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The Tripyramids consist of three distinct peaks, but only two count as 4000-footers. South Tripyramid does not as it stands less than 200 ft above the col on the ridge from Middle Tripyramid. Our plan was to hike North (4180′) and Middle (4140′) via Pine Bend Brook Trail. This took us over North then over to Middle. We then backtracked over North and back the route we ascended.
The trail had been broken out by some folks the day before (thanks!) They noted in a trail conditions report it took them over six hours to make it to Middle Tripyramid. Book time is 6:30! Thankfully it wasn’t rough going for us.
After 10 stream crossings (yes, ten each way) we made it to the steeps. The crossings were all open, but none very difficult. I wore snowshoes the whole way up and found them necessary. It was a little overkill for the beginning section, but the lifts worked great on the steeps and I avoided postholing. On the way down, we did some sledding so I switched to microspikes.
The Whites got a lot of snow! We guessed around four feet of snow which almost buried the trail signs.
We saw a TON of rabbit and deer prints, but no animal sightings. With a group of four we were too loud.
Even though there aren’t many views via Pine Bend, there was a lot of beautiful untouched snow. It was a winter wonderland and we loved every minute of it. There was even a little doorway for us to pass through!
From my last visit to the Tripyramids (via North and South slide) I remembered where the summit of North was. The small cairn was covered with snow.
It is less than a mile to Middle Tripyramid. We saw some views of Waterville Valley which were in and out of the clouds.
On our trip back down Pine Bend we did a good deal of sledding. This route is perfect for sledding as it isn’t too windy or super steep. It’s a fun ride and you don’t feel like you might die coming down. For me, that’s a good time.
After the sledding ended it felt like a long walk back over the ten crossings. It was a beautiful and calm day in the Whites.
Quick Facts:
Approach from: The Kanc
Height:
North Tripyramid: 4180′
Middle Tripyramid: 4140′
Distance: 9.6
Elevation gain: 3483 feet
Time: 7 hours including breaks
Last modified: November 28, 2014
7 hours, that’s a serious hike! So envious of your proper snow, you have tons and tons and tons of it!!! There are still about 10 snow flakes on the top of Snowdon….. when’s your spring kicking in then, surely you must be as ready for Spriung as we are in North Wales, it’s time for those little Daffodils to start blooming ^_^
Great post!
What kind of sled did you use?
Spring starts March 21st, but we won’t start to get Spring like conditions until probably April. Then it’s rainy like the UK 😉
For the person who asked, I have what’s called a slidy sled from LLBean. You can also get away with using slippery pants!
Thanks for the sled info – I know slippery pants often are good enough (esp for the tripyramids!), but I’ve had too many situations recently where they didn’t quite do the trick.