It took a long time this winter, but finally the White Mountains lived up to their name.
On Friday 18 inches of snow fell in the White Mountains. It was cold during the storm and stayed that way through the weekend, which meant that the snow stayed dry and fluffy- a rare condition in the northeast!
I deeply regret that I didn’t call in sick on Friday and go skiing on the freshest of fresh powder, but unfortunately work won out in the work/life balance that day. On Saturday the snow was still there, and it stayed cold enough that it hadn’t consolidated into what ski resorts call “packed power” and everybody else calls “hardpack”. I skied at Waterville valley in the best snow conditions I’ve ever encountered in New England!
I didn’t take may pictures, mostly because when I was on the lift it was cold in the wind and my phone was buried in a warm pocket in an insulating weather to preserve the battery. When I wasn’t on the lift I was skiing. You’ll have to take my word it was a really good day!
Sunday was a different kind of adventure– a winter training with the Pemigewassett Search & Rescue team. It was 2 degrees F when we met at the trailhead for a quick briefing and gear review. Layering for SAR missions is tricky because they combine strenuous exercise with long periods of standing around, which is the perfect combination to get first sweaty and then chilled.
We headed up the Webster-Jackson trail in deep snow that had already been pretty well packed down by other hikers.
It was a lovely day with the trees still cloaked with snow and the light cloud cover burning off through the day. Temperatures in the valley eventually warmed into the mid-teens. During the uphill portion of the day I stripped off several layers to keep from overheating.
As soon as I got to the top, I put all my layers back on. The trees had protected us from the wind for most of the hike, but this was not a good day to linger in the piercing wind at the summit, despite the beauty of the views.
It was a spectacularly clear view along the Presidential range stretched out to the north east
And across horizons at multiple distances to the west
But I think my favorite view from the summit was the wind sculpted snow drifts.
We hiked back down the trail far enough to get out of the wind and to warm up a bit before starting the next portion of our training day: packaging one lucky team member in our rescue sked and sliding him down the snowy trail. Winter rescue missions are far less common than spring/summer/fall missions, so it’s always nice to get some practice with the less familiar equipment when there isn’t a patient in distress right in front of us.
All in all, a very good weekend. When I finally stopped moving my legs felt like jello, but the good kind of jello. I would probably not have set out to climb Mt. Jackson on a single digit day of my own volition (and I certainly wouldn’t have done it solo), but with the team I really enjoyed it. It’s also nice to get the confirmation that I have all the right clothing and to stay safe and warm in the winter. I do need to make one adjustment to my cold weather systems. The cold is hard on batteries, and when I got back to my car the battery on my key fob was dead. In the future I’ll stash it in an inner pocket where it will stay a little warmer from my body heat.