It took me a long time to get going on this bitterly cold, windy day, but I finally headed in to the Greeley Ponds around 12:30 pm. The Greeley Ponds hiking trailhead has not been plowed for several years, but on this day the lot was well-packed by vehicle traffic and easy to access. The trail was a solid microspike highway, packed down by Osceola peakbaggers.
The Greeley Ponds Trail was not as solidly packed after the Mount Osceola Trail junction, so I switched to snowshoes here.
Cold winter beauty at solidly frozen Upper Greeley Pond. The wind was biting, especially at the south end of the pond.
Striking views up to the rugged ridge of East Osceola.
Zoom on the two upper forks of a long slide that fell off East Osceola in the 1950s.
The Mount Osceola Trail climbs alongside this huge slab at ~3300 ft. It is part of an old slide that came crashing down in 1892. On the lower slope it merges with the 1950s slide track. I intended to climb partway up the merged slide track after visiting the ponds.
The cliffs on the NE ridge of East Osceola. There are ice climbing routes up there, including one dubbed "Drool of the Beast."
Wide angle shot of East Osceola from the SE corner of Upper Greeley Pond.
Looking north down the pond.
The west knob of Mt. Kancamagus from the SW corner of the pond.
Zoom on the K2 Cliff, so named by Waterville Valley hikers in the early 1900s. There was actually a short-lived trail that led up to the top.
I followed the gently descending trail through open hardwoods on the floor of Mad River Notch, down to Lower Greeley Pond.
The west knob of Mt. Kancamagus and the K2 Cliff from the NW corner of Lower Greeley Pond.
Looking south down Lower Greeley Pond to the SW ridge of Mt. Kancamagus and a side profile of the K1 Cliff. The wind was brutal here, so it was a short visit.
The combined lower track of the 1950s and 1892 slides comes right down to the trail just south of Upper Greeley Pond. The long, curving 1950s slide is fairly popular with backcountry skiers. Luckily for me, there was a rock-solid, snowshoe-wide ski track providing me a route up the gently-rising lower track, leading up to the foot of the long, steep part of the slide.
Approaching the steep section.
Access to the first steep pitch looked difficult, so I opted to bushwhack around it.
I climbed up through a steep little gully.
Up through the woods.
Tracks.
Much of the slide is down in a steep-sided gully.
Farther up, I worked my way down to a wide section of the slide.
I snowshoed a zigzag route up this snowy, moderately-graded swath. Looking back, I could see the sunlit SW ridge of Mt. Kancamagus.
Close-up of an ice bulge, of which there are many on this slide. The passage through these ice bulges was a little too steep for my liking. Though avalanche danger below 3000 ft. was rated as low by the Mt. Washington Avalanche Center on this day, I wanted to avoid the steepest grades (~30 degrees or more).
So I retraced my tracks down to the base of this swath and headed back into the woods to bypass the ice bulges.
Catching a nice view of Mt. Tripyramid from the woods above the edge of the slide.
I struggled up through some dense woods and popped back out onto the slide above the ice bulges, where the grade is less steep.
Zoom on the slabby slide below the K2 Cliff.
Looking up the slide to the crest of East Osceola far above.
An inviting snowy corridor ahead.
Looking back. It was tempting to climb farther up the slide, but the hour was late.
Heading back down.
The profile on the K1 Cliff overlooks Tripyramid.
Making my way down a steep pitch along the edge, where the snow cover was thinner.
Wonderful spot.
Tracks along the edge.
Side view.
Back down through the woods.
Along the lower track.
Heading back across Upper Greeley Pond.
Dusk view of East Osceola.
Parting shot.
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