How is the Tuckerman's Trail up?

[DougDowney]

Hello,
Looking to just hike up this Saturday, spend the day.
Missed last springs yearly trip (Reconstructive knee surgery)

How is the trail?
Spring thaw - How far up the trail before there's snow pack?

Thanks,
Doug D.

[lacman]

Hello,
Looking to just hike up this Saturday, spend the day.
Missed last springs yearly trip (Reconstructive knee surgery)

How is the trail?
Spring thaw - How far up the trail before there's snow pack?

Thanks,
Doug D.

roughly: first 1/4 of it is dirt/mud/rocks, 2nd 1/4 is slick ice/mud, and last 1/2 snow/ice

as of Monday, that's what it was.

[jshefftz]

Yesterday afternoon I started skinning at about 2500' elevation, with only a few trivially short portages.
Ditto for this morning, although portages were getting a bit longer and "adventure skinning" sections were a bit more adventurous. (Plus the rotor wash from the rescue helicopter almost knocked me over -- seriously.)
Downhiking this afternoon, seemed like cover was already much worse.

[PwdrHound]

Plus the rotoro wash from the rescue helicopter almost knocked me over -- seriously.

You got hit with down wash on the Tux trail? Was that during SAR Ops or following rescue?

[jshefftz]

Looking at the published news reports, just before he was found.

Pictures:
http://picasaweb.google.com/jshefftz/20090428TripleH

[SkiCheapOrDie]

So, here's a somewhat newbie question but I feel worth asking. What do you recommend to make the hike up on the icy sections easier and safer? Some sort of crampon(s) sounds like the answer but I'd have no clue how to choose one for the purpose. The path between HoJo's and the bowl was a nasty hike with lots of packed, slippery snow on Saturday. A little more traction would have helped-especially going down hill.

[petebanta]

So, here's a somewhat newbie question but I feel worth asking. What do you recommend to make the hike up on the icy sections easier and safer? Some sort of crampon(s) sounds like the answer but I'd have no clue how to choose one for the purpose. The path between HoJo's and the bowl was a nasty hike with lots of packed, slippery snow on Saturday. A little more traction would have helped-especially going down hill.

One thing I use is a 4-point crampons. They slip over your boots and strap down, and give you solid points under the instep of your foot. Not as mean as regular crampons, but not overkill for a little ice here and there. They also fit over any hiking boot, and most importantly for me, over snowboard boots. Also called instep crampons.

Paid $30/pr for mine. Probably can get them for even less now...

http://www.outdoorgb.com/pi/Camp/quattro_1411_00.jpg

[jshefftz]

Yes, either traditional four-point instep crampons like that, or one of the newer "traction device" designs like Yaktrax etc. Just to go EMS or REI -- they tend to stock lots of models.

[RR]

YakTrax Pro is acceptable imo.
http://media.rei.com/media/nn/a8b3454b-cca1-49cf-86d7-51d1fb804695.jpg
Regular YakTrax will rotate right off a shoe and some boots on steepish traverses. The instep strap on the Pro is a big improvement.

Stabilicers are heavier, but far better than Y-T for long term use.
http://media.rei.com/media/b/1455066.jpg

The newer Micro-spikes are light and reportedly quite effective.
http://www.kahtoola.com/images/spikes_prod.jpg

All three are available at Outdoor stores.

[petebanta]

Microspikes look nice & beefy enough for hard ice. Might get a pair of those, too. They were only like $25, and likely less nowadays to clear them out.

The 4-points are not fun on rocks and make you walk funny, but I am convinced they save energy on hard snow, as you have no slipping issues on steeps and can just be B-line up any shaded ice slicks, etc.. They are also nice on soft ground/frozen mud, and you don't even notice them.

[gimpyone]

I used Stabilicers on my crutch climb and found them to be very effective. For me, they don't roll around as much as the Yakkers. Stable, as the name implies!

[Telemark]

Microspikes look nice & beefy enough for hard ice. Might get a pair of those, too. They were only like $25, and likely less nowadays to clear them out.
MicroSpikes are great, but I've never seen them at $25. They run around $55 although some might be on good sales right now. But they are the non-crampon traction device right now and are in high demand.

[yuckster]

Yeah, I like the Microspikes, you just may want to buy an extra pair of shoelaces to hold the Microspikes in place especially if you will be going into any deeper snow.

Yax Trax, whether the Pro version or regular, don't cut it for me. With little pieces of rubber holding them together underfoot, they are not very durable. I took mine for just one hike in the Dacks, and they broke.

[DougDowney]

Thanks for the info!
Plan to start the hike up at 07:00-ish on 5/2.
I'll be the geek with the bright yellow Carhartt hat.
Doug D.

[SkiCheapOrDie]

MicroSpikes are great, but I've never seen them at $25. They run around $55 although some might be on good sales right now. But they are the non-crampon traction device right now and are in high demand.

EMS, Concord (today)

MicroSpikes $59, some pairs in stock
Stablicers 2 prs left, 1 small , 1 large $48
They have YakTrax but the woman assisting me said they'd had problems with them breaking.

[shotstar34]

Yeah the YakTrax are good for only about one use. They worked great, until they broke on me. I had no slippage while hiking on the ice and snow. But i would go with one of the others if you plan on getting more than one use out of them.

[TDawg]

The Microspikes are great. You may say the Kahtoola Microspikes are Yaktrax on steroids, with a longer lifetime per pair, they're pretty sturdy. They weigh much less compared to the Stabilicers (14.4 oz. per pair,) and nothing falls off (like the Stabilicers screws.) And never mind them falling off, I've never even had them slip.

The extra 11 bucks is better spent on the spikes over the Icers, they work great on soft ice like on the Tucks trail. You'll be doin' the "cha-cha" over ice while some people are rolling around in the mud on the side of the trail hangin' onto branches. Cruise right over ricks and dirt with them, they can take it.

I have no affiliation with Kahtoola. (http://www.kahtoola.com/microspikes.html)

[jshefftz]

I saw a destroyed Yaktrax at the cog base yesterday. Pretty sure I didn't see it there two days prior. So I'm pretty sure someone had a disappointing Yaktrax experience on the AR trail Friday. (Although next time, please properly dispose of your broken outdoor gear -- but then again, given that it was at the cog base, disposing on garbage on site is in the spirit of the cog, right?)

[petebanta]

I was glad I had my 4-points on Thursday for ART. There were some icy spots with definite fall potential (like into the brook/fall).

Pack it in, pack it out (and dispose of properly), please.

The Kahtoolas look beefy enough for winter trail hiking to me. Plan to get some.