On a gray but relatively warm day I headed into the interior of the Flume Brook valley for some off-trail snowshoe exploration. I found deep powder in a vast, steep birch glade, a unique view of Mt. Flume, and more views from a talus slope on the flank of Mt. Liberty.
Mts. Liberty and Flume were visible in the morning as I descended to the Flume Covered Bridge, but for most of the day they would be in the clouds.
At the top of The Flume, Avalanche Falls was a pillar of ice.
The recent cold weather had draped the walls of The Flume with plenty of ice.
From the top of the Flume paths, I followed the snowshoe tracks I had made three days earlier on a bushwhack up the slope to the Flume Slide Trail. The tracks were partly filled with a couple inches of new powder.
This must be one of the champion sugar maples of the valley.
Towering.
The Flume Slide Trail had been boot-chopped over the weekend, but I smoothed it out fairly well with two passes of my snowshoes.
The two crossings of Flume Brook farther up the valley were rock-hops; despite the cold weather snow/ice bridges had not formed very well.
The first 2 1/2 miles of the Flume Slide Trail is a very pleasant hike/snowshoe, leading at mellow grades up a beautiful valley. Quite a contrast with the upper 3/4 mile, one of the most challenging trail segments in the Whites.
A fine sense of seclusion in the upper valley.
The north branch of Flume Brook, which flows down from the innermost recesses of the bowl enclosed by Mt. Liberty, Mt. Flume and Hardwood Ridge.
Here I headed off-trail into a glade that is the gateway to the inner sanctum of the Flume Brook basin.
In here there was superb snowshoeing through an ample cover of heavy powder atop a firm crusty base.
Heading over to the vast birch glades that cloak the eastern flank of Mt. Liberty's south ridge. These are the legacy of a 1908 forest fire that burned more than 400 acres.
Birches!
First tracks guaranteed out here.
No snow drought in these woods.
The upper part of Mt. Flume was socked in, but there were frequent views of the lower slides through the trees.
Deep winter beauty.
It doesn't get much better than this.
Flume's summit had emerged!
Farther up the slope I entered an open conifer forest where the snow cover was much thinner.
One of my objectives was a small snowy gully that shows up prominently on the most recent Google Earth image of this area. I had hoped it might offer a view, but it was too closed in with trees to provide any openings.
As luck would have it, a small blowdown opening above the edge of the gully was positioned just right for a unique view of Mt. Flume and its great western slides.
This was the view I was looking for!
I was now at an elevation of 3100 ft. I knew there was an open talus slope up above at 3300 ft. The climb would be steep, and the afternoon was getting on, but I decided to give it a try.
On the way up I crossed an early 1900s logging road that I knew would provide an easier route back down the valley.
The climb was steeper than it looks here, providing a good test of snowshoe grip and maneuverability.
There's the talus slope!
I continued up through wiry birches along the edge.
One last steep pitch to get into the open.
Unfortunately Mt. Flume had put its head back into a cloud, but I still had a good view of the slides.
Many ice bulges could be seen on the lower part of the slide.
A neat view across the Flume Brook basin to Hardwood Ridge, which bears its own snowy talus patch.
It was now mid-afternoon, so my stay on the talus was short.
Heading back to the trees.
The trees provided helpful handholds on the steep, slippery descent.
I was happy to get down to the old logging road, which I had traversed on a previous climb to a different talus slope.
Where not obstructed by blowdowns or snow-draped conifers, the roadbed provided delightful snowshoeing.
Eventually I left the old road for a steep descent down the slope through the birch glades.
The steep pitch of the slope made for a challenging descent due to the hard crust beneath the powder. I did a lot of slow side stepping/sliding on the edge of control. There was also the occasional branch or rock hidden under the snow.
The glades go ever on...and down, with a few critter tracks seen along the way. At the bottom I met my inbound tracks and was soon cruising down the mellow Flume Slide Trail.
I followed my tracks down to the Flume paths by headlamp with a light snow falling, wrapping up a memorable day.
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