Whiteface is just barely a 4,000 footer at 4,020 and ranked as #45 of the 48, but on a clear day: Wow – I love this mountain! Komodo & I got a relatively early start and we were on trail at 11AM. The ride up to Wolanacet from Center Harbor was short and scenic. The field, cemetery and houses at the trailhead are postcard perfect. The weather was even nicer than Friday when we went up Cardigan with Stinky the Snake.
We went up Dicey’s Mill to Tom Wiggin before putting crampons on. Wiggin is the meat & potatoes of this ascent and crampons make it straight forward. Micro spikes or non-awesome snowshoes would make this whole trip a real challenge. A short rip up Blueberry Ledge brings you to the false summit and the first of easily a dozen unbelievable (Views From the Top) VFTs on the way to the true summit. Seeing Squam and Winnipesaukee sprawled out in front of you is pretty awesome and getting that on a sunny day in February with almost no wind is a real gem!
We left the ice axes in the Apemobile and just brought crampons and poles. This was big for Komodo who usually favors the axe and no poles, but by the end of the day he was sold on the value of poles. Poles can be a pain on tight little boulder / ice scrambles like those on upper Blueberry Ledge, but 8 times out of 10 they are a big plus. Komodo is now a big fan – especially on sketchy stream crossings.
Route Info: We went up Dicey’s Mill to Tom Wiggin to Blueberry Ledge and came down Blueberry all way. The end of Blueberry is on driveways so to do it again we would take the Blueberry Cutoff to finish back on Dicey and pick up the cool little bridge on the way back. The easier route is to go out & back on Blueberry all the way and skip Wiggin.
Final rating on this hike: 9.5 / 10.
