To: mitoc@MIT.EDU
Subject: Trip report, Franconia Ridge, 4/2
Date: Sat, 02 Apr 94 22:35:39 EST

A party of 4, including Harvard and MIT OC members, climbed up the Old Bridle
Path to the summit of Mt. Lafayette, traversed Franconia Ridge to Little
Haystack, and descended the Falling Waters Trail to the starting point.

Snow Conditions:  In the morning, an inch or two of powder on top of a
solid crust, overlying a 3-5 foot base.  The snow looked like white sugar.
By the afternoon, the snow had started to melt, leaving a somewhat granular
surface, although the crust and base were still intact.

Hiking conditions:  excellent excellent excellent.

Equipment:  Snowshoes not necessary.  Crampons necessary above treeline,
where there is no free snow, and lots of ice.  Ice axe not necessary but
helpful.  Slush Turtle repellent not used.

Trail notes:  The views from the Bridle Path are much greater than usual
because a lot of the screening underbrush is under one's feet, buried be-
neath snow.  The waterfalls along the Falling Waters trail are still al-
most entirely frozen.  Mt. Mansfield, the highest summit in Vermont, was
visible from the top half of the Bridle Path.

Prognosis:  Hiking around Franconia Notch (and by extension the White Mtns.
in general) should be good for a few more days, perhaps a week, depending
on the warmth of the weather--the hiking is more likely to be good if the
weather is cold, and more likely to be good on North-facing slopes.  Is
the snow in Tuckerman's Ravine going to be gone by the first snow of next
winter?  

Jim Reardon
