Mt. Washington

Does anybody have any information on the Lion’s head summer route in the winter? I have heard that there is a significant avalanche risk considering the steepness, but I have also seen successful summits of Mt. Washington using this route in the winter. If anybody has any information about the terrain and ice, or experiences with this route that they’d like to share that would be extremely helpful.

Why not just use the winter route?  Usually when there is enough snow to make the summer route avalanche prone they close the summer route and open the winter one - which is usually better with more snow.  But with budget cuts to the USFS I don't know if things are still being managed this way.  

I haven't been on it in the winter, but from my understanding people do it very early in the season (november) as an alternative to the winter route but the traverse to the winter route becomes very avalanche prone after that. Looking at the observations from a few weeks ago, it doesn't look pretty. 

https://www.mountwashingtonavalanchecenter.org/observations/#/observation/a678fd38-c36a-46ba-a83f-c60a73d2509d 

https://www.mountwashingtonavalanchecenter.org/observations/#/observation/5ba638ce-c570-424b-92b9-47093d74c017

Obviously a few pit tests on two days aren't a ton to go off of but they don't paint a great picture. Also, consider where it is in the ravine. I believe the most avy prone part is at the end, where the route traverses climbers right along 30 ish degree slopes to join the winter route. That traverse is also on the windloaded side of the ravine so I can't imagine it being safer than the winter route from an avy perspective. 

Yes. There is a reason there are both a summer route and a winter route!!! Unless you enjoy adding potentially significant extra risk to your day, there is no reasonable reason to use the summer route during the winter.

I’ve climbed both in Feb and the summer route was spooky. Definitely crossed some obvious slide paths. We had a low predicted hazard and dug a pit, and ended up being fine. But never tried it again. 

It probably isn't the best choice, especially if your new to route finding, safe travel practices and avy awareness. If you're a seasoned/experienced mountaineer then the decision making over this is not complicated

Eric Engbergwrote:

Why not just use the winter route?  Usually when there is enough snow to make the summer route avalanche prone they close the summer route and open the winter one - which is usually better with more snow.  But with budget cuts to the USFS I don't know if things are still being managed this way.  

At Pinkham now, the winter route is marked as open on the avalanche board at the start to the Tuckerman's Ravine Trail.

LH Winter is completely filled in, the typical rock step is steep snow and very forgiving.

LH Summer has experienced 2 slides this winter.  I rarely go up this route, but will use as an easy descent with tired clients- provided that snow condies are stable.  Expect instabilities until we experience a warming cycle in the coming days.  

There are other options, too, that are much more exciting without significantly increasing difficulty: Lobster Claw, Right Gulley, South Gulley, to name a few.  Regardless of route, you should well understand mountain axe use.