Nason Ridge Peak #1

1/17/2015
We didn't make it all the way to the peak, but I would call this a successful trip. Our party of five snowshoed up the Smith Brook Road until we found a good spot to head straight uphill and cut the big switchback. Snow coverage was still thin enough that there was plenty of brush and no real avy risk on the big slope. The shortcut was fun, even though it probably didn't save us any time.

On reaching Rainy Pass, we decided that we didn't have enough time before our turnaround time to be certain of reaching the peak, given that we had another 1000 feet of gain to make through trees and brush. (We still make sufficient distance and elevation to qualify this as a Moderate trip for course credit.)

At Rainy Pass we met another party of three snowshoers, who asked about how to get to Valhalla Lake. They knew they had missed the turn, but didn't realize by how much. Seems that they were navigating without a map, so I think it was a good thing that they had stayed on the road.