Snow has fallen in July, and in August, and in any month you may select — at least on Mt Washington. On that mountain the weather ranges from the worst humankind has ever seen to beyond spectacular. This latest trip was on the nice end of that scale. Today was sublime, amazing, and spectacular, the latter tagged as an understatement. The ascent was part of our Two-Day Winter Mount Washington program. For those not in the know, this consists of a full day of Winter and Mountaineering Skills followed by our attack on the mountain the following day. The objective not just being to climb and stay safe, we also want our guests to look good doing it. On lead for the weekend was Redline Guide Glenn Van Neil. He led both the instructional segment and the climb. Both days a success. Here’s his take, along with some photos:
Success! The weather forecast said cold and windy so we were prepared: warm clothes, plenty of snacks, water, and the Thirteen Essentials. We left Pinkham Notch at 7 AM and there were already a number of parties in front of us. We made good time and quickly found ourselves at the start of the Winter Route of the Lion Head Trail. There was a small traffic jam at the [Wilcox] step, but we passed those groups and continued moving up towards the summit. Even though the forecast said windy, it was calm, we reached treeline, and then the wind was there. Up over the Lion Head, across the Alpine Garden, and onto the summit cone back into the calm. On the south side of the summit, there was no wind and we talked about how warm it was in the sun. We continued up, cresting the top of the hill and we were there! Spectacular clear day… truly an understatement. The views were endless and we watched a few clouds pushed by the wind, make their way through Crawford Notch from the summit. A quick walk around to check out the views from all directions and we decided it was time to head down. There were many parties still coming up the trail as we descended. It seemed as though we were back in the parking lot too fast. All in all a spectacular day on Mount Washington, and under eight hours car-to-car is pretty respectable. —Glenn
Awesome report… and check out these photos!
