West Bond

Trail: Zealand Road, Zealand Trail, Twinway, Zealand Spur, Bondcliff Trail, West Bond Spur

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

“The trail was beautifully packed by a sled track all the way to the hut. At that point we used snowshoes mostly for the televators- the trail was packed well enough to use spikes up to Zeacliff. Twinway was broken out but soft- difficult to get through all of the trees grabbing at you and your gear all the way to the opening at Guyot. There were a few drifted sections around Zealand where we had to look at a map to see where the trail went. It was a bit drifted heading up bond, and completely unbroken from Bond summit down. Luckily it was just a small section of breaking trail until it opens up again and the wind had swept away all of the powder. Heading up Bondcliff we took off the snowshoes but needed spikes as the snow had a fine ice glaze over top. Due to the trail closure at Lincoln Woods, we turned around at Bondcliff and went back through the grabby tree tunnel. Great day with a strong crew.”

Trail: Zealand Road, Zealand Trail, Twinway, Zealand Spur, Bondcliff Trail, West Bond Spur

Conditions: Ice - Blue, Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Ice - Breakable Crust, Snow - Unpacked Powder, Snow - Drifts

“With the LW trail closure, a trip to the Bonds required a little more planning than normal. We were a group of three and we utilized Zealand Hut to break up the mileage into manageable chunks, doing an out and back to Mt Bond. Didn't need BC (already got that before the LW trail closure) so we did not head down there. Huge shout out and gratitude to JustRob and the other crew of two (maybe four?) that stayed at the hut Sat / Sunday, and broke out some of the trails ahead of us. Zealand Rd - well tracked, bareboot or spikes, saw a few folks in skis. Zealand trail - well tracked, bareboot or spikes, again saw a few folks on skis too. Above the hut, the Twinway was well broken up to Zeacliff - snowshoes or spikes would be ok here, although we preferred snowshoes for the televators. By the time we set off from the hut Monday (2/16) up to Bond, there had been 6 sets of snowshoes all the way through to Zealand, five to Guyot, and 2-4 to West Bond the previous day (2/15). We added three more Monday (2/16). Snowshoes are definitely needed above Zeacliff. There is a ton of snow in the woods up there. The snowshoe trench above Zeacliff is very deep and still soft. There is also a lot of pushing / shoving, climbing over and crawling your way through frozen trees that are weighted down snow. You will be walking bent over and stooped over for sections, especially of you are tall. Guyot summit is windblown / wind slab with some ice under, and lots of exposed rocks. Once off of Guyot summit and back in the woods to West Bond, there is a lot of snow again and it is still very loose as this section has seen less traffic. We did not see the spur to the Guyot shelter along this stretch, so either the track that is laid out misses it completely or the sign is just buried under all the snow. From West Bond to Bond there was only one set of old ski tracks before us that looked like they came over from the Twins, so we broke that section with snowshoes. Bond summit is windblown with a light covering of snow and ice. There were no snowshoe tracks coming up from Bondcliff. It looked like maybe the ski tracks went down that way, but they were faint and difficult to see. So the track is there from the hut to Mt Bond, it's still soft meaning you'll need snowshoes, and expect to be pushing / shoving / climbing under-over through the trees so plan on more time than you would normally need to cover the distance.”

Trail: Lincoln Woods Trail, Bondcliff Trail, West Bond Spur, Twinway, Zealand Spur, Zealand Trail, Zealand Road

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

“Trail is in great shape up to Bondcliff and from Zeacliff out. Much rougher between there with many many blowdowns and branches at face height. Enough snowshoers have hiked this now that it’s fully broken out but the snow is soft enough to need snowshoes still from the trail up / down Bondcliff until the hut. Spikes / bare boots work well in LW and from the hut out.”