Mt. Mansfield, from the West this time

Headed up from the west this time, taking the very steep Laura Cowles up to stay out of the wind as long as possible, and Sunset Ridge down since, well, I prefer loops (and didn't want to descend all that steep!). LC was half broken-out, SR pretty much fully so. Temps were pretty mild, considering, but winds were very strong up above treeline and on Sunset Ridge especially (upwards of 40-50mph gusts). Wore snowshoes the whole way, even up on the rocky summit. The recent few inches of snow helped provide enough of a blanket/cover on the ice that the shoes nearly always retained a good grip. Parts of Laura Cowles were certainly tricky, but really not half as bad as if that snow hadn't fallen a couple days earlier. Above treeline, some bare rock, some ice, but also a lot of snow-coated ice to help with grip. A good amount of snow is forecast so that will only help; but still, walk carefully up there. Found a blue aluminum water bottle on the spur path to Cantilever Rock. Contact me if you lost one. 61 of Winter 67