| Description | Matt, David, Sree, Oceane, and Cedric set out on Sunday morning to hike Mt. Washington by the Ammonoosuc ravine trail. The trail was quite icy but we managed to make it to the top in microspikes in about 4h. We met quite a variety of groups on the trail, including a guided group in crampons, a father and son, two AMC hut caretakers, and a solo hiker in tennis shoes with no traction who had turned back due to the ice and was trying to glissade down. We saw the AMC group at the Lake of the Clouds hut and they noted that this was the least amount of snow and ice above treeline in several years, and one of the iciest years below treeline. It was 22°F with 40 mph winds at the summit, and after taking in the views from the observatory deck we took shelter behind the summit restaurant building to enjoy lunch in the sun and out of the wind. We decided to descend by the cog railway, which was free of ice and offered a quick descent in 2h. |