28 January 06: Mount Kearsarge in winter
28 January 06: Mount Kearsarge in winter
A balmy day in midwinter is a perfect time to climb Mount Kearsarge.
The access road is closed and unplowed, so we parked at the base and
walked in to the trailhead. Quite a few locals drove in with four
wheel drive.
On the trail, it's quite icy, with some sections like a frozen
waterfall. Beautiful, but tricky to climb without crampons.
On the way up, we met a rescue team bringing down a stretcher ... but
soon found out that this was a drill, not an actual
emergency. Seriously equipped, all with crampons and ice axes and
such. They were practicing using the radios and rappelling the
stretcher down a major ice waterfall. There was a woman in the
stretcher, all bundled up in a sleeping bag, but not appearing
distressed.
This is the radio guy, reporting that a major storm front was
imminent. When we asked, the guy assured us it was part of the drill,
not an actual weather emergency (phew).
After the rescue team passed, we ascended the ice cascade that they
were rappelling down. Some very tricky sections here. Next time I'll
at least get those little strap-on cleats for the ice. Beautiful though.
The summit offers fine views as well as wind-sculpted snow formations.
Unfortunately my camera's batteries died here and I didn't get any
more pictures -- but this frosted alpine landscape is breathtaking.
This page maintained by
Wil Howitt
Last updated 30 January 2006
