Decided to hike up Mount Sunapee (from the Newbury side) today! Waited until the temps climbed into the high 20s before driving south (via I-89) and ended up making it through the ski resort “gauntlet” with very little trouble. I parked in a lot on the lakeside and then played “Frogger” as I crossed NH-103 to reach the Newbury Trail (orange blaze) trailhead. I was hiking in the snowy woods by 1030. The sun was shining and I stayed on the south side of the mountain for most of the climb - after a few miles, I felt liked I’d overdressed… But it felt good to be getting some more hill work and I kept at it, despite also encountering some slippery snow and ice. In a few places, I actually had to crawl to avoid a slide back to the bottom. Got some nice views of Lake Sunapee (to the east) but the greatest surprise was one vista (looking north) where I could see almost the entire White Mountain range - wow! Continued huffing and puffing until the terrain flattened out a bit - after that, my concentration was redirected to deeper snow that looked lightly traveled. My spikes were mostly useless but I wasn’t afraid of sliding, at least… Encountered two other guys who told me that I should detour to the lookout point on the “south summit”, rather than continue all the way to the “north summit”. Since the choice was between fewer people and the top of the ski resort lift, I took their advice. After passing a major trail junction (three colors of blazes), I hiked a little farther until I located the view they meant - it was a spectacular (almost 90 degree vertical) overlook of Solitude Lake! Ended up sitting on a rock (with my feet close, but not over, the ends) and taking a snack break. In the distance, I spotted a C-130 coming through the valley between Kearsarge and Sunapee and realized I was at a higher elevation than he was! Some other hikers took my picture with #theprouty sign (first one in 2022). I’d already walked about four miles and decided I’d skip the rest of the climb and head back to the car. This proved to be a good decision because I had a LOT of places where I needed to (literally) butt-slide down the mountain. By the time I was back at the trailhead (1415), I’d logged over seven miles and was pretty wet (mostly from melted snow). On the way home, I made a brief stop (window shopping) in Newbury at the Nordic Skater to learn more about skiing and skating equipment. Glad I made the ascent today - the views were worth the effort and I avoided a lot of crowds. Need to find some more mountains to climb!