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Mt Adams (5774′) and Mt Madison (5367′) are the second highest and fifth highest 4 thousand footers within the White Mountains. They’re often hiked collectively on the identical day as a result of they’re adjoining on the northernmost finish of the Presidential Vary.
Climbing Adams and Madison is a tough day in any climate, however it may be downright brutal in winter situations when you need to carry additional clothes, traction aids, snowshoes, meals, and sizzling ingesting water up each peaks, the latter to forestall it from freezing throughout the day. Face safety is usually required to forestall frostbite, and visibility could be poor as a consequence of low clouds, freezing fog, or blowing snow, making it tough to comply with the paths resulting in the summits There are completely different routes one can take to climb each peaks, however typically, you’re taking a look at a 10-mile day with near 5000′ of elevation acquire.
I climbed each Adams and Madison final December (’23) and this January (’24) precisely one month aside. In December, I used to be accompanied by my pals Lynn and Barbara, and by my buddy Tom in January. All of them are very skilled winter hikers and folks I belief to hike with above treeline in winter. Like me, they’re additionally engaged on the White Mountain 4000 Footer Grid, which requires climbing all 48 White Mountain 4 thousand footers in every calendar month of the yr (often over a number of years.) It takes loads of perseverance and willpower to finish this peak-bagging listing though it’s very rewarding as a result of you’ll be able to change into pals with so many great folks.
The climate on each of those journeys was wintery however very completely different. In December, we encountered deep snow above-treeline which required carrying snowshoes to climb each peaks. Nevertheless, that snow was washed away in January by a serious rainstorm, inflicting main flooding within the surrounding ravines and valleys, leaving only a dusting of snow and ice on the paths. Whereas counterintuitive, January’s path situations have been tougher than December’s, particularly on the boulder-strewn summit cones of each peaks, because the voids between the rocks which can be usually crammed with snow have been now naked, whereas the rocks themselves have been lined in ice.
The December Climb
Barbara, Lynn, and I climbed Adams and Madison on December 2, which is technically nonetheless autumn not winter, regardless of the winter situations we encountered. We met at 8:00 am on the Appalachia Trailhead on RT 2 exterior of Randolph, NH, and hiked as much as the AMC’s Madison Hut, which is situated simply above treeeline, in 4 hours. The Madison Hut is closed in winter however supplies a great place to shelter out of the wind, have a snack, drink some water, regulate your clothes, and regroup for the subsequent part of the hike.
We’d hiked as much as the hut by means of a number of inches of moist, however packable snow, carrying path crampons for traction, however switched to snowshoes from that time on, as a result of there was 1-2 toes of powder above treeline and we wanted the additional flotation. From the hut, we headed as much as Adams within the Guldside Path with the intention to strategy the summit from the north aspect, the place the gradient is extra gradual.
Whereas it’d been clear on the hut, the clouds closed in overhead as we climbed the Gulfside path. We’d agreed beforehand to hike as much as Thunderstorm Junction and comply with Lowes Path to the summit, however we had bother following the Gulfside as a result of poor visibility. I used to be nearly to achieve for my compass when three hikers appeared on our left, descending Adams. They turned out to be pals (it’s a small world above treeline) and so they’d damaged out a path to the summit that we might simply make out within the fog.
It had began snowing closely at this level, however we began up the trail they’d made, following their packed prints. Sadly, Barbara had hit the wall at this level and was bonking and actually slowing us down. I’ve been there and I’m very sympathetic. However I wasn’t going to go away her and climb the remaining 200′ of elevation to the summit with out her. I understand how heartbreaking it will have been for her to climb all this manner with out summitting. So I inspired her to proceed, nonetheless slowly, all of the whereas questioning if the snow would obscure the broken-out snowshoe tracks forward of us or if they might be lined by snow after we tried to descend. Lynn, within the meantime, was climbing steadily and I needed to rein her in in order that we might all maintain one another in sight.
All of us summited, touched the summit signal, after which bolted instantly again down the way in which we’d come. I might barely make out our snowshoe observe, however I knew the place I used to be, I had two sorts of navigation aides (compass, GPS App) so I wasn’t fearful about getting off the height again right down to the Gulfside Path, or the hut.
Gravity is my buddy and we have been quickly again on the hut the place we drank water, ate some meals, and agreed to climb Madison. I at all times prefer to get Adams first on these hikes as a result of it’s the one you don’t wish to depart behind should you determine to bail partway by means of the journey. Madison is a a lot simpler peak to climb and it’s one I’d really feel completely snug soloing if want be, in contrast to Adams.
We have been all drained, however the remaining ascent up Madison was simple, partly as a result of the cairns on the Osgood Path are a lot simpler to comply with. There’s no path on these summits to talk of, only a line of cairns to comply with as you rock hop up on snowshoes to the summit. That was clouded over too, however we’d made it. From then we simply needed to hike again down the the trailhead following the slushy Valley Means Trailhead at midnight again to the trailhead.
The January Climb
Tom and I climbed Adams and Madison a month afterward January 2 in drastically completely different situations. This time we had a sunny day, temperatures within the low 20’s, however a brisk wind. The forecast had referred to as for wind speeds of 25-30 mph with gusts as excessive as 40 mph, but it surely was on the excessive finish of that vary and pushed us round after we tried to stroll above treeline. We additionally needed to placed on face safety to forestall frostbite.
We began at 8:00 and hiked up the Valley Means Path which was naked earth decrease down, icy at its midpoint, with packed snow just under treeline. We placed on Path Crampons round 2000′ and saved them on the remainder of the day. Situations above treeline have been such that snowshoes weren’t required on this hike, due to the large rainstorm and thaw that had occurred all through the Whites, every week prior. Mountaineering snowshoes weigh 4-5 kilos per pair, so I used to be wanting to climb Adams and Madison in situations the place I didn’t have to hold all of them day.
We received to the hut after 3 hours of climbing and had a snack earlier than continuing up the Gulfside Path to the north aspect of Adams. Tom needed to hike up Lowes Path from Thunderstorm Junction as a substitute of following the Airline Path as a result of he was involved it’d be too bony. The ascent to the summit of Adams alongside Lowes path is shorter and requires much less climbing so I used to be sport. However, following the Gulfside Path was a bit difficult as a result of there have been loads of hidden voids amongst the rocks that make up the path. Tom’s glacier lessons have been additionally fogging up, so he let me lead and adopted shut behind.
Following Lowes Path to the summit was okay, however in hindsight, the Airline Path would have been higher. Lowes required loads of icy boulder hopping and there have been many voids between the rocks to keep away from. Nonetheless we submitted after which beat feat, following the Airline Path down. It was certainly packed out properly and a a lot quicker descent. we vectored over to the Gulfside Path once more on the way in which down Adams, a standard shortcut, and descended to the hut to regroup.
After some food and drinks, we slowly climbed to the Madison summit which is just a few hundred toes above the hut. The wind on the prime was very pushy, even worse than on Adams, however we touched the summit cairn and instantly headed down. From the hut we hiked again right down to the trailhead, in simply 2 hours, making it again down earlier than sundown.
Wrap Up
These two hikes have been a serious milestone for me as a result of they have been the eleventh and twelfth calendar months that I’ve climbed Adams and Madison for The Grid, which implies I’m carried out with them. That may be a massive aid as a result of “gridding out” Adams is arguably the toughest peak to hike in every calendar month of the yr. I nonetheless have just a few difficult hikes to finish this month, however they’re all simpler and barely much less weather-dependent than Adams.
I wish to thank my pals for coming with me on these hikes. Whereas it’s true they “wanted” them as properly for his or her Grids, good mountain climbing companions a tough to seek out, and I’m blessed to have them as my companions.
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