Mount Madison

Trail: Valley Way, Air Line, Gulfside

Conditions: Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow - Unpacked Powder, Snow - Drifts

“Started Saturday with a hike up to Valley Way tent site. Started the rest of the hike early Sunday and made my way towards Adams and then to Jefferson a very slight trail was visible. On my way back the trail leading up to Adams was riddled with postholes that weren't there in the morning. The hike up Madison was well used and a bit longer then I remembered.”

Trail: Valley Way, Osgood Trail, Gulfside, Airline

Conditions: Ice - Black, Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow - Unpacked Powder

“Valley way is almost entirely well packed to the hut minus one short/less than a half mile section of loose drifted barebooted snow. It would have taken more effort to put snowshoes on for that short section than it did to just hike the steps created by others (imo). Up to Madison was a mix of rocks and packed snow, some avoidable ice. More rocks than snow unfortunately. Sharp spikes were fine, crampons would have not been fun with all the rocks. Rest of the way to Adams had some loose drifted snow until it was back to mostly rocks and hard packed snow. Not much ice. Rocks were annoying, need more snow up there/less wind. Chilly and windier than I thought it was going to be but the sun felt nice. We had both summits to ourselves before retreating down to Valley Way where we chased Strava crowns like the d**cheb*g runners we occasionally are. Sorry to the couple hikers that tried to talk to me as my AirPod was blaring thirst trap music. Didn’t see many people out yet, too early, but most of those I did see were in spikes. I wore spikes door to door.”

Trail: Valley Way, Osgood Trail, Airline

Conditions: Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow/Ice - Frozen Granular

“Out and back on Valley Way, Osgood (AT) up and down Madison, Airline up and down Adams. It was a fantastic day to be above treeline in the Northern Presidentials. I put spikes on to start the climb and ended up keeping them on the entire day. Snowshoes would have been helpful on the steeper parts of the ascent up Valley Way but never felt super necessary so mine got a free ride strapped to my pack. Spikes were definitely all that was needed once above treeline. The climb from the hut to the top of Madison didn't have much snow and spikes were sufficient for the ice and patches of snow on the rocks. Adams had a bit more snow coverage heading up airline but it really just made for a more consistent tread underfoot as opposed to the boulder field it is in the summer. Minimal wind and temps in the 20s meant you could actually hang out on the summits for a while and the views were spectacular.”