In February of 2013, I went on a 5-day trip to winter trip there in a group of 8. It took a lot of planning, and logistics. A few of us built ski pulks. Others had to buy AT skis. It was a big adventure for all of us and one of the best trips I've ever been on.
Day 1: Despite the long drive from Boston to Millinocket we didn't stay in the tiny motel for long. We were out before dawn and stopped at the AT Cafe for our last real meal for a few days. A 30 minute drive took us to the park, where we prepped for the long approach. Here you can see that 4 of us opted for a ski pulk and the other 4 shouldered huge packs. Stoke was high.
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The first 12 miles of the approach are mostly flat. Some small hills, but you're basically on the summer road for most of it. At that point, you can stay at Roaring Brook, or continue the last 3.3 miles up a much steeper grade (~2,000ft gain) to Chimney Pond. Most of us arrived at Roaring Brook between 2-4p. After a half hour stop, Devin and I decided to finish it out that afternoon. We arrived just before sunset and found the all the lean-to's filled with snow. In our exhausted state we managed to dig out only enough enough room for ourselves, make some quick dinner, and then settle in for some much needed rest.
To our complete surprised, not 2 minutes after saying goodnight, Emmett shows up! He's then followed by Tom and Dan. Now mind you, it's a 4 person lean-to. We have more lean-to's reserved but they're totally full of snow and it's late. In the end, it was a cozy night's sleep to say the least. Here you can see Tom is proud his ice tool pack hanger didn't fail him throughout the night!
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The next day we all slept in bit to recover from the long approach. Turns out that the other 3 guys arrived from Roaring Brook right at the time we finally started to mobilize. It was a bluebird day. We all had our first chance to soak in the beauty of the place. A lot of us decided to head over to the nearest ice climb and check out Mini Pinnacle. It's a great route. One of the easier ones there, but it doesn't feel mini compared to anything outside of Katahdin.
On day 3, we could hardly believe our luck was still so good, a third great weather day in a row! Lows have been single digits to teens each night, with highs getting up to around freezing, with sunny skies to boot. The objectives were a little bit bigger this day. Justin Baker and I set out to do Pamola's Fury Left, while Devin Saveall and Joe Gans went up Pamloa's Fury Right. Each rouge is a long WI-3+. A gorgeous day! Check out the view looking into the Great Basin. You can see the other party if you look hard enough.
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We waited a few as a 3rd party from our group, Dan and Andrew joined us at the top after coming up one of the Furies as well. They had the luxury of our boot pack so they made really good time. Here's a great picture of some very satisfied ice climbers.
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The day wasn't over. Making pretty quick work of the climb, we topped out and still had some energy and daylight to spare. Devin, Joe, and I decided we couldn't pass up the opportunity for a winter knife edge traverse when we were already almost atop Pamola at this point so we started up. Our bluebird day turned somewhat cloudy as we reached the first summit.
I've if you've ever hiked the Knife Edge in the summer, then you'll surely remember the chimney. Lines of people can back up here because it's a pretty exposed, tricky down-climb. In winter, it feels even harder. Amazingly, as we neared Baxter peak the sun poked out again. You can see the break-taking views of the knife edge looking back towards Pamola.
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And of course, the summit shot.
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The three of us got back into Chimney Pond just after dark. We had a new ritual at the end of every day that we continued again - stopping at the ranger station for a long chat with Ranger Mark. He's a great guy, a real climber. He's usually a friendly guy to all and I've run into him at Chimney Pond a few times over the years. But when you show up there with a rope and start to talk climbing, especially ice, his eyes light up. He's got a ton of stories and beta to share. Even some hot soup if you're lucky!
Our final day I climbed with Devin again. The original plan was to do the Cilley-Barber route. It's the test-piece long climb at Katahdin. However, after our climb and traverse we opted for a smaller day. The new objective: waterfall. It's a 2 pitch WI-4. A stellar route. At the time, this was the hardest grade I had climbed at that point, but I was feeling strong and motivated. It went really well. We made good time on the route. We approached the climb with our skis (split-board for me), so we even got the added benefit of riding back to Chimney Pond after the climb. Here's a picture of me on Waterfall, pitch 2.
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As long as the slog into chimney pond felt, the descent the next day felt even longer. We were beat. But we had a hell of a trip. Rarely do you get that kind of weather on a 5-day trip and we made the best of it. To this day, the guys on that trip are some of my best and main climbing partners.