Outdoor Diversion: Up and Down the Ledges of Mount Whiteface

The initial hike planned for today was Mount Adams and Mount Madison. Winds on the high summits were forecast to be hurricane force sustained with 100+ mph gusts. This prompted a change of plans for a hike that would be protected from the wind. I would join Jill and Amy for a hike to Mount Whiteface (4,020'). This was another summit that I needed for my winter 48 4,000 footers. I also needed Mount Passaconaway but Jill and Amy did not so we would decide whether or not to do the loop depending on the conditions.

We met at the Ferncroft parking area. Last night's precipitation made it a very slippery drive and traction was needed to safely walk around the parking lot. We got started just after 7:30 and I could see the clouds clearing off of Mount Whiteface as we walked to the trailhead. The trail was well packed with just a little bit of loose snow. The wind was blowing and it helped to keep the sweat factor down. I noticed that there was not a lot of snow for this time of year.

We arrived at the outlook just below the ledges and took a short break. The real fun was about to begin. The ledges are always an intersting climb, even more so in the winter with ice and snow on them. There was bare rock as we made our way up the first ledge. From there it was a wet climb as the snow was melting and water was running down. We really had no problems on the ledges today.

When we reached the top of the ledges it was colder and there was not as much melting. The views were spectacular! We stopped and had something to eat as well as took some photos. This is actually a false summit as the trail descends and rises to the actual summit. There are no views from the top of Mount Whiteface and the summit cairn was buried in snow today. There is a summit marker on a tree across from the cairn.

It was at this point that we decided not to go on further. The fact that there were frozen postholes beyond the summit helped to make our decision. The thought of dodging postholes for possibly over two miles was not appealing to any of us. I was the only one of us that needed Mount Passaconaway so the decision was made to turn around and go back the way we came. That meant a trip down over the ledges.

So we turned around and headed back to the ledges and down to the Ferncroft parking area. I have to admit that going down over the ledges was more difficult than going up. We made it down without any difficulties and no slips or falls. The steep trail below the ledges had very loose snow in the warm temps and there was lots of sliding even with the microspikes. Back down to the flatter section of trail it was an easy walk out.

There had been considerable melting when we got back to the dirt road. We were walking in slush and mud. The parking lot was full and there were vehicles parked along the edge of the road. That would explain the many hikers we saw along the trail today. It was definitely a great winter day for this hike. The weather and trail conditions were both very tolerable as compared to some of the other hikes that I've been on this winter.

While I didn't hike Mount Passaconaway I was very satisfied with hiking just Mount Whiteface. I was able to add one more summit to my winter 48 list and now have nine remaining summits. I'll return next February on a day with perfect conditions for a hike to Passaconaway. With only three more weekends of official winter hiking it appears my quest to complete the W48 will continue into next winter but I'm in no hurry. I enjoyed hiking the ledges today with two fun hiking companions!

Enjoy the photos and video!