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What's a good first winter alpine route?

Original Post
Bogdan Petre · · West Lebanon, NH · Joined Jul 2012 · Points: 1,098

What's a good winter alpine route for someone that's never climbed winter alpine before?

I have some experience on water ice, but for the sake of this post, lets assume a first winter alpine route is something appropriate for a moderate multipitch trad leader with no mixed or ice climbing experience.

I'm thinking about alpine routes over the Thanksgiving weekend, or possibly later in December and have been looking around for some good ideas. Snow is settling in at higher altitudes already so I'm approaching this like the start of the winter climbing season (clothing wise + crampons and tools rather than rock shoes). I've never done a winter route before and nothing alpine outside of the Rockies, so it's probably going to be hit or miss for me. I don't know who I'd be doing this with. I have one longtime climbing partner in the area, who may or may not be available depending on work, but he's also new to the east coast and can't provide any guidance.

So I was wondering if I could maybe pick your brains for ideas.

One route that caught my eye was Henderson Ridge (grade III, 5.4, 600') on Mt Washington. Couldn't find much beta on it in winter though.

Josh Allred · · Salt Lake City, UT · Joined Mar 2011 · Points: 161

Sorry to high jack your post but I am looking for suggestions as well in the Utah, Wyoming (Tetons), or California area (Sierras).

I have Nov 25th-29th off and would like to do something.

Ben Brotelho · · Albany, NY · Joined May 2011 · Points: 520

There are a bunch in the Adirondacks that would be good first winter routes.

The Cascade is awesome...right off the road in Cascade Pass, offering 3-400 feet of ice interspersed with snow steps and slogging. Tops out on the summit of Cascade with a short walk on the trail back to the car.

Trap Dike is another easy climb, but 6 miles in into Avalanche Pass, so more committing. 2+ to possibly 3 ice and a lot of snow slogging in some conditions.

North Face of Gothics is awesome...definitely condition-dependent though.

Maybe go do the Case Route on Wallface during the winter...?

erik wellborn · · manitou springs · Joined Apr 2008 · Points: 355

I hear the Eiger is pretty classic:)

Rick18 · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Aug 2010 · Points: 10

I would head to Mt Washington. Ditto on the Huntington Ravine -- Central is the best low/no ice alpine climb in the ravine. But conditions in late
November/early December could be sketchy. Check in at Pinkham Notch. If the gullies aren't in climbing shape, just climb Washington via Lion Head. If the wind is "up" (as it usually is) you'll get a good alpine experience.

Have fun.

Greg Gavin · · SLC, UT · Joined Oct 2008 · Points: 888

Oh em jee...

Mark Lynch · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Apr 2013 · Points: 5

I would suggest a lesson and an avy class. Huntington ravine is not really the best spot for learning new skills. I have taken numerous lessons/classes to learn all sorts of new skills in life including climbing. Especially in climbing, I found it speeds up the learning curve and prevents a few epics or too. Or get an experienced and proficient partner. Have fun.

Nick Goldsmith · · Pomfret VT · Joined Aug 2009 · Points: 440

Epics are good learning experience if you live through them. hunnington ravine. central gully, Yale to Diagonal. Odels and North are quite a bit harder for a noob. have fun, Do Not F Up and Die;)

Ben Brotelho · · Albany, NY · Joined May 2011 · Points: 520
Nick Goldsmith wrote: Do Not F Up and Die;)
My dad's only advice to me about climbing and being in the mountains in general...good rule to stick to.

I agree that going up into the ravines on Mt Washington without someone who knows at least a little about avy conditions isn't a great idea. Either would be going into the Trap Dike on Colden. Always err on the side of caution when you're learning!
Eric Shaw · · Boulder, CO · Joined Nov 2011 · Points: 40

Shoestring Gully on Mt. Webster would be my advice. It's short but in a pretty cool location. It's also nice and easy so you can make mistakes and take a long time without having to worry that you'll have an epic.

Bogdan Petre · · West Lebanon, NH · Joined Jul 2012 · Points: 1,098

Hey, thanks everyone for the tips. I hadn't heard of some of these areas before and they seem like good contenders.

A lot of these are ice routes, which is not what I was looking for exactly, but unlike rock, I'm familiar with ice in winter conditions and where my abilities stand. Some of these suggestions may turn out to be a good alternatives if it turns out I'm underestimating the difficulty of rock in the winter.

More suggestions would still be welcome, but as a followup question, do you guys know what the weather patterns tend to be like in this part of the country? Are the whites any different from the Adriondacks? So for instance, say there's percipitation in one place, should I expect the same in the other? I know out west the climate can vary quite a bit from one range to the next, and it helps when planning for a climb to have beta for backups somewhere the weather patterns are somewhat different in case conditions don't work out with the main objective.

PatCleary · · Boston, MA · Joined Sep 2011 · Points: 0

FYI, NEclimbs.com and NEice.com (or some variant of those) seem to keep pretty close track of the conditions in different areas. Teton Gravity Research (skiing) keeps pretty close track of the snow forecast all around the country. These three, coupled with one of the forecasting sites will likely give you a pretty good outlook. If you're still confused you can ask for info here or at one of the above (I'd hesitate to ask on TGR though).

Pat

mitchy B · · nunya gotdamn business. · Joined Aug 2009 · Points: 0

Just watch NECN before you go out, they have great weather reports. Also, depends on which way the front is coming or going. Either way, this time of year you can bet it's going to cold AND windy on Mt. Washington, you can also check out Mt.Washington.org for current suumit comditions, an example- 74 miles per hour was max wind speed in the last 24hrs.

JohnnyG · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Nov 2009 · Points: 10
Matthew J. Murphy wrote: If you're looking for a "good winter alpine route", you need to be comfortable with ice, rock, and snow. All in one bag.
true.

And the easier routes up Huntington's (e.g. Central) are a great place to get this ice and snow experience.

Just getting to the start of Henderson's might entail some ice and snow climbing.
Brie Abram · · Celo, NC · Joined Oct 2007 · Points: 493
Josh Allred wrote:Sorry to high jack your post but I am looking for suggestions as well in the Utah, Wyoming (Tetons), or California area (Sierras). I have Nov 25th-29th off and would like to do something.
Casaval Ridge on Shasta? It's not the Sierras, but maybe worth it if you're willing to go to California. Need a decent amount of snow to make it worth it.
Nick Votto · · CO, CT, IT · Joined Jul 2008 · Points: 320

Central on Washington, King Ravine, Shoestring in Crawford...all good and on the easy side

Pmucka · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Jun 2013 · Points: 10

Hey man,

I did a 3 day class last year with EMS, which was a good time. I am looking at objectives similar to what people have suggested in here so far. I am currently hoping to start out on shoestring or something similar for the season and progress to Pinnacle before the season is over. I have a partner as well, but he is more of a rock climber and I am new-ish to both ice and rock, but had no problems during the class I took. I'll post up when I get more things planned, maybe we can do some climbing together.

Patrick

Nate K · · Bozeman, MT · Joined Jul 2012 · Points: 240

I did Central Gully on Mt. Washington on sunday and it was in decent shape. Mostly moderate snow with a few sections of low angle ice. Nothing harder than WI2. And it feels like your on a much bigger mountain because of the crazy weather. Definitely worth checking out for a first alpine climb

Elliott Crooks · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Nov 2006 · Points: 10

Anything out of Huntington will be seriously alpine in winter. Once waited three days for the wind to drop from 100+ mph down to a mere(!) 40 mph. Only had worse weather on Denali.

Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

Northeastern States
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