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Ski
Hiking Trail Conditions Report
Peaks
Peaks East Osceola, Mt. Osceola, NH
Trails
Trails: Greeley Ponds XC Ski Trail, Mt. Osceola Trail
Date of Hike
Date of Hike: Sunday, February 21, 2021
Parking/Access Road Notes
Parking/Access Road Notes: Arrived at 7:30am and XC lot was about 60% full.  
Surface Conditions
Surface Conditions: Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow - Unpacked Powder 
Recommended Equipment
Recommended Equipment: Snowshoes, Light Traction, Ice Axe 
Water Crossing Notes
Water Crossing Notes: None of note 
Trail Maintenance Notes
Trail Maintenance Notes: None 
Dog-Related Notes
Dog-Related Notes: Saw 2 dogs, both looked like they were having a good time. 
Bugs
Bugs: None 
Lost and Found
Lost and Found: None 
 
Comments
Comments: Started up Greeley Ponds Ski Trail just after 8, everyone wearing snowshoes. Trail mostly well packed with about 2 inches of powder on top. Lower elevations had a bit of a crunchy layer off the monorail, but the crunchy layer had some give and was not icy. Some minor postholing from people barebooting (Also, we met the guy who adopted this trail. Do him a favor and don't bare boot it.) Turned onto Mt. Osceola trail and things started to get steep. Snow conditions improved at higher elevations. Soft top layer with a firmer packed powder layer underneath that provided really good traction. No ice bulges or anything that I would call technically challenging or that I would say require crampons, as long as you have a pair of snowshoes with some very aggressive traction (ie. Atlas Apex-BC, MSR Evo, MSR Lightning Ascent). Our whole group wore snowshoes all the way up to Osceola, then switched to microspikes which we wore all the way down to the XC trail. 3 out of 4 of us brought an ice axe and do not regret that decision. It was very useful for navigating the steeper terrain. Some glissading was necessary on the way down on the steeper terrain to avoid bad any falls.

I would not recommend using microspikes for ascending the steeper terrain. Snowshoes with aggressive traction or crampons will perform much better. My axe got more use today than it has on any other NH4000 footer that I have climbed to date, so if you have one bring it, however, our group member without one faired just fine.  
Name
Name: Colin 
E-Mail
E-Mail: caruso707@gmail.com 
Date Submitted
Date Submitted: 2021-02-21 
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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