Mt Avalon (Saturday)

Summary
Ownerana jaklenec
Creation Date2011-01-10 18:30:05 UTC-0500
DescriptionParticipants: Christie Ciarlo, Michal Depa, Johanna Bernstein, David M. Gray, Jill Waring, Brian Hedden, Nadya Peek, Kristi-Jo Preston

Leaders: Daniel Vlasic and Ana Jaklenec

This was a fun hike with a great group, a lot more snow than expected, and clear views of Mt Washington and the Presidentials. The plan was to do Mt Avalon, Mt Field and Mt Tom loop, but we turned back after a leisurely lunch on the first summit. The temperatures were in the teens, but with virtually no wind, it made for a very pleasant hike. We started around 10am on the Avalon trail, summited at 12:45pm with about 1500' of vertical gain, and were back at the trail head at 3:30pm. We bare-booted most of the ascent, except for the steepest sections near the summit, where we used crampons. Our descent was fast due to the ideal glissading conditions, though our butts were not as appreciative. Participants were exposed to many winter school skills: crampons, ice axes, stove, stream crossings, glissading and self-arrest.