Participants: TC Ron Chase, Suzanne Cole
For the first scheduled club Fall/Winter trip, I posted a Leader’s Choice. Suzanne was the first to respond suggesting among other options, Mount Chocorua in NH. Since I had been thinking about a climb on Chocorua all fall, that was an easy choice for me. Unfortunately, Gary was laid up with shingles and several others who wanted to do a local hike were left behind. Stormy the day before, we encountered snow and ice after about a mile. While we never had deep snow, there was a carpet of white stuff at higher elevations but below tree line. A close call as we had some icy sections, we decided not to use micro spikes on the ascent.
It was a good decision because the spectacular summit cone was essentially ice and snow free. The 3,475 foot alpine summit provides some of the most exceptional views in the White Mountains. Light winds and clear sunny skies provided a wonderful opportunity to linger at the summit soaking in the views. Once below tree line, we donned our spikes for the descent. Part way back, we took a spur trail to impressive Champney Falls. I somehow bungled my photos of the falls. Otherwise, the day was a 10!
