| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Stairs Mountain - East Peak, Stairs Mountain, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Davis Path, Stairs Col, bushwhack |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, March 1, 2025 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Davis Path parking is large and plowed. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow - Unpacked Powder, Snow - Drifts, Snow - Wet/Sticky |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
All bridged |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Stairs Mountain Spur is impassable without a saw. It's going to take a lot of work to clean up. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
There's a random neighorhood dog that will hike with you have beg for food. |
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 | Bugs: |
Snow fleas |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
Snowshoes definitely required for entire hike, including crawford. Entire party wore shoes door-to-door
palindrome, the solution, zac, mike, trailslippah, wandering soules, oncoman
Somehow we managed to round out a group of eight to help oncoman work on his winter 200 NH list for The Footstool (stairs mountain east). Mike and the solution showed up late but caught up a little after craford spur. The day started out in the 30s with zero wind and partly cloudy skies, but there was an impending weather system moving in about 5, with a -18F ambient temp predicted on washington overnight, so dander was always in the air. We got a relatively late start after 8am but were first out for the day.
trailslippah and oncoman had broken resolution the weekend before, so for the first part of the hike, the trail breaking wasn't too bad with about 6"-12" of fresh powder over their track. It was mostly easy to follow the trough.
We took a wrong turn at the intersection and ended up descending to the abandoned Mt Resolution shelter site, so if you want to camp, it's broken! One in the party decided it was enough fun for the day and went back to the car.
We decided to due the bushwhack first and headed down stairs col trail to about 2600' before starting a whack NNE headed for the col. I was sinking bad and Zac was on his first winter hike this year and feeling the hip flexors, so we made a retreat, ensuring we'd make it back up the steep stairs col. The remaining 6 in the party made it to the summit and reported that it was mostly open, only getting thick towards in small sections. Oncoman found the canister and they headed back.
They reported that the climb back up the stairs col trail was very challenging, with the steep pitch causing the broken trail to deteriorate on the way up. Meanwhile Zac and I melted some snow waiting in the col. I decided to make an attempt of Stairs solo and Zac headed back towards the car in a lot of hip pain. I only made it about 0.1 miles before running into some really loaded side-hill where the snow was up to my shoulder after breaking. trailslippah says it was completely safe, but me not knowing jack-all about avalanches and being alone, decided to turn back and join Zac on the retreat.
Later, the party of 6 arrived back at the col intersection and solution and soules decided with the impending weather and time of day, it was best to make a retreat. They caught up to us a little after the crawford spur. trailslippah and oncoman tried to bag stairs via slackpack.
They got up the side hill and the steep section and won the ridge, but the spur trail to the summit was blowdown central. Soaking wet, saw back at the intersection with sub-zero temperatures coming in quick, they made the really hard decision to retreat, <50' of elevation to go. They got out safe and finished in the dark.
Overall a great day and great cast. A lot of introduction, which I always find fun. oncoman, if you read this, I promise to tackle stairs with you Dec 22 next year. It will be as easy as pie. |
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 | Name: |
palindrome/bougie |
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 | E-Mail: |
rcorsaro@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2025-03-03 |
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 | Link: |
 https:// |
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Disclaimer: Reports are not verified - conditions may vary. Use at own risk. Always be prepared when hiking. Observe all signs. Trail conditions reports are not substitutes for weather reports or common sense. |
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