Mount Whiteface

Trails Used

Blueberry Ledge, Rollins

Trail Conditions

Notes

Out and back up to the summit of Whiteface via Blueberry Ledge trail. The trail was a mixed bag of hard ice, packed snow, exposed dirt/rocks, unstable monorail, and ledge. Took my spikes on and off multiple times during the day. The steep ledges were almost fully clear of snow/ice, although there were wet sections where water was running off. I found these wet sections to be very slippery so I recommend avoiding them at all costs.

Parking

Parked at Ferncroft. Appreciate the "Head in Parking Only" signs.

Water Crossings

Easy to step around the water on trails

Wildlife

Saw one or two

Also on this trip

Trail Conditions

Notes

Spring conditions with variable footing ranging from good to significant flow ice on trail between peaks. Hiker wore microspikes and snowshoes all day. Part of 576 peaks grid challenge (48 peaks × 12 months). Guided trip with Redline Guide Chase Hall.

Water Crossings

Water crossing between the two peaks, log crossing, microspikes helped with traction

Also on this trip

Trails Used

Blueberry Ledge Trail, Rollins Trail, Dicey Mills Trail, Walden Trail,

Trail Conditions

Equipment

Notes

Spring conditions down low, will be spring conditions above 3000’ very soon. I posted pictures on AllTrails if you want to see the mix of conditions. There is a mix of bare trail, ice, and packed snow. Coverage above 3000’ is pretty good. I bare shoed the whole trail but had to go slower in some area to make sure I was avoiding ice. With the rain and warm temperatures coming this week, below 3000’ could become bare trail pretty soon as long the snow melt doesn’t refreeze after this week.

Also on this trip

Trails Used

Blueberry Ledge Trail, Rollins Trail, Dicey Mills Trail

Trail Conditions

Equipment

Notes

Overall, conditions were pretty good! Started up around 9 am and bare booted the first mile. The trail got a bit icy at that point. So I put on my Hillsound spikes and kept them on for the remainder of the hike. Heading up the blueberry Ledge Trail, there was a mix of frozen snow, ice, and bare rock. As much as I would have loved to use the televators on my snowshoes on the steeps, the trail was much too boney. The tricky ledges were mostly bare at the start, with sections of frozen snow and ice. Further up, they were mostly covered in frozen snow, making it easier to navigate in spikes. The rollins trail was a frozen monorail all the way to the Dicey Mills Trail junction. And the hike up Passaconaway from the junction was surprisingly easy, given that the steep rock scrambles were covered in a thick layer of hard packed snow with only small patches of ice, easily avoidable. The last two miles following the water crossing on Dicey Mills were slushy over frozen snow.

Parking

Plenty of parking in lot. The dirt road to parking lot is in pretty good shape. There's a portable toilet in the lot.

Water Crossings

The water crossing on Dicey Mills was low. You could rock hop it or take the log crossing over it. Water level is likely to increase with the upcoming warm temps and rain.

Also on this trip

Trails Used

Blueberry Ledge Trail, Rollins Trail, Dicey's Mill Trail

Trail Conditions

Equipment

Notes

We expected some bare trail to start but didn't get it. We bare booted the first 1.5 miles and put on Hillsound Pros at the first junction. The trail had packed snow in some places and ice in others. The first ledge was way easier than in previous months. There was thick ice at the bottom, so we hacked at it with trekking poles and made a little step to get up the first part of the ledge. The ledges higher up had more ice but with caution were easy to get up. At the junction with the Rollins trail I switched to snowshoes. There was a breakable crust on top of unpacked powder which made for tedious footing but the snowshoes did well. At the junction with Dicey's Mill trail I switched back into Hillsound Pros. The temps were making the snow sticky and the anti-balling plates were helpful. The colder temps kept the trail pretty firm. Descending we stayed in Pros but the snow was getting increasingly slippery and slushy due to the sun. We took the Pros off for the last mile and just bare booted. The base under held up well so we had no postholing. Another stellar day in the Whites!

Parking

The parking lot was plowed with plenty of room. The road leading to the parking area was icy and slushy this morning.

Water Crossings

We used the downed tree bridge to cross the stream on Dicey's Mill trail.

Wildlife

Still in Hell