Sunday, January 7
Summits: Zeacliff, Zealand, Guyot, West Bond, Bond, Bondcliff
Start: Zealand Road winter TH
Finish: Lincoln Woods TH
Miles: 22.85
Elevation gain/loss: 5440′
After spotting a car at Lincoln Woods at 5:30am, driving through 3″ of snow, and avoiding plows, we started out from Zealand Rd winter parking at 6:20am. It snowed all day long, with 3-4″ of accumulation. We made quick work of the road miles and the approach to Zealand hut. We stopped in at the hut for water and to adjust layers, and then headed up the trail for our big climb of the day. We made it to the summit of Zealand by 11am, and then pushed on to the Guyot intersection, stopping below treeline to layer up before braving the 40-50 MPH wind gusts, limited visibility, and thigh-deep drifts. We then headed over to West Bond, summited Bond by 2pm, and made it to Bondcliff by 2:30pm. Then it was the very long ~9 mile walk back out to Lincoln Woods. We needed headlamps by the time we made it to the flats and arrived back at the car by 6:45pm.
