NARRATIVE
[10:12]
Arrived at the Gilson Pond Campground on time. The team lead arrived just after I did.
In attempting to get my crampons on my fingers froze almost immediately.
[11:00]
We were moving fast during the ascent. I started off well enough but soon found myself not only last but separated from the group. The hike lead at the front seemed to stop the group a few times to let me catch up.
The mountain trails were covered in light and fluffy snow, perhaps 6” deep. I found it hard to concentrate on my surroundings because we were going fast for me and because there were 7 other people. I naturally tried to tune in to the conversations so didn’t catch what was happening around me.
As I happed to be the heaviest as well as the slowest of the group I was always catching up or catching my breath. I was breathing hard at every water and snack stop, and after the first half was sweating so much that my sunglasses were covered in droplets. I peeled off my vest then sweatshirt and could have gone down to my shirt had it been convenient to do so.
[12:45]
We stopped near the summit for lunch. This was an area where the tree line began to fall away to Monadnock’s distinctive bald summit. While I did start cooking and completed most of it I felt awkward because no one else had brought a hot meal (adding to how weird I felt being the slowest). I didn’t fully boil the water on account of turning the nozzle the wrong way. I decided the water was hot enough and it did ok, though I only ate half of my lunch before trying to store the rest in my pack. Everyone had become very cold standing still for even a few minutes and we needed to move on.
The summit in the distance was white with black flecks. This in the midst a haze that seemed like a heavy fog. Beneath that fog little people clamored up and down, vanishing or emerging from the veil rather clumsily. We had not met many people on the way up, but I could see no less than 40 on and around the summit. Above the summit stood a cold, weak sun so filtered that I could stare right at its bright spot in the white haze.
Wind and cold became far more present now that we cleared the tree line.
Approaching the summit had the additional minor trouble of the snow laying on rock rather than soil for the rest of the ascent. We met and passed people coming down, some standing and eating. One group had a Bernese mountain dog entirely transfixed on a treat so that it never bothered to meet our gaze.
[13:26]
The final ascent was physically pretty easy, gaps in the stone made for an accessible climb despite the snow. Once I got over to the west face, I can only guess that it was zero with wind chill and that the wind was moving at at least 40 mph, the lighter members of our group got pushed around a bit. Here I could see that it was not fog but a low cloud which had enveloped the summit. Nonetheless we braved it all for the group shot, of course, assisted by a tall man who had just been sitting down on the rocks taking it all in.
[13:45]
As we began making our way down we could see the edge of the cloud that had just blown through as well as another cloud that was coming in.
REFLECTION
Materials
My clothing selection was basically the best of what I had on hand, which is not too specialized being optimized for tracking / exploring. Basically the opposite of going up a mountain. I was wearing a polypropylene long sleeve under my heavy cotton hoodie, on which was a fleece vest. Polypropylene is cheap, durable and warm, making it ideal for standing around in the cold, but it is not at all breathable. Nor is cotton, as useful as hoodies are.
Others in the group all wore hiking specific clothing and light gear. Some of it ingenious. One woman had a slim insulating vest under her main coat, meaning when she stood still she had all the protection she needed, but when she became active and compressed the coat to fit in her pack she was ready to assault the mountain in one step.
Medium
This adventure felt great. I was breathing and sweating, but I was not really pushing myself to any physical limit. Clearly more mountain training, especially mountain rucking would make moving faster easier, but outside of pace I was not otherwise concerned.
I only felt cold at the beginning, at lunch and on the summit, and I think the other hikers became colder faster when we stopped for lunch.
Had I arrived say 45 minutes earlier I could have made contact before the hike began. Fast hiking trips are not for patient observation, so there were no surprises here.
I was not hungry at lunch, making fussing with the stove especially silly. I had been eating jerky all the way up and it served me well enough.
Methods
Next time I’d like to arrive 20 minutes early to ground.
