We met at the trailhead before 8 AM, and were soon hiking. The previous few days had been warm, but the preceding night was cold, so the snow was hard, as expected. Clearly it had been much softer not too long ago, the trail was pockmarked with craters of various depth (including some very deep ones), especially at the edges of the trail.
The Crawford Path is an easy trail, with no really steep sections, so in spite of a leisurely pace we were soon at the junction with the Mizpah Cutoff, where we stopped for a short snack break. Since it is a popular snack stop with hikers we found the usual Grey Jays waiting for us! Then onward and upward to the junction with the Webster Cliff Trail at treeline.
The weather was warming, and there was not a cloud in the sky. The views were excellent in all directions, and we noted large areas of bare rock on the south facing slopes of Mount Eisenhower. We followed the footprints through the scrub, it was clear that at least one party had gone up with no snowshoes and paid the price!
Soon I was wondering what to wear on my feet. The snow was solid enough not to need snowshoes, but there were many patches of ice (suggesting crampons) and much bare rock (suggesting bare boots). I ended up putting my crampons on and taking them off several times, fortunately it was warm enough that these multiple stops did not bother us.
At the summit we had a long stop, almost as long as on a summer day! Still not a cloud in the sky and views in every direction. We were intrigued by a peak to the SE of Mt. Eisenhower that towered over its neighbours, apparently near Conway (it was north of the Cranmore ski area). The maps we had with us did not extend so far east, so definite identification had to wait. I took a compass bearing and on returning home to my map collection found that it was Kearsarge North, which had been our guess.
The way down from Mt. Eisenhower was a bit easier than the way up, but
still lots of ice in spite of the mid-day sun. We bagged Mt. Pierce on
the way back, just to be complete. All in all, a most satisfying way
to end calendar winter!