At this time of year the Lion Head Winter Route on Mt Washington either closes or it just falls apart and becomes something we’d rather avoid. This doesn’t close the doors on our mountaineering programs, though. For training we head on over to visit our friends at Black Mountain Ski Area in Jackson, and for getting on steep snow we have a bunch of climbable couloirs throughout the Presidential Range. Of course, when we’re competing for steep snow with the Tuckerman Inferno race folks, we have to get creative. That’s what Redline Guide Debra McCown did with two students partaking in our Two Day “Winter” Mt Washington program. Keep reading for Debra’s words and some photos.
Up and Over
The original plan was to go out and back to the summit via Lobster Claw or a similar gully. But then we found out that the Tuckerman Inferno ski race was going to use all if the gullies in the ravine, and we didn’t want to do it in a crowd.
Instead we decided to drop a car and traverse Mt Washington from west to east, summiting via the path along the Cog and descending via Lobster Claw (later on, after the ski race was over).
We had some wind but overall decent weather, and the guests got to learn some fun White Mountain words like ‘rime ice’ and ‘spindrift.’ A good day in the mountains! —Debra
Training Day Photos
Climbing Day Photos
