depending on whether you hit every peak or skirt them, you're looking at about 9,000 feet change going from the boy scout camp parking lot in the north to the hut in the south.

c'mon, whats 9k in 18 hours? You can doo eeeit!

So shall we do it in early december as a warm up for Mexico?

In one day of course...

Oh the gear headaches! I want to do this, but am I safe to assume that this is going to require some major renting of gear. I have a 0 degree synthetic bag and three-season mountaineering boots (LaSport Eiger). From what I'm readin it looks like I'm going to need a -20 bag and insulated (plastic?) boots. What a pain in the ass... Are the presidentials going to be much colder than the Dacks? Or is there that much of a difference. I don't feel like buying a down jacket, I'd like to get away with the synthetic one I already have. Maybe I will just make the drive to UT.

Whoa!
Slow down man. You don't want to get yourself on the traverse without some serious
training and some serious gear. That's some major commitment, especially between
grey knob cabin and lakes of the clouds. An ice axe is really important for the traverse
as well as full conditions clothing, 4 season tent plastic boats, crampons, -20 bag
etc. Think 7 miles with full exposure to the weather and difficult escapes from the ridge.

I would suggest staying in franconia notch to start and climb the kinsmans followed by
liberty and the flume and finish out your time by climbing the bridal path to lafayette.
This trail doesn't require an axe if you don't attempt to traverse to lincoln and you
can get by with the crampons affixed to your snowshoes. Also commitment is low,
since you can escape rapidly back to treeline by way of greenleaf hut.
The weather can be absolutely horrendous above treeline in the winter in the whites
DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE IT!!!

For the prez traverse, you will need to be prepared for "full-on" conditions. This is, however, less so for the Daks. All of the peaks have relatively easy retreats to tree line. I spent a lot of time up there last winter with leather/gore-tex hiking boots, snowshoes, a down jacket, and a 0 degree bag. (Though sometimes it ices over and requires an axe and crampons.) You don't even need a tent necessarily as you can stay in the MANY shelters.

I tried to do the prez traverse in a day last summer and it almost killed me (literally). Though, granted that was because I made a lot of really stupid mistakes. I just want to re-iterate that te prez traverse is a very serious undertaking.

Have you ever walked in whiteout ,freezing fog conditions with wind ove 60 MPH for 18 miles? It aint the Gunks cairage road.

unless your just out for the day,you want plastic double boots.I've done multi day trips with my leather ice climbing boots,and it sucks.You'll eiter have wet boots in your bag,or frozen boots in the morning. ,You might be better off using ski poles ,with a self arrest pick,than an axe,depending on what route you take. Remember your sleeping bag IS your last line of defense,don't skimp. I've climbed in a fleece t-shirt in feb.,and been hypothermic in freezing sleet in may. Weather up there is Very unpredictable. You also might want to think about not doing this alone.Have fun.

yes. its not really that big of a deal.

in fact, i thought that it was a rather fun jaunt. We had about 20 foot visibility once we got onto the ridge of (adams? i forget...) till we stumbled back into the treeline about ~10 hours later.

i used uninsulated leather boots with footwarmer beds, and generally light and fast gear. I lugged a bunch of garbage with me because i was expecting more full on conditions, but there wasnt really that much snow or ice. I attempted the route in november two years ago and did it in january two years ago. Oh, and the reason for turning around the first time was that my partner got food poisoning and was puking his guts out on the first hill.

I think that when i do it this time i will use my insulated leathers, but i cant justify in any way using plastics on such a small route. For me, i dont see the point of plastics till its really cold and i wil be there for a few days. I mean below 25 below Fahrenheit by really cold.

(incidentally, i recently traipsed onto the carriage road in full-dark conditions and suddenly understood why those mythical climbers of days passed who rapped onto the road stayed there, tied in for the night.)

why do you want to do the traverse in more than one day? i don't understand.

You might want to consider the Lake Colden/Avalanche Lake area in the Adirondacks. The area is beautiful, there are numerous lean-to shelters, and you'll have five high peaks to choose from, each of which has at least one non-technical route. You can approach from Upper works through Flowed Land, or from the north, by way of Adirondack Loj. You might enjoy a trip through Indian Pass, as well; Wallface Mountain is spectacular in the winter.

While either of these options is far less committing than the Presidential traverse, I would still recommend a pair of double boots and a good winter bag. If you are going to be in snowshoes the entire time, however, you don't necessarily need to drop $250 on mountaineering boots; a pair of good, double snowboots will keep you just as warm, and cost you half as much. If you already have a zero degree bag, buy a good liner or stick your lightweight summer bag inside the winter one.

Because it might be too much for someone in a day. I'm not sure I could pull it off as a day trip. I am quite sure I would NOT want to do it multi-day. Who wants to lug all that shit up and down those freekin mountains. No fun!