Well the bikes have been put away for a good month at this point and that means it is time to hike and snowboard. 

This winter season has seen some pretty hefty snowfall all across New England so Kate and I wanted  to get up into the mountains and take advantage of it.  We tried out Carter Hut, which was a new one for both of us.  It is one of the three huts that the AMC keeps open on a self service basis in winter.  Carter is actually a 3 building compound.  The main hut is a communal area with several large tables for eating, cards or whatever you wish.  There is a small kitchen, completely stocked with pots, pans, plates, glasses and communal water.  In addition to this, there is a caretaker room.  Guests stay at one of two separate bunkhouses.  While the main hut has a wood stoves the bunkhouses do not.  Luckily the temps never dipped below 20 or so.  Kate and kept warm with hot Nalgene bottles in our sleeping bags.

Carter Hut is in Carter Notch.  This essentially is the low saddle between Wildcat mountain and Carter.  There are hiking options up both mountains, and we decided to try out Carter Dome.   The “Dome” title is very applicable.  Carter really has no peak.  What it does have is some very nice view northeast to Maine and some nice views of Mt. Washington. 

The hut was only lightly used this weekend.  In addition to us, there were two  small groups for a total of about 10 people.  This was the night before New Years Eve.  We were told that a group of about 40 was coming the next night.  That would put the tiny hut at full capacity.  We were pretty psyched we weren’t going to be there for it.

The snow conditions were awesome.  On the way up the trail was packed enough that we didn’t need snow shoes.  Once at the hut we dropped a bunch of gear and made our way up Carter.  We used crampons to climb the steep trail.  At the top we took a snack break and enjoyed good views of Washington.  We headed back down and enjoyed a night in the Hut.  Overnight we got about 6 more inches of snow and as the first ones out, we made fresh tracks down the trail.  On our way we passed many of the 40 people spending New Years Eve there.

Pictures HERE