It was still a full day, but Redline Guide Phoebe Seltzer, we noticed, checked back in earlier than anticipated. She predicted an 8-10 hour day. The objective was to ascend the Ammo, get on Crawford Path, summit Mt Washington — if its weather allowed it — then take Gulfside to Jewell. A fairly standard loop. The weather, though, ugh. It was nice in town, but up there in the alpine it was windy and foggy. That last mile toward the hut a tough one. With all things considered, it was decided to get while the getting was good. Could we have gone? Yes. Experience, familiarity, even electronics smooth the way, but sometimes turning is the best call. The final decision making is left to the guide and it’s a decision not made lightly. “The mountain,” as they say, “will be there another day!” In any case, the experience of being up there is alone worth having.
Here are a few photos of their day. In them you can’t hear the wind but the rest seems clear… or would that be unclear?
