the winter will try to deal with high winds.
In the pictures, I'm the one in the gray rag wool hat.
