A family wanted to attempt Mts Monroe and Washington and hired us to help them. The first time their day was scheduled, the wind forecast was so bad and the predicted temperatures so bone-chillingly low, our guests asked to postpone — which is good since the guides didn’t think it was a good day to go, either. This past weekend was their do-over. Sadly, our mountains were again being anti-social, putting up wind walls and threatening us with snow, sleet, and/or rain, but this time due to slightly weaker winds and some milder temps, the team stuck to the plan and went for it. At least as far as the members of the team felt comfortable. On lead were Redline Guides Deb Dunn and Howard Aronson. It’s no longer winter, but this family still got to experience the alpine zone, battling strong gusts on the ridge in some intense conditions. Thankfully the precipitation held off, but as the fun slipped from type one to type two, the team turned around 2-3 tenths from the Monroe’s summit. Howard provided the following summary, along with Deb’s.
It was an awesome day on the Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail. Three guests, plus myself and Deb Dunn, attempted to summit Mt Monroe. We knew it was going to be a challenging day, as the forecast had some precipitation in it, as well as high winds, and cold temperatures. But we got up to the hut in pretty good time, and we decided to go for the summit of Monroe. But after going a couple of tenths, we realized that it was not going to be. All in all a fun day was had by all (while it lasted), and our guests got to experience what it was like up above treeline in the alpine zone on a wintery day. —Howard
We started up to Monroe and the wind was super strong and visibility was very poor. We gave it a try and made the decision as a group to turn around about 100 yards past the trail sign. I think it was the right decision. They had a good time and were very happy to have experienced some intense weather, and make it back safely. —Deb
Good job, team. Way to go making smart choices up there. To our guests, it’s still awesome, isn’t it? Thanks for adventuring with us!