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My friend Trey and I climbed up Mt Whiteface (4060′) and Mt Passaconaway (4043′) on Sunday. We hiked the peaks starting from the Ferncroft trailhead in Wonolancet, hiking up via the Blueberry Ledge cutoff, the Blueberry Ledge Tr, the Rollins Trail, and back via the Dicey Mill Trail.
These trails form a loop around one of the few old growth forests in the White Mountains. an area called The Bowl, which is surrounded by the steep slopes of Whiteface, Passaconaway, and several peaks in the Wonolancet Range forming an isolated Lost World cut off from the rest of the Sandwich Range.
We hiked Whiteface first because the ledges leading to the summit are quite steep and easier to climb than descend. We barebooted up the Blueberry Ledge Cutoff before switching into full crampons at the intersection with the Blueberry Ledge Trail. The trail gets very steep and icy after this point, getting more difficult the closer you get to the Whiteface ledges.
While I’ve climbed Whiteface in winter condition before, I’d forgotten just how treacherous this climb can be. I’d forgotten to sharpen my crampons since my last hike over the Bonds so I was a little nervous. The ice was very hard and I wasn’t getting the kind of grip that I rely on from my crampon points. But there were enough trees roots to pull ourselves through the crux points and two instances where using our ice axes proved extremely helpful. Still it was very slow going, taking us 3.5 hours to hike the first 3.5 miles of trail.
We were also quite tired still from the previous day’s hike up to North and Middle Tripyramid, which are located quite close by.
Once we’d ascended the ledges of Whiteface, we got onto the Rollins Trail which loops around the northern edge of The Bowl and leads to the actual WhiteFace Summit. The Rollins Trail runs another 2.3 miles on a narrow ridge linking Whiteface to Passaconaway. The trail gradually twists and turns through the woods coming out about 500 feet below the Passaconaway summit.
From there we climbed a series of switchbacks and more thick ice to the summit of Passaconaway which was shrouded in mist when we got to the top. We had a snack, took a photo, and started high tailing it down the Dicey Mill Trail back to the Ferncroft Trailhead. We really flew down this section of dropping close to 3000 feet and hiking the final 4.4 miles of the hike in just over 2 hours.
Another great hike with Trey and #45 and #46 in my winter White Mountain 4000 Footers
Conditions Summary:
Several inches of recent snowfall. Heavy traction recommended. Snow shoes unnecessary.
Total hike time: 9.5 hours/ 10.6 miles
Congrats, Philip. I have enjoyed watching you grow as an experienced hiker and mountain man over the past few years. You have built an expertise in winter hiking. I await your book on mountain hiking, which would resonate among many of your readers.
Thanks Dan. I’m just another White Mountains hiker. We grow them by the bushell up here.
I’m supposed to do this hike in a couple of weeks, Sounds like a tough one.
I’m afraid I underestimated it or maybe it was because we’d done North and Middle Tripyramid the day before. The ice on the Blueberry Trail is pretty intimidating and there are a couple of crux moves you need to get right to avoid a bad slide. Just go slow, test your handholds, and don’t worry about crawling when you have to.
I remember doing this hike. Its a tough one even if you hit it fresh. Those ledges wear you out more than you realize then rolins isn’t exactly nice.
I rather like the Rollins Trail although it is exposed on both sides to the weather, but Trey and I cringed every time we lost elevation because we knew we’d have to make it up on the Passaconaway trail.
Thanks for the tips, I’ll need them. ; ) Our loop is supposed to be 11.9 miles so I’m not sure why it’s a tad longer than yours.
Great day! Did you post a report on the Tripyramids hike the day before? I’m envious of your proximity to the Whites.
Not yet – I was literally falling asleeep as I wrote this. In the next day or two though. :-)
We started off by hiking Tom Wiggins Trail to Blueberry Ledge Trail late Nov ’13. We had to use microspikes the last mile to the summit because of all the ice. It was extremely time consuming. Luckily there was small trees to grab onto. We lucked out that day because it was a clear day. The views were just incredible
Which two W48s do you have left?
Wildcat A & D, and I’m not going to pay the Wildcat Ski resort $10 to hike up on US Forest Service Land. That money is reserved for The Moat!
That where we’re going after the Wildcat hike? I approve that plan!
How long has Wildcat been charging to hike up/down that trail? Do they lease the land from the USFS?
About a year. Yep, public land.
I think they started charging just to dissuade people from hiking on the trail. That being said, there aren’t that many hikers so why the charge??
Hey thanks for the post, my friends and are thinking of this route on friday but we only have micro spikes. Do you think you have to have crampons?
Yes proabably with the freeze thaw cycles we’ve been having. Whiteface is notoriously icy.