Mt. Eisenhower via Edmands Path[b]

SummaryHike up Edmands Path to Mt. Eisenhower summit on a very windy day.
Ownerana jaklenec
Creation Date2008-11-24 11:08:12 UTC-0500
DescriptionSunday, November 23, 2008

Leaders: Ana Jaklenec and Monika Schleier-Smith.

Rowers: Wilken-Jon Appen, Hansen Bow, Philippe Luedi, Charles Moore, Vasilka Sopova, Zlatko Vasilkoski.

Others: Alice Luedi and Daniel Vlasic.


Trip Report:

The MIT rowing club wanted to do some hikes for winter training, so when I started planning this trip we were still in October and had nice fall weather. As November 23rd neared it was clear that winter was here. I gave the participants a 30min condensed version of winter school, they rented mouse boots, put together above treeline gear and we were ready.

I wanted to do Mt. Eisenhower via Edmands trail. This is a nice moderate hike with some above treeline and the road to the trail head was still open (it's closed in winter).

We all met at MIT at 5:30am and the 3 cars decided to meet up again at Mountain Bean coffee shop on route 3, but as it turns out it's closed on Sundays. We passed an Irvine at Rt 3 and 302 intersection - also closed. The Brenton Woods Irvine saved the day - it was not only open but had great big bathrooms and unlimited hot water. I think it's still early in the season so a lot of places were closed. On the way to the trail head, Mt. Clinton road was open but not plowed and had a few inches of snow. All the cars, even the sedans, made it without any issues.

We started the hike at 9:40am. Most of the trail below treeline had up to 4in of light 'n fluffy snow with ice underneath. We decided not to use our crampons and avoided the icy areas by going along the edge of the trail. Just before we got to the north ridge we put on our above treeline gear and as we continued we were instantly met with fierce winds blowing from the WNW. Not even a 100 feet out, we encountered some fogging goggles problems so we retreated back where Monika did some magic quick fixing. Our second attempt was successful. There were great views of Mt. Franklin, a bit of Mt. Monroe and the western valley; Mt. Washington was in the clouds. It took a while to the summit up the cone, as the winds were so strong that almost everyone got knocked down at least once. It was rocky with a bit of snow but no ice. We reached the summit at about 1:15pm and spent maybe a total of 60 seconds there before heading straight back. No one even wanted to take a photo - that's how windy and cold it was. We think the winds were 80mph or stronger but we didn't actually measure it. We were moving slow again down the cone due to the strong winds and made it safely below treeline by 2pm. Our descent was pretty uneventful, we briefly stopped to eat some lunch and kept a steady pace. We bare-booted on the way down as well, being careful to avoid the icy spots. We made it to the car at 4pm, just before sunset. Our night ended at the Plymouth Common Man in the Wine room.

Great trip with beautiful views and strong winds. Winter is finally here!!!

-Ana

p.s. the higher summits forecast for that day:
Mostly in the clouds w/ a chance of morning snow showers. Wind chills 45-55 below rising to 35-45 below.
Highs: gradually climbing to around 0 by sunsetĀ°F
Wind: WNW 70-90 mph decreasing to 55-75 mph w/ higher gust