Our first winter climb was a memorable experience. I left Cape Cod at 4:00 p.m. to meet the others
at 5:00. Tony was late as usual so we left at 5:30 for what should have been a three hour tour, "a three hour tour".
The trip to our motel in Plymouth N.H. (yes, we actually stayed in a motel),actually took us 7 hours.
We got caught on 93 North in southern N.H. in an ice storm. After moving about 10 miles in 2 hours
we got off to eat. When we got back on an hour later it was not much better until we got to Manchester, then the
storm was gone and so were we. We finally arrived at the motel at 12:30 a.m. The next morning we were at the diner for
breakfast at 8:00 a.m. and at Champney Falls trailhead by 9:00 only an hour later than planned.
After dressing for winter travel we were off. There was about 8"-12" of new powder but it was
packed, thanks to the guys in front of us. At the cascades we took the side trail to Champney Falls.
There we were treated to a couple of ice climbers going up the falls. Back on the trail we learned
that trying to get the correct combination of clothes to stay comfortable was harder than we thought.
After a couple of hours and several switchbacks we arrived above treeline at the terminus of Piper trail.
Time to put on more clothes and sunglasses as the sun was bright and the wind had picked up considerably.
It was very windy and icy with deep drifts up the ledges towards the summit. We climbed with 2 other
groups to the top. The summit had fantastic 360 degree views but it was cold, 10 degrees and 40 mph gusts.
Just enough time for pictures, then back to treeline, out of the wind to eat. We dug out an area and fired
up the Whisperlites, to dine on pasta primavera, zucchini lasagna, oatmeal, hot chocolate and coffee.
After eating, relaxing and eating again we packed up and headed down.
The trip down was quiet and peaceful as the sun was setting in the mountains. We are already planning
another winter trip in February, maybe this time we will camp out for the real experience.
DMP