The Wildcat Mountain Vary has two White Mountain 4000 footers, known as the ‘A’ peak or Wildcat A, and the ‘D’ peak, or Wildcat D. There are literally about 10 peaklets in complete alongside the Wildcat Ridge Path however these two are the one ones that depend as 4000 footers.
In winter, most individuals climb up the D peak first after which observe the Wildcat Ridge Path to the A peak, earlier than descending to Carter Notch and mountain climbing out the 19 Mile Brook Path. This route requires a brief shuttle from the 19 Mile Brook Trailhead on Rt 16 to the Wildcat Ski Resort car parking zone a couple of miles to the south. You too can hike the identical route in reverse and descend from the D peak.
When climbing the D peak or descending, hikers observe a sequence of ski trails which have been marked as a delegated mountain climbing route by the ski resort, so hikers don’t get picked off by skiers descending the mountain. You’ll usually see this route known as the Polecat Ski Path, though it’s really a sequence of smaller path segments linked collectively. Whereas it’s signed, it’s straightforward to recollect the route, particularly at nighttime, as a result of it follows the northernmost border of the ski resort. In different phrases, when climbing you all the time wish to maintain the forest in your left and when descending, the forest ought to all the time be in your proper.
Wildcat Mountain Off-Hours Entry
Prior to now, you used to have the ability to climb or descend the hiker ski trails any time you wished. However beginning within the winter of 2022-2023 (this 12 months), the resort proprietor restricted using the ski trails to sure instances of the day, when the ski resort will not be in operation. The ski resort can try this as a result of they’ve a particular use allow from the US Forest Service, despite the fact that the ski slopes are on public land in a Nationwide Forest
For those who’re a hiker, you possibly can solely use the hiker-designated ski trails earlier than 8:30 am and after 4:00 pm. It doesn’t matter which course you’re mountain climbing, up or down, entry is restricted to these hours.
The upshot of all that is that you simply’re prone to hike to or from Wildcat D at nighttime. Since it’s important to be off the ski path by 8:30 and it takes 2 to three hours to climb Wildcat D from the underside of the ski resort, you’d have to begin earlier than dawn to get off the ski slopes by 8:30 am. Equally, since you possibly can solely descend after 4:00, you’ll in all probability hike some portion of the descent after sundown.
Mountaineering up or down Wildcat D by your self at evening generally is a little spooky, however a brilliant headlamp does assist gentle the way in which. However mountain climbing at evening in winter will not be unusual, particularly on longer routes within the Whites, and it’s a great factor to get some apply doing.
Climbing up or down Wildcat D at nighttime can really be fairly a deal with when the moon is brilliant or when the sky is obvious and you’ll see the celebrities. The Wildcat Ski Resort doesn’t have evening snowboarding they usually don’t gentle up the slopes or the chair lifts at evening, so you possibly can expertise the marvel of the winter sky with none gentle air pollution. That, alone, is an efficient motive to climb up or come down the Wildcat ski trails at evening even in case you don’t care about climbing a 4000-footer.