Short out-and-back hike to Gem Pool Falls along the Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail during early March. Original goal was to summit Mt. Washington as a winter ascent, but the weather did not hold out for our cabin reservation and a snow storm blew into the mountains the night before. Arrived at the trailhead around 9AM with morning wind speeds around 20mph at the base of the mountain with summit winds reaching 105mph, so shooting for the summit was pointless. Instead we decided to hike the Ammonoosuc Ravine for as far as we felt comfortable with. Snow was whipping and the precipitation even included a bit of rain. Along the trail during the winter, hikers should be aware of the 45-degree sloping angles that the snowpack creates, which makes it all too easy to trigger small avalanches that could send you down into the creek, located ~20-feet below. We took these sections slowly and carefully - sometimes hiking up into the trees and around the main trail for additional safety. Our crampons provided extra grip on the ice that sat below the snowpack. Postholing was fairly common with some pockets reaching 3-feet deep. Eventually we reached Gem Pool Falls and took a nice long break, taking photos and videos of the icy cascade. We attempted to cross the creek to continue, but the recent warmer temps and rain caused any ice built-up in the creek to turn to complete mush. It was clear that to continue we'd have to risk putting our feet in 6-inch-deep creek water at the very least. We decided to turn around here for safety as summitting was a foolish task that day anyway. Looking forward to another winter summit attempt someday.
Quick hike down to Pixley Falls -- checked out the other waterfalls along the way including Step Falls and Shelf Falls which sits adjacent to the 50-foot tall Pixley Falls. Water was flowing pretty well after all of the recent rain and snow melt. During the Winter, the further parking lot is blocked by plowed snow piles, so the walk in is slightly longer than during the Summer.
Another secluded Winter trek out to Campbell Run Falls. Original goal was to hit Amphitheater Falls for some ice climbing, but the ladder to reach Amphitheater was far too sketchy this trip -- there was no rope attaching the ladder above the rock ledge and being solo, it didn't seem like a good idea. Instead I down climbed from the ladder and stuck around Campbell Run Falls for a while poking at the frozen waterfall with my mixed climbing crampons and ice axes. I had a blast ice climbing the waterfall, but note that it was not fully frozen. I was able to punch holes through the frozen cascade both with my crampons and my ice axes -- due to this I did not do much vertical climbing and instead frontpointed my way up and down the large ice bulge of the frozen cascade. Great day out alone in the middle of the canyon with my ice gear. Oh, also I had to hike down the road and back since the road is closed in the Winter -- another strenuous hike out-and-back here but worth it (to me).
Beautiful day for a mixed climb in the PA Grand Canyon up to Double Drainage Falls. It'd been snowing all day and watching the snow fall in the north canyon made me itch for some canyoneering and ice climbing. On this trip I got to test out my new Scarpa boots and Petzl mixed climbing crampons, which worked great. I went all the way from the Pine Creek Trail (rail trail) up to the top of the canyon via mixed ice and rock climbing within the northern drainage of Double Drainage Falls. I was expecting more thick ice in the lower elevations like in January 2022, but instead I found a lot of thinner ice and lots of rocks which made cramponing difficult for the first part. Eventually the thicker ice started coming out as I ascended the steep canyon slopes. Some parts were sketchy -- lots of loose shale and rocks that had to be tested before being trusted with either my axes or crampons. Lots of smaller 3 to 4-foot tall waterfalls that made for challenging climbs due to the lack of thick ice at the top of them, despite having formed larger layers within the cascades. Still lots of warm water pouring out of the mountains that just doesn't seem to freeze despite our 7-days of ~20-degree temps. Had a blast on this climb. Made it to the top and follows the Pinafore Run Trail back down into the canyon and back to parking just in time for dark, ending 20 minutes after sunset.
Finally got to see Aunt Sarah's Falls in all of its glory during a heavy Winter snow squall. Showed up right as the snow began to really come down, which made for beautiful scenery but soon the waterfall was completely out of sight when viewed from across the road. Came back after the snow stopped to find the 90-foot tall Aunt Sarah's Falls cascading down the bedrock with a dark-green pool of water at its base. Beautiful place when the water is flowing.
Quick walk out to Shequaga Falls after a heavy snow squall. Finally got to see this 165-foot tall waterfall in all its glory. The lower slide-portion of the cascade can mesmerizing as it slowly sloops down the bedrock before quickly sliding off to form another free-fall cascade. Beautiful place in the Winter.
Hiked up to the creek crossing of Haunted Mine Falls. At the time, we had no idea the water level was as high as it was -- unfortunately neither of us wanted to get our feet wet on this cold Autumn day so we turned back. Found that the trail was tough to hike on with lots of rocks.
Beautiful area after a snowfall. Hard to see the waterfall though but it didn't matter much -- the winter wonderland was worth the short walk in. Turquoise waters of Wilson Creek pop with the snow covering everything.
Did a bit of maintenance along the trail to the top, hence the short distance. Hoped to see snowstorm on the horizon but got up to the summit a bit early.
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