Nicole is in town for a couple of days so we met up with Anne, the famous French explorer from Adams County, and headed up for our first major summit of the year. We start in the lowlands of the Meders Valley and use these helpful signs to work our way to the flanks of Pollock Mountain.
We knew there was going to be a bunch of snow so we carried our snow shoes just in case.
Luckily, the snow conditions were perfect for snow climbing so we mostly used the snow shoes for extra training. Coco skipped along as we trudged our way up.
As we approached the ridge, as expected, we found continuous snow.
Once you pop on top of the ridge the Seven Devil Mountains take your breath away.
Coco takes a break from squirrel hunting.
I rarely put face shots on the blog but Nicole and Anne strike a pose and it was too good to pass up.
Ridge walking.
On the final push to the summit, it looks like it is right there. Notice the lookout just left of the tree?
It is a pretty good hard slog the last 1000 feet of climb.
This snow field doesn’t look like much but I can tell you it is plenty steep and a slip might take you on a 1000 foot toboggan ride. Any steeper and I would free more comfortable with a rope!
Daddy’s Daughter on the summit.
The views on Pollock Mountain are some of the best in the region.
After some lunch on top, we started our decent.
Things go pretty fast when plunge stepping down a snowy slope. It was a wonderful day!
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