With only a few more days left I was 'Ummmm-ing' and 'Ahhh-ing' about where to hike for what would probably be my last weekend in the Whites before the official end of winter. Then I got an email from Sli74 suggesting 'Maybe do Washington or Monroe via the Ammonoosuc trail?' and after a brief flurry of emails we have a group hike together! Sometimes things just fall into place. All we needed then was for the weather to cooperate.

Sli74 suggested a meet time of 7am at the Crawford Path parking lot on Mt Clinton Rd. The plan being to then leave some vehicles there and drive up to the more restricted parking available at the Ammonoosuc trail head lot.

I am getting pretty good at timing my trips to the Whites and, even after 200 miles, I arrived a little before 7am. I recognized a few of the vehicles so it seemed we would have a good turn out. The sun was already up but not striking that side of the mountain yet. So in the cool shade of morning those present greeted one another, most faces familiar from previous group hikes.

Once everyone was assembled the decision was made that we would all head up to the Ammonoosuc parking lot and then maybe the slower hikers (cough) would continue to the Cog parking. So, our small convoy headed up Mt Clinton Rd taking it easy because of a light snow cover and then easier still after the first suspension pounding and sump grinding dip!

I was third vehicle in line and while the front two raced past the Ammo trail head I turned in. [I have since realized it was in fact the Edmands Path parking lot I pulled into - doh! Just as well nobody else stopped] There was little room left of the small area that was plowed so I backed out and followed the leaders on towards the Cog. Everyone else did the same.

Arriving at the Cog parking lot we found it to be well plowed with plenty of room for all our vehicles and then some so we all pulled into a neat line at the side of the lot... all except Shizzmac that is, his 2WD truck just couldn't quite get enough traction for the last slope.

A couple of us went down to lend a hand but Turnbill brought his valiant Honda Element in to play and took over the task of getting Shizzmac's truck to the parking lot. I talked everyone into a group photo on the grounds that it would probably be the last time we would all be together on the day. As it happens I was wrong about that. Either I am getting fitter or the others are getting slower... nah, that wouldn't be it!

After a few last minute preparations, and some debate as to where the trail actually left from, we were off. Someone had recalled the trail started near some huts off to the north of the parking lot and they were indeed correct. It was about 8:45am and I was concerned that we had missed out on almost three hours of daylight.

The Ammonoosuc trail head has been relocated to the new parking lot on Mt Clinton Rd. In the summer this avoids hikers taking up spaces in the Cog parking lot. It does however add seven tenths of a mile of pretty uninteresting trail to each leg of a hike. Parking at the cog as we did we would at least be spared almost a mile and one half of the trek.

The skies were clear blue and not a breath of wind stirred the trees, a perfect start to the day. The section below Gem Pool is pretty easy going and we made good time. We made a couple of short stops as some folk de-layered. I tend to start out light and chilly but soon warm up but I appreciated the breathers. The trail had quite a good snow cover and it was well packed out. An inch or so of loose powder made bare-booting the way to go.

Gem pool marks a distinct change in character for the trail. It gets very steep after the pool and I, and a few of the others, decided now was a good time to don crampons. The pool and small cascade were completely frozen and snow covered. Not as photogenic as I had hoped for.

I had climbed this trail back in October and I found the going a lot easier with snow on the trail. The snow smoothes out the trail and I no longer had to cope with the many rock steps designed for someone with much longer legs than mine. Just as I had predicted the gradient took a toll on my body and I had to stop often to let my heart rate subside and breathing return to normal. Despite my many stops I never lost touch with the full group and caught up at various spots along the way.

After crossing the frozen stream above the gorge the trees began to thin and soon after the Alpine Zone sign was reached. The sign was almost completely buried under the snow so I'm guessing there was 4-5 feet of the white stuff on the trail. The snow cover made the rock slides a breeze to cross. Once again it smoothed out the trail and, with crampons at least, offered good traction. There were some impressive ice flows that needed a little extra caution but all in all it was not a difficult ascent.

Having never used my ice axe in anger I took a practice swing at one of the ice patches. The pick merely bounced back leaving only a small chip in the surface. A self arrest on this stuff would have needed a constant pressure in the hope the pick would score itself a purchase. I was not encouraged to try this out and made sure to keep to the areas that offered the best grip.

With a still cloudless sky and only a hint of a breeze I finally made it to the hut. I don't know how long the faster members of the group had been waiting but I was only a minute or two behind the other tail enders. If I hadn't taken so many pictures I would probably have been right up there with them.

The scale of things in the mountains sometimes makes it difficult to judge distances. The 1.4 miles to the summit of Washington looked like a five minute stroll... yeah, right! After a short, pack off, break for a little nourishment and recharging of the Nalgene the group headed off for Washington along the Crawford Path.

My camera was out as we headed out and again minutes later for other views, I was already falling behind! Crossing the ice on the margin of the Lake of the Clouds produced some rather un-nerving hollow noises and occasional loud report as a new crack appeared. I doubt there was any liquid water in the lake however so no real danger.

The trail from the hut starts out ascending at a very gentle rate and slowly gets steeper as the summit is neared. Being completely above tree line the surroundings are quite surreal in winter. The white snow is peppered by dark rocks and there is very little color except that added by hikers clothing and packs. Seeing the faster members of the group way off ahead as little dots underlined just how vast this place was.

I caught up to Sli74 and Shizzmac again and we stayed together until the last pitch to the summit where they took a more direct route and I opted for the trail proper. I did this partly because it offered a more gentle approach and also so as to familiarize myself with the various trail junctions in the area. After a whole season of trouble free hiking I started to get a nagging pressure on the heel of my right foot. I stopped to adjust both socks and lacing but the pressure did not go away.

Crampons certainly added a comforting level of traction but we did see others bare-booting to the summit including a couple in ski boots! Those duck bills sure kick a good toe hold in the softer stuff but I wouldn't rate them on ice.

At last I made it to the summit area and as I approached the pile of rocks marking the summit itself I saw the rest of the group already assembled for photographs. Another hiker had offered to take photographs and was adorned with a collection of cameras. The process of instruction the guy how to operate each one in turn made the picture taking process a little drawn out. I knew I needed food before I had reached the summit and sitting on the rocks for the photo shoot started up a slight cramp in my left leg.

I convinced everyone to stay put while I quickly set up my tripod to take a group shot but because I rushed to get it done the resulting image turned out a little over exposed. Group shot done I took individual pictures for Sli74, Shizzmac and, of course, myself. Then it was time to eat!

The front that had been approaching all morning finally made it close enough to make its presence felt. The high gray clouds robbed us of the suns warmth and the wind started to pick up. The rest of the group, having spent considerably longer on the summit than I, decided to head down. I knew I had to eat before moving off so took refuge in the lee of one of the summit buildings and forced down part of a turkey sandwich and some gorp. Fatigue and hunger can make food unappetizing but it is very important to keep the body fuelled. After a few mouthfuls things usually start to taste good again and the appetite takes over.

I had put on my down jacket to conserve body heat while I stood around to eat. With the sun now a mere bright spot in the high cloud and the wind really getting going I decided to leave it on for the first part of my descent. After hoisting my pack on again I headed out to cross the yard back to the Crawford Path. Coming out of the protection of the building I was nearly knocked down by the force of the wind. By Mt Washington standards it was a light breeze, but whipping around the buildings it made for some unsteady walking.

As I started down through the jumble of rocks I met a hiker coming up who looked very familiar. He greets me with a big smile and a "Hey Bob!" I immediately recognized him as Adam, the caretaker at Grey Knob cabin, with whom I'd had a good chat when I dropped by back in January. We exchanged greetings and mutual wishes for a good hike and then parted company, the conditions not being conducive for idle chatting.

The blue sky had been replaced by high gray cloud and the wind was whipping up the slope and feeling very raw. I dropped pack at a cairn and swapped wool hat and sunglasses for balaclava and snow goggles, much better. I found later that I had suffered a little wind burn on my face in the area around my sunglasses. I should have put the balaclava and goggles on earlier. Another lesson learned.

My body doesn't place so many limits on me for descents so I caught up to Sli74 and Shizzmac fairly quickly and we chatted as we made our way back to the hut. Part way down another hiker appeared from out of nowhere and I was introduced to Chomp. He had just 'popped' up to the summit and back! Chomp eschews trails for a more direct route. He said he took a sighting on the towers and just went straight at them. This would explain why we didn't bump into him on his way up. Chomp is no slouch either. The trip up to the hut had taken us about three hours and I considered that a good time. Chomp told us he did it in half that time! I don't think I have ever been that fit.

One topic of conversation on the way down was "Would we go for Monroe as well?" It was a short debate! Having got this close the few hundred feet of elevation gain needed to bag Monroe for the winter list was insignificant.

We dropped packs at the hut and had some more munchies before heading up to Monroe. Given the stable weather conditions, not the best but not threatening anything worse, and to make the trek a little easier we decided to do Monroe pack less. I stuffed the camera in my jacket pocket and we headed off. My heel had been bothering me less on the downhill as the pressure was transferred forward on my foot but ascending again brought on a painful rub, a blister for sure. I could reduce the discomfort by placing my foot across instead of up the slope.

The trail up to Monroe starts out easy then steepens to a couple of narrow switchbacks then turns into an easy ramble over the last hundred yards or so. As we approached the switchbacks we met the faster members of the group heading down. Farewells were made on the trail as we didn't expect them to wait for us again.

Chomp once again paid little heed to the trail itself and made a bee line for the summit. As we approached the summit we could see someone standing on the highest point waving their arms around. This turned out to be Little Bear doing some 'flying' for the camera as Max took pictures. It turns out that this was Max's second trip up Monroe for the day.

With no tripod I perched my camera on a rock and set the timer going for a group shot. Crampons are not the best thing to be wearing when skittering around on bare rock and I just managed to fling myself onto the summit rocks for the picture. In doing so I managed to achieve a very laid back pose.

Time to head down again and my right foot was glad that there would be little more 'up' to do. Max did a little butt-sliding, a risky pursuit in my book. We picked up our packs and once assembled started down. We calculated that we should have sufficient daylight left to make it to the parking lot without needing headlamps. The group for the final descent would be Little Bear, Sli74, Shizzmac, Chomp, Max and myself.

Once again we passed up the trail proper from the hut to take the direct route following the frozen stream. The massive ice flows that were a little disturbing on the way up looked even more tricky on the way down but, with caution, were not difficult to descend. We soon found ourselves down into the stunted trees and with less ice and more soft snow to travel over.

Chomp continued to blaze his own trail, letting out an occasional expletive when footing or traction gave out. As he was above and behind most of the group for much of the time it was decided that he would need to give us warning of an impending slide. Two warnings were composed that abbreviated to OFR and OFL. Despite a few near 'OF' moments he managed to stay upright and in control for the most part of the descent.

The trail above the crossing at the top of the gorge presented itself as a nice steep chute and this seemed too good a butt-slide opportunity for Chomp to pass up. The rest of us went down, Sli74 and I positioning ourselves in camera positions to document the slide hopefully out of harms way!

When all were ready Chomp pushed off. Using his heels and poles as brakes he managed to make a perfect slide in the soft snow cover and avoided the continued slide that would have had him plunging down the gorge itself! I managed to capture the top part of the slide using the movie function of my camera. Unfortunately I was unable to turn far enough to document the final moments.

As the light slowly waned we continued our descent. The trail conditions were ideal for those with enough control to boot ski in places. Opting for more control I kept my crampons on the whole way down. Reaching the junction of the old and new trails we knew we were almost done. The last three tenths of a mile soon behind us we arrived at the Cog parking lot with the sun low on the horizon but with still a good margin of daylight left. I got the final group together for one last picture and then it was time to ease those boots off of tired feet.

Another fantastic day in the mountains in great company and with almost perfect weather. It doesn't get any better than that.