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Mount Washington in May

PostPosted: Sun Apr 10, 2011 5:17 pm
by jmh5331
Hey guys,

I've been to Mt. Washington many times in the past, winter and summer, but never in the spring. I'm moving to Hanover to start grad school and I'm taking a bunch of crap up in mid-May. What are the snow conditions like in May? From the photos I found it looks like soft snow/neve in most of the couloirs and relatively snow free everywhere else. How are the climbs in Huntington Ravine around then? Can you find a snow climb in Central Gully or Odells? Depending on the party I have with me, we might be interested in something like that. Thanks for your help!

Mike

Re: Mount Washington in May

PostPosted: Sun Apr 10, 2011 5:52 pm
by AlexeyD
Generally speaking, mid-May is too late to climb the Huntington gullies. Yes, there will be some snow, but there will likely be sections of open water, crevasses, falling ice, and other unpleasant things of that nature. You may be able to climb South Gully, as it has little ice and faces north and therefore tends to hold out longer than the others, but I'm not sure. It is also possible to ascent the snowfields of the Fan (the rocky lower half of Huntington Ravine) and then continue up the summer hiking trail to the top of the ravine.