7.17 miles of hiking • 3500' elevation gain •
Snow conditions were perfect - 3-5 inches of soft powder over hard, icy crust. Not slippery (though I did use crampons for the steepness), no postholing, and for so much snow around it was surprising to see almost none on wind-scoured Heartbreak Ridge. OTOH, on the summit there were drifts at least 5 feet high. "Old route" on the edge of the ridge is now much more preferable to the actual trail, which is very brushy & with large amounts of snow.
Comments
Yes. I first thought about going back earlier, but my GPS showed only 300 vertical feet to the summit (much closer than it seemed) so I decided to make it, and then it was already sunset time. It was the reason I returned via official trail - didn't want to walk near that drop-off in the dark.
Gorgeous photos Roman!
Bosterson
January 13, 2013
Nice job, Roman! Did you stay up there for the sunset?