First Brother: a Winter High Peak Attempt
Wendy and I have been picking up additional gear for me to survive the winter. I got more synthetic mid-layers, a decent waterproof top layer, an excellent pair of winter pants, and a really nice puffy. I also started packing Hot Hands and I bought a brand new pair of waterproof, 400g winter boots. I also packed a thermos full of boiling water just in case.
After chatting with some friends, Dave and I decided to have a go at Big Slide, which Sunny and I had done back in July in 95 and humid conditions. This would prove to be a very different experience.
The lot at the Garden was nearly full at 8:30am which was a little surprising, but understandable. It was a gorgeous winter day and the forecast promised clear skies in the late morning and early afternoon. We met several people doing Big Slide and one guy who was planning to camp out and climb Gothics. Yikes! Messing with gear took longer than usual, but that's to be expected. We were soon on our way...
I was surprised how easy going it was. I remembered the entire hike up First Brother being much steeper, but with the snow, I was feeling the workout anyways. When we came to the blaze pointing right towards JBL, I groaned audibly. We'd gone the wrong way. I honestly am shocked that I didn't recognize it considering how many times I'd been through there in the Summer, but the snow did change the look of everything. We turned around and headed back to the trailhead.
The snow was such that snowshoes were absolutely necessary the entire time. We got quite a workout going up the side of the mountain now that we were on the right path. This felt like the climb I remembered.
This hike is always so rewarding. It's short and has excellent views along the way.
Sunny was in his element. He loves the snow and he did end up dashing into the woods a few times to chase squirrels or weasels. He did very well in the snow, though I should have trimmed his paw fluff to avoid snow clumps.
I must admit that it was tough going. In the the other three months, I pride myself in my ability to scramble up and down mountains with good speed. I make really good time on ridges. It was a whole new world going up First Brother.
When we reached the Summit, I looked at the time and our pace. I came to the conclusion that we would probably make it to Big Slide, but we wouldn't be back to the car until well after dark. After a brief discussion, Dave graciously agreed to head back to the car. We probably could have been back at a reasonable time without the unintentional detour, but it was about noon when we reached the summit of First Brother and I didn't want to be sliding back down him in the dark.
This is the look of judgement and sadness...
The view across the valley to Cascade was stunning to say the least.
The butt slides back down were fun!
I was shocked at how slow my pace was all day. I have learned I am not fast on snowshoes. I'm 5'6" and I have pretty stubby legs. My strides were extremely short and I had a really tough time stepping up boulders that Dave cleared without a problem.
I was also still having some gear issues. Don't get me wrong; I was nice and toasty warm. The new gear did exactly what it had to do. However, the added weight was definitely affecting my pace. Back at the Avalanche Lake hike, I'd packed much lighter.
I think the worst thing, however were my pants. My base layer kept riding down on me and then my snow pants started doing the same thing. My gait wasn't long enough to begin with, but my pants made a bad problem worse. I was really kicking myself for two things: I didn't practice with these pants beforehand and I didn't bring a backup pair of pants. The weather didn't really require such heavy pants anyways. I will be buying a pair of good suspenders or garters.
Dave and I got back down at around 1:00, 4 hours or so after we stared, so we decided to hit up Noon Mark Diner for some corned beef and pie. Sitting in Noon Mark was the coldest I felt all day.
I won't say I'll never attempt a Winter high peak again. I will say that I need to get more comfortable with my gear, buy some heavy duty suspenders, and do some Lake George 12sters in the Winter before I'll feel comfortable about having a go at Big Slide again. It probably also wouldn't hurt to get back in the pool after work and shed the 10lbs I gained this winter.
I'll probably be taking Quinn to 100 Acre Wood trail next weekend. After that, I may have a go at Sleeping Beauty or Cat Mountain.
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