After a quick snack break on the sub-summit, it was time to tackle the remaining distance to the top. The main summit - now looming over us just to the north, was completely clad in fresh white snow. A well-defined (and very firm) snowshoe track led off towards it.
courtesy JInnes
Off we went, following the clear path. Within a few minutes, however, the snowshoe tracks stopped, at a western-facing overlook. Had the previous parties been uncertain of the way forward, or had they simply decided to turn around for reasons of weather or effort. I could see how someone not familiar with the route might be confused here: the terrain between the sub-summit and the slopes of the main summit is a bit jumbled and the way the route snakes through it is not all that obvious.
One thing was for sure, though: no more snowshoe track meant we had to put on our snowshoes. The snow was still deep and we would surely struggle without them - as well as create a big post-hole mess.
Finally all shod with snowshoes, we continued on, relying on memory of past ascents to keep us on the proper trail (there are essentially no official trailmarkers along the Catamount trail). The terrain between the subsummit and main summit slopes has a lot of interesting twists, turns and ups and downs.
Shortly we started up the main summit slopes. From here it was a relatively straightforward task of properly threading through the intermittent patches of forest. Between the patches, the upper slopes of Catamount have very nice open slab sections.
The going was substantially more difficult now that we had to break trail, and now that the strong spring sun had started to soften up the snow. Still, distances on Catamount are short, and it wasn't all that long before the steep slabs eased off and we arrived at the semi-open summit of Catamount.
courtesy JInnes
The newcomers to Catamount seemed happy with our journey thus far - new views, interesting trail, and great weather - with just the right combination and length for an intro hike. A chilly but only very slight breeze made its presence felt on the summit; what was far stronger was the powerful sun and brilliantly reflective snow - I realized that I probably should have put on some sunscreen today.
After some lunch and some chit-chatting, we started our return journey. Downhill combined with a now-broken-out track made for an easy descent. The only fly in the ointment was an increasingly wet snowpack, which started to lead to balling snow underfoot. Such balling usually leads to a partial or complete elimination of traction.
courtesy JInnes
Sub-summit getting closer
Despite the slipping and sliding, we all made it safely down to the subsummit. Back on hard-pack trail, we ditched the snowshoes and switched by to traction aids. The snow-balling continued, though, and I often felt like I was walking on snowballs (because I was indeed effectively walking on snowballs!).
courtesy JInnes
Downscrambling below subsummit
