A returning guest and amateur photographer, Linda, made a request to basically be in the alpine zone from sun-up to sundown, to make use of those golden hours shutterbugs love so much, summit Mt Monroe, and summit Mt Washington. And, during it all be informed about the alpine flora she wanted to photograph. Not just a hike, but a nature tour as well. It was suggested […]
If you’re injured in the backcountry there are possible many scenarios with many outcomes, but most have one thing in common: Rescue will take longer than one may expect. To give a clearer understanding of why, this fictional tale describes a typical rescue from start to finish. Chapter 1: The Situation To begin our story, let’s consider this: It is early June and you’re hiking a […]
Redline Guides Álvaro Marques and Ken Hodges haven’t been around all week. They’ve been hiking in Portugal — the country Álvaro hails from. Not just any old hiking, either. On this trip they had their sights set on the 7713-foot (2351m) Montanha do Pico (Mt Pico) the country’s tallest mountain. Specifically Mt Pico is a stratovolcano located on Pico Island in the mid-Atlantic archipelago of the […]
To those in the know, four days of back-to-back hiking here in our rugged New Hampshire mountains is not something to be overlooked. When it’s done by a guest from Florida who despite having the best in mountainesque gadgetry is unable to actually get out there to hike mountains, it’s even more impressive. And that’s exactly what our Floridian visitor did over the long weekend. And […]
Scrambles and views were requested by our returning guest, Oleg, and his friend, Yuliya, so we thought the Baldface Circle Loop might deliver (it’s not our first time to this rodeo). And it did. Leading this campaign was Redline Guide Ken Hodges. The experience for Oleg and his friend actually began the night before. They rolled into North Conway late and met owner Mike Cherim at […]
It was a perfect day to get out, climb high, and make new friends. As many know, we offer backcountry skiing adventures and instruction. This includes Nordic (cross country) and Alpine Touring (AT). What many may not realize is just how long our Alpine season can be once we include Mt Washington and the higher elevation gullies, snowfields, and cirques in the Presidentials. Some of these […]
One of the things most people would want to avoid in the early spring while there is still snow in the woods is to bushwhack. Unless, that is, one is participating in a two day Wilderness Navigation course. And unless, of course, one doesn’t say bring it, asking for an intensive bushwhacking experience. On duty for this one were Redline Guides Mike Cherim and Ken Hodges. […]
One would think that the best days would be the ones with clear skies, abundant sunshine, and sweeping, jaw-dropping views. But as one experienced in the mountains soon realizes, everyday gives us something. Today’s guest, Roberta — led by Redline Guide Ken Hodges — can attest to this, and she’s an extremely experienced hiker. Today brought the duo temperatures in the forties and mostly pea soup […]
In the northeast our tallest summit is that of the 6288-foot Mt Washington, the White Mountain — which is the most prominent peak east of the Mississippi River. It’s a historic and iconic mountain, to say the least. Some Native American people used to call it “Kodaak Wadjo” while others like the Abenaki called it “Agiocochook” or “Agiochook” (there’s still a prominent point, a crag, northeast […]
We’ve experienced a number of trips this season that ended up coming up short of the intended Mt Washington summit — some of those ending up on completely different mountains thanks to such rotten weather we didn’t even attempt the Rock Pile — so we were ready for a win. Redline Guide Jeffrey Shutak delivered the goods leading two guests, Delia (who returned to us after […]
While Redline Guide Arlette Laan was taking her long walks with her husband, Rich, more of our guides were doing their own thing — this is why we need so many guides, half are always out playing. Specifically, Redline Guides Liz Wyman, Ken Hodges, and Jeffrey Shutak were off in three different directions having three distinct adventures of their own. Let’s start with Liz, since she […]
In the case of Redline Guide Arlette “Apple Pie” Laan, we really mean Guide’s Winter Off. In typical fashion, Arlette spent the winter crushing big miles with her husband, Rich “Greenleaf” Gambale. Specifically, from December 31st, 2017, to February 28th, 2018, the husband-wife thru-hikers clocked about 850 miles during two back-to-back hikes. The first was Benton-MacKaye Trail, a 550 mile figure-eight involving part of the AT […]
