At the age of 18 they are, in the eyes of the law, adults. Inasmuch some of what youths will do in their formative years before reaching that special age is done with their parents. Sometimes, however, if what the parents want to do — or can do — and what their kids want to do aren’t compatible, alternatives must be sought. Over the past couple days, we played the role of the alternative. In this case, the youth wanted to learn mountaineering and put it to use by taking on Mt Washington. This wasn’t in the parents’ wheelhouse, so to speak, so they reached out to us. Being that we enforce a Youth Protection Policy, we had to add a second guide to the mix. Fortunately the parents understood our policy and were willing to make it so. As was, leading this 2:1 educational adventure, were Redline Guides Mike Maciel and Debra McCown.
Day one was the standard training day with Winter Skills in the morning and Mountaineering Skills in the afternoon. This was followed by day two’s attempted ascent of the Rock Pile via the Winter Route of the Lion Head Trail. The didn’t summit — the weather was crazy — but they did hike and take on the steeps, at least to a point above the “Wilcox Step.” What follows are a few photos of the experience.
Day One: THE TRAINING
Day Two: THE CLIMB
