Early Winter Conditions on Mount Jefferson

Guest Blog by Joe Florentine

I had heard the Jefferson Notch road was still open, and that there were winter conditions in the Presidential range. Since the Jefferson Notch Road can close quite early, I figured that this was a great opportunity to get the Caps Ridge Trail without having to walk or skin up the Notch Road several weeks earlier. 

Heading up Saturday night, there was snow on the ground and in the trees starting at 2,300 feet. I camped out around 2,500 feet, and then started the hike at around 7:30am Sunday. Below tree line, there was a dusting to maybe an inch or two of snow, and minimal ice. At tree line, and above, there was significant rime ice and some ice on the slab sections. Conditions were not very windy, but visibility was poor between 4,000 and 5,300 feet. 

As I was heading up, I could start to catch glimpses of the false summit though intermittent thinning of the clouds, and had a good feeling that I was going to luck out with an undercast view. 

Sure enough, the summit was just above the clouds, offering 360 degree views. To the west and north. Thick clouds were pouring over Edmands Col and the ridge between Clay and Jefferson down into the great gulf. To the east and southeast, there were absolutely no clouds. The wind was quite strong at the summit, so I only was up there for around 30 minutes. 

The descent was straightforward enough, I saw a bunch more people heading up on the way down. I used microspikes from the outlook point below tree line, and above. I never saw any snow deeper than a foot.

Hopefully the snow line stays put for a little bit, keeping the notch road open, but allowing quick and easy access to the presidential summits under early season conditions!