July 3, 2006, Mt. Washington

Based on the trip report earlier in the week, Mt. Washington sounded like a worthwhile endeavor.  I probably had one of my greater pucker moments there last year on a west face climb, but I'd never made turns there.  We hit the trail this morning at about 7:00, much to the delight of the hordes of famished skeeters.  With a healthy (or very unhealthy) coating of deet we made our way quickly down the trail.  We accessed the ridge at about 9:30 and headed up near the summit spire.  There were lovely turns on the remaining finger of snow on the west face, which is going fast.  We opted for the more copious snow fields on the east side.  We found very turnable, mildly suncupped corn.  We made three laps along various portions of the east face and called it a day.  The mosquitos were still hungry on our way out.  Great day and a fun mountain.  However, the days of good skiing on Washington this season are numbered.