Mount Pierce: 1/28/19

A cold bluebird day for an old winter favorite.

With the parking for Crawford Connector not plowed, current access is via the original route of the Crawford Path up from Rt. 302.

Great snowshoeing conditions today, with the 3" snowfall from the previous day provding a soft layer atop the old hardpacked track.

Ample snow depth, even down low.

A fellow snowshoer heads up the Crawford Path. A busy day for a Monday - met 17 other hikers, 11 on snowshoes (yay) and 6 wearing spikes.

A champion posthole, deeper than the length of my ski pole. Ouch!

Gorgeous day.

A cold, deep midwinter blanket in the woods.

It always seems to take a long time to reach this junction.

Hello there!

Guess I can spare a couple pieces of bread...

Ain't winter grand.

Tunnel effect.

First views.

Stellar day.

Big drifts, which can make the trail difficult to follow. The most-used route to the summit on this day went directly up through the scrub. The Webster Cliff Trail route was quite icy.

North Twin, Hale and western horizons.

Mts. Isolation and Davis across the Dry River valley. Kearsarge North pokes up in the distance.

 Deep drifted snow at the summit lifts you for some winter-only views. With a temp not far above zero, the little summit enclave had plenty of sun and provided shelter from the biting breeze. I managed to spend an hour at the summit in the early afternoon, when the winds had abated somewhat.

 Twin Range.

  Classic Presy view from Pierce.

Another angle.

Closer.

Northern vista to Waumbek, Cabot etc. All told, you can see 30 NH 4000-footers from Pierce in winter.

 Camel's Hump (at left edge of photo) and Mt. Mansfield (left of center) were clearly visible today.

Inviting open fir woods beside the Crawford Path.

View from the Snowbank: Willard, Field and Avalon.