We
skiied into the deep, deep blue sky over the summit of Moosilauke on
Sunday morning. We had just skiied up the Carriage Road and across
the summit ridge to the summit, in the snowiest conditions any of
us could remember. The entire east slope of the summit cone was a smooth snowfield, and there was 4-6' of snow
on trail across the ridge. Although some clouds danced around the
summits of the other major Whites summits, Moosilauke and Washington
shone clear and white in the deep blue sky.
The weather was very warm, about
20-25 degrees, although there was a very strong west wind that made
the ridge-crossing bitter cold. Out of the
wind and in the sun, sitting on the slope east of the summit, though,
we enjoyed a comfortable early lunch. Early because we had made it to
the summit by 11am, after a 7am (yawn) start encouraged by Dan Nelson.
Although snowmachines we passed on the way down had packed the trail into a
slick gully, the snow was deep and fluffy, which was good considering how
fast we were going when we flew off the trail and into the trees. Despite
our best efforts at snowplow and tele turns, we all took some spectacular
face plants.
The crew consisted of Dave Hooke, Ed Lowney, myself, Dan Nelson
and his friends Leo and York, a young DOC chubber named Bart, and two
excited dogs. The "Best Shades" award goes to Ed and Dave Hooke. What a blast. Thanks for
pushing us to get up early, Dan.
