We parked at the Bridal Path Trail-head in the Franconia Notch by 9am Saturday morning.

There was fresh powder on the trail at the start with increasing amounts as we gained elevation.

About 1 1/2 hours into the hike we came out onto some open ledge that had tremendous views of the Franconia ridge line.

From there we could see the Lafayette summit cone all white capped with wispy clouds grazing the top.

Near the AMC Greenleaf Hut we entered a spruce tunnel with billowy snow ensconced evergreens at which point the sun made a brief appearance hitting it all with light.

After lunch at the hut we pushed on for the one hour trip up the rock pile cone.

The wind picked up and visibility dropped as we neared the summit. 

We were in a cloud bank with 30 mph blowing snow. Rock out croppings were a hazy blur but we just able to make out the trail for the final 100 yards. 

On the summit for a few minutes we glanced around and buttoned up but still started to get cold. 

We put on our ski goggles/face masks and turned into the wind to begin our descent into more friendly territory. 

While descending we got to enjoy an amazing vista of mountain summits and valleys stretched out as far as the eye could see.