| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Piper Mountain, Whiteface Mountain, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Whiteface Mountain Trail, Piper-Whiteface Link |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, January 31, 2026 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Plowed turnaround with no overflow. Room for a few vehicles at lunchtime. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Ice - Blue, Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow - Unpacked Powder, Snow - Drifts |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Snow bridged. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
Someone was pulling away in a bit of a huff when arrived and I soon found out why - they thought they could Microspike this trail, but didn't make it far with their parasitic postholing. Talk about trying to eat soup with a fork.
Even though the snow has settled a few inches since falling almost a week ago (still a foot or more of powder on top of the existing base), from the trailhead to the summit of Piper had seen no traffic. Two ladies did a great job breaking it out this morning. It's still very soft, even on snowshoes. A little bit of blue ice on one of the upper ledges, but easily passed on snowshoes. Snowshoe tracks continue from the summit toward North Piper.
No one had been from the stonewall junction to Whiteface since the storm, but there were some faint snowshoe tracks on the Jeep road, coming and going. I broke it out, but it's not at all packed. There was also some heavy drifting along the way, with depths around three feet in spots.
Fortunately the postholing on the lower portion of the trail was mostly repaired by a few subsequent snowshoers later this morning.
Beautiful day with clear skies and not too much wind, with temperatures rising from the single digits late morning to about 15 at lunchtime. |
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 | Name: |
rocket21 |
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 | E-Mail: |
rocket21@franklinwebpublishing.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2026-01-31 |
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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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