Tripyramid Snowshoe Ramble

On a chilly, partly sunny morning I rendezvoused with my friend Daniel Newton at the Livermore trailhead in Waterville Valley. Our plan was to head in the south end of the Mount Tripyramid Trail and bushwhack to some open hardwood glades in the Cold Brook drainage on the western slopes of Mount Tripyramid. Daniel was seeking to make some ski runs through the glades and I was looking forward to snowshoeing through the open woods on a solid snow base.

The 2.2 mile groomed section of Livermore Trail, listed as closed by the WV Nordic Center, was a mix of ice and thin hardpacked snow cover, perfect for a quick microspike walk.

Beyond the groomed section, Livermore Trail was choppy and lumpy, and I quickly exchanged spikes for snowshoes.

White Cascade on Slide Brook was rockin'.

On to the Mount Tripyramid Trail.

Into the Wilderness, after a somewhat awkward rock-hop across Avalanche Brook.

Gateway to the Wilderness with Tripyramid seen through the trees.

Crossing one of three tributary brooks in the first 0.3 mile.

Icy cascade on Slide Brook.

The Mount Tripyramid Trail was lumpy with a crusty layer on top and a single set of boot prints.

Clouds had obscured the sun, it was still cold, and the snow was solid and crusty in the woods, which would have made for unpleasant skiing in the glades. So Daniel reluctantly made the decision to turn around and head out. As it turned out, the top layer of snow didn't soften up until later in the afternoon, when the sun made a partial return.

For this snowshoer, the solid snowpack, created by a couple of thaw-freeze cycles, was a gift I had been waiting for all winter. I left the trail before the crossing of Cold Brook and made my way to an old logging road (probably from the mid-1900s) that led eastward at a gentle grade.

I call this the "drainpipe tree" and Daniel dubs it the "perseverant tree."

 

I continued up to a familiar and beautiful glade of sugar maples, with the sun making intermittent appearances.

 

I found a patch of dry bare ground for a lunch break.

 

Early spring beauty.

I retraced my steps partway down the slope and dipped to cross Cold Brook on mossy rocks.

From here I made a southeastward traverse across the slope through endless ranks of open hardwoods. The snowshoeing was the best of the season. 

Who needs a choppy, lumpy trail when this is the alternative?

After a mile of sweet snowshoeing, I briefly rejoined that choppy, lumpy trail.

I cut the corner with another bit of open woods bushwhacking.

After rejoining the trail very briefly at the foot of the 1869 South Slide - the slide the trail climbs - I bushwhacked a short distance south across two gullies. Then I headed up through conifers - where the snowpack was shallow and sugary - to the shorter South Slide that fell during Tropical Storm Irene in 2011.

I popped out at the base of the open part of the slide.

A thin layer of firm crusty snow with good grip allowed me to snowshoe up the slide, which carved out quite a gouge in the mountainside. This slide is relatively low angle, though short pitches run up to 30 degrees.

Near the top of the open section I made my way to a rock seat and sat for a while to enjoy the view out to Sandwich Dome, Stinson Mountain, Welch & Dickey, Carr Mountain and Killington Peak far off in Vermont.

From the south edge of the slide, a view of Mount Tecumseh.

Looking up the narrow upper part of the slide.

From the 2011 slide I bushwhacked a short distance south through prickly conifers to the remaining lower open patches of the 1885 South Slide. It was fun snowshoeing up these, with the sun now softening the top layer of snow.

Looking up to the ridge.

I climbed to a favorite spot with an intimate view over the remote and wild Lost Pass area and Sandwich Dome beyond.

Zoom on Lost Pass, with Mount Israel seen through the cut. It was comfortable enough here to sit on my pack for a half-hour and take in the scene. The Pack Monadnocks and Crotched Mountain could be seen in the distance.

Heading back down.

Breakable crust on the trail just below the 1869 South Slide. It was an easy choice to follow my slightly longer bushwhack route down rather than navigate the crusty trail.

A magnificent old yellow birch.

Late afternoon sun in the hardwoods. It doesn't get much better than this.

Sweet.

Descending the old logging road on the north side of Cold Brook.

An artifact.

Moon over the Depot Camp clearing with South Tripyramid peeking over the trees.

 

 

Winslow Ledge

Having gotten into spring mode, I drove down towards Hanover with the faint hope of finding some bare ground hiking despite some recent snowfall in the Whites. There was new snow down there as well. I thought I would climb South Moose Mountain along the AT, but the beginning of the dirt road sequence in Hanover leading to the trailhead was in prime mud season form. So I turned around and came up with Plan B: drive up the paved (though frost-heaved) Dorchester Road to the Dartmouth Skiway, climb up the ski trails, and from the top bushwhack to the 2285-foot summit of Winslow Ledge. From there I would seek a couple of clifftop perches I have seen several times from nearby Holts Ledge. This would be all new territory for me.

 

I parked at a designated spot for hikers and walked up to the base of the ski slopes to study the trail map. A ski area employee who was passing by advised using the MD Trail, which loops out to the left. Thanks!

Skies were clearing nicely as I started up the mountain.

The snow was a few inches deep on the ski trail, in places masking ice lurking beneath.
 

 

 First views back towards Vermont

 

Making tracks.

 

 

Nice wide corridor through the hardwoods.

Perhaps this was once pastureland.

Near the top of the ski trail every branch was delicately cloaked in snow.

View out to the Green Mountains from the top of the ski slope.

The mile-long southeastward bushwhack to the summit of Winslow Ledge was 98% through hardwoods. Above the Skiway, most of Winslow Ledge, including the summit and cliffs, is within an outlying parcel of the White Mountain National Forest.

An early peek at Holts Ledge with Bear Hill beyond.

 

Beautiful open hardwoods on this ridge.

Lacy beauty.

Snow magic.

Arriving at the knob shown as the summit on the USGS Smarts Mountain quadrangle. Nice old spruces here. I didn't find a summit register at this spot. Later, at home, I saw on a lidar 2-foot contour map that there was another summit bump of the same elevation just to the SE. That must be the location of the register.

I headed back to the NW, descending to the steep south edge of the ridge in search of the cliffs.

Found a clifftop perch - and snow-free, too!

Wide views to the south on a crystal-clear afternoon. The most prominent peaks are North and South Moose Mountains in Hanover, which are traversed by the Appalachian Trail.

Zoomed.

Down-look.

Looking out towards Sunapee Mountain on the horizon.

Zoomed.

 

Holts Ledge, also on the Appalachian Trail, is close by to the west.

An array of Green Mountain peaks on the horizon between North Moose Mountain and Holts Ledge. The most distant visible peaks were Haystack Mountain and Dorset Peak in southern Vermont.

A clear view of Killington and Shrewsbury Peaks.

 

A bit farther to the west was another clifftop outlook, with a wider view of Holts Ledge and the Green Mountains.

Another big dropoff.

Following my tracks back down the ridge.

 

Descending along the bare edge of the ski trail, avoiding the ice hidden under the snow.