This is always a long one, from Round Pond trailhead. This one is in the High Peaks Region so snowshoes are absolutely required by law; you’ll see many who ignore this… it ruins the trail for anyone who’s skiing and makes snowshoeing dangerous so please don’t be like them.
Day one was up to the Lean-To, then a late start up to the Summit.. well Summit ridge. Things were softening up and water crossings were punching through. The ‘ladder’ up beside the slide was fairly solid (thankfully, it can be very very hard in deep powder conditions which we’ve experienced in the past). I also decided to bring all my gear to the top; in retrospect I should have left most of it at the lean-to because once you’re up on the ridge you’re pushing through dense brush with softening conditions are the weight holds you down.
Around 4pm I decided it was time to turn around and descend back to the car. I was exhausted, the trail had all but vanished and pushing through the brush while sinking deeply into the snow was just too much work. I was about 300 meters from the summit at this point and it’s always a bitter call to turn around when you’re so close. However it was only my second long snowshoe in years and the discomfort was rather intense; and lasted nearly 4 days afterwards… thankfully the conditioning (if not the strength) does return quickly and pretty soon you’re slightly sore for a day and ready to go again.
Every failure is a lesson; take notes early and plan for the next attempt.
Trip Summary
Distance km
Elevation Gained
Elevation Lost
Peaks Summited: None
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