The couple hikes, lives right here in New Hampshire, and was curious about hiking Mt Washington in the winter. Upon reading Ty Gagne’s books, however, they were prompted to take this on very carefully. After doing some research it became clear they should contact us to investigate booking a guide. For this one-day half-century birthday hike — going up the Ammo and down the Cog way (changed from Jewell due to the limited visibility) — we put Redline Guide Debra McCown on it. Together, they summited, quest complete.
[…] We were on our way up Mt Washington, and it was covered in several inches of fresh snow — enough to need the snowshoes we’d carried up on our backpacks. Hiking mountains in snowshoes was new to them. So was using crampons. So was hiking in a whiteout. So was winter hiking at all. For one of our guests it her 50th birthday, however, and this was that she wanted!
She and her husband said this winter ascent of Mt Washington was their first real winter hike — but you wouldn’t have known. The two snowboarders from New Hampshire handled it like pros. After passing a flood of people who’d turned around at the Lakes of the Clouds Hut, they were eager to continue into near-whiteout conditions to the summit. They trusted me to get them there.
When one of the summit buildings (and bright red Mt Washington Observatory logos) finally emerged from the snow and fog, they were ecstatic. What a day! She got her birthday summit.
We descended, handrailing the Cog in deep snow with a biting wind howling in our faces. Treeline felt like a dream — finally sheltered from the storm and able to see our way. It wasn’t long before we were off the mountain — and the time of telling stories about her 50th birthday epic was to begin. —Debra
