Next weekend I'm headed to the High Peaks with my climbing partner, who is just getting back together after a nasty broken foot. We can climb hard ice near home, and are prepping for a Cascades trip, so something more mountaineering than ice climbing is in order.

We are also looking to spend some nights in the backcountry to shake down some new gear before a Mt. Washington trip.

So, Trap Dike is the obvious choice - especially if instead of rapping we finish the slides to the summit of Colden. But, then what? We will have another day, and I'd rather do another summit in the BC than head back and do Chapel Pond or something.

I would love to do Gothics NF, but that's way too far to fit both into a long weekend. I guess if I heard that conditions are good we could just do the Gothics.

How about Marcy - does it sound reasonable to camp at Avalanche lake after climbing Colden, wake up, hike up Marcy light and fast, come back to Avalanche Lake to get our gear and then back to the Loj? I've never done it in the winter, my partner's never done it at all, so bagging it would be kinda cool. Still, I'd rather a cool dike/gully/slab climb than a trail, even if it's a lower mountain.

Marcy in winter would be a good choice, though I might suggest that, if you're summiting Colden, instead of camping at Avalanche Lake you could continue over to the back side of Colden and camp at either the Opalescent or Feldspar Brook LT's. This would put you closer to Marcy for Day 2, and you could even bring your full packs and do a carry-over of Marcy and head back to the Loj via the Van Hoevenbergen Expressway.

Another option would be to camp at Lake Colden and then do Algonquin-and-out on Day 2. You'd take the trail heading northwest to the col between Algonquin and Boundary (can't remember the name...Cold Brook Trail, maybe?). It's not exposed at all, but it is LONG and STEEP, making it a challenge with full packs. Algonquin summit cone in winter can be a bit hairy, so make sure you have your trail bearings dialed in before you break out of the trees.

Gothics NF has been on my partner's and my hit list for two seasons now, but haven't been able to get it yet. (As of two weeks ago it wasn't in yet, but that may have changed.) Agree that if you're doing Trap Dike on Day 1, then you'll be too far away to hit GNF on Day 2.

Note that they're supposed to be getting pounded with snow this weekend. By next weekend I'd imagine most of the trails will have been broken out, but if not, you might need to be flexible with your plans for Day 2. (Obviously, you'll also wanna consider the avy risk in Trap Dike and the Colden slabs, as well...)

Thanks for the advice. Do you know how Pharaoh is as far as avy tenancies? It might make a nice backup.

Autoxfil wrote:Thanks for the advice. Do you know how Pharaoh is as far as avy tenancies? It might make a nice backup.

Dunno about the avy risk at Pharaoh, but there was barely any snow there when my partner and I hit it three weeks ago (TR here). Obviously, with the NE storm currently going on, they're getting precip up there...not sure if it's rain/snow/mix, though.

Note that the trailhead is about 1:15-1:30 south of the Loj, though if you're heading back down to PA on the Northway, you'll be going past it anyway.

It's also not nearly the quasi-alpine experience that some of the High Peaks can be. It's a relatively flat 3-3.5 mile hike in, with some bushwacking at the end. (Send me a PM if you want the GPS coordinates for the start of the climb.) The climbing isn't really that hard, either. P1 is the crux at WI3+/4 and P2-P3 are easy at WI3/3-.

My partner and I were looking for a remote climb with a long-ish approach to tackle as part of our Rainier training, but if you're looking for A) hard ice or B) an alpine experience, I don't think Pharaoh fits either bill. Still, we enjoyed our trip, as it was in line with what we were after.