North Tripyramid

Stretch, Chuckles, Jenn, and I started up the Pine Bend Brook Trail toward the Tripyramids. It was packed snow and level for about a mile and a half, and then it started to climb and the snow got a lot more powdery. For about a mile long section, the snow was so deep that we all kept postholing with snowshoes on. Poor Jenn had mountaineering snowshoes, which have a smaller footprint, and was going even deeper than the rest of us. It’s the first time I wasn’t wishing for mountaineering snowshoes in the Whites and was happy to have what I do.

Layer break

Layer break

Getting up to the views through very deep snow

Getting up to the views through very deep snow

There were two people on the trail ahead of us, so we weren’t completely breaking trail, but it sure felt like it. Some steps would be hip high, and my snowshoe would slide down it three times before actually getting a good grip. We kept thinking we could see the top of the section, but more trail kept appearing. The snow finally started to get slightly firmer again towards the top. Chuckles and I went ahead to the plateau to be able to tell Stretch and Jenn how far it was. We made it to the top and I yelled to get their attention, and then yelled “We’re at the top!” A voice from the trees to my right yelled back, “No, you’re not!” It seemed like a tree was yelling at me. Chuckles and I busted up laughing while I tried to yell back at the guy/tree that I meant the top of this section, and yell to my friends that it was indeed the top.

Mount Washington

Mount Washington

Old man's beard

Old man’s beard

Stretch and Jenn made it up to the plateau with us and we sat having lunch in the sun. Then we turned south along the ridge and had about a half mile section of level trail again before the final climb to North Tripyramid at 4180′, which was way less steep, and way more packed, than the first climb. There was a beautiful view of the Presidential range from a couple of overlooks just off the summit.

Summit of North Tripyramid

Summit of North Tripyramid

View of the Presidents

View of the Presidents

Group photo

Group photo

We had reached our turnaround time, so we skipped the further peaks, and it was time for the fun part: glissading down. There were a couple short sections of sliding up top, we walked over the plateau, and then we were back to the deep snow. We took turns being the first person down since that person’s ride was more of a scoot as she broke trail for everyone else to slide down much faster. The trail was a deep trough through powder, but sometimes I still slid right off the side and got stuck in very deep, soft snow. We probably were able to glissade about a mile total. It was great!

Glissading!

Glissading!

3 Comments

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  1. First! haha Keely! 🙂 Love the photos. Miss you.

  2. Bernie and I might have to posthole over to your Dad’s with our snowshoes on tomorrow, we are supposed to go there to jam. Have fun kids!

  3. Commenting to beat Kelly…
    JK! Great group shots!

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