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Ski
Hiking Trail Conditions Report
Peaks
Peaks Mt. Whiteface, NH
Trails
Trails: Blueberry Ledges Trail, Rollins Trail, Diceys Mill Trail
Date of Hike
Date of Hike: Tuesday, March 26, 2019
Parking/Access Road Notes
Parking/Access Road Notes: Parked at Ferncroft parking lot where kiosk is. Ferncroft Road and Ferncroft parking lot road very ice-rutted. Low clearance vehicles may bottom out if the route is not carefully steered. Plenty of parking space available. 
Surface Conditions
Surface Conditions: Ice - Black, Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow/Ice - Frozen Granular, Snow - Drifts, Snow/Ice - Postholes 
Recommended Equipment
Recommended Equipment: Snowshoes, Light Traction, Traction 
Water Crossing Notes
Water Crossing Notes: Any water crossings are snow bridged or not visible. 
Trail Maintenance Notes
Trail Maintenance Notes: Blueberry Ledges Trail appeared to be recently brushed. Rollins trail severely needs brushing work- slow going with constant branches in the face and eye pokers and branches to snag clothing. 
Dog-Related Notes
Dog-Related Notes: Not for dogs due to the slippery, steep ledges. OK for Mountain goats. 
Bugs
Bugs: Snow fleas 
Lost and Found
Lost and Found: None 
 
Comments
Comments: Clear with temps in 10s to 30s.
Started with MICROspikes from the parking lot until the snow got softer and deeper, then used snow shoes; at the start of the ledges, put on Full crampons.
Planned to do out and back, but after reaching the false summit, decided to do a loop taking Rollins Trail at night to Dicey's Mill Trail back to parking lot.
Recent new snow increases with elevation, 6" to 12" at higher elevation with wind sculpted drifts on Rollins Trail.
Rollins trail was broken out Sunday, but about 3/4 of the way from Whiteface to Passaconaway, the broken out trail becomes confusing with multiple meandering and circling routes that headed more north than east, with dead ends. Using GPS in the dark, finally got back to where the route should be and continued to Passaconaway.
On Rollins Trail be prepared for slow-going, due to walking in the tree canopy. This trail is severely in need of brushing- branches at all levels from boot to head and above, catching on Ice Axe, face slappers, eye pokers. Also duck-unders and some sections nearly blocked with branches/leaning trees. With a folding saw cut some obstructions where we had to, to avoid crawling or extreme ducking. Took much longer than expected to do Rollins- no comparison with Blueberry Ledges or Dicey's Mill which were mostly clear of branches. Rollins, seeing less traffic, was not as well packed as Blueberry Ledges and Dicey's Mill. No blazes visible on Rollins.
Blueberry Ledges Trail was straightforward, with lower ledges snow covered and not visible. The upper ledges close to the summit were mostly snow covered with some ice visible. We decided to use 12 point full crampons from the upper ledges to the false summit, along with using snow poles, putting on snowshoes again alone the way to the True Summit. We had an ice axe, but left it on out pack. We decided for safety, to NOT descend the ledges, and rather to take Rollins Trail and Dicey's Mill Trail as a loop back to the parking lot. We left the false summit at sunset.
Temperature traversing Rollins trail was 15dF with some wind chill.
Blueberry Ledges Trail is one of the elective trails on the "Terrifying 25" list, due to the ledges- the difficult sections near the summit are brief, but this trail is not for everyone in winter conditions and if you reach the summit, you may feel you need to do the loop to get back most safely.
We used Full Crampons for the ledges, prints showed that some had used snowshoes.
Didn't see any Wildlife or Moose droppings/prints.  
Name
Name: Ice 
E-Mail
E-Mail:  
Date Submitted
Date Submitted: 2019-03-28 
Link
Link: https:// 
Bookmark and Share Disclaimer: Reports are not verified - conditions may vary. Use at own risk. Always be prepared when hiking. Observe all signs. Trail conditions reports are not substitutes for weather reports or common sense.

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