The day before spring will often reveal the beginning of things to come. The crocuses pushing upward, shrinking patches of snow reveal standing water and mud, and one may hear bird chirps amid the dripping sounds and gurgling. It’s usually less cold, less windy, and less snowy at this time. Unless you’re up there (author points to the mountains). Up there we’ve encountered a delay. Up […]
This will be one of those joint or combo posts. We had two teams doing the same thing which was basically our two-day winter Mt Washington epic — with exception to one student who was only there for the mountaineering skills training on day one. These teams were led by Redline Guides Pat Ferland and Glenn Van Neil. Neither team summited. As is sometimes the reality […]
What began as a group outing was unfortunately whittled down to a one-on-one ski tour due to unforeseen circumstances. But fun was had, nonetheless. The primary objective for the day was to shred Tuckerman Ravine and that part would stay indeed intact. On lead for this cloudland tour was Redline Guide Will Murphy and, together, they booted up Right Gully, skied it, then did the same […]
Combining all our resources allows us to teach many snow-oriented classes well into the spring. There is a little awkward in-between time, to be sure, and we’re in it, but we manage. This is great for people with bigger objectives this spring and summer who want to get in some last minute training. This class was a half day Mountaineering Skills course and was led by […]
Cool air warmed by sunshine and it sure feels nice. Unless you’re snow. If you’re snow it feels bad. It makes you melt and fade away. Snow longs for winter but spring will win the battle and the snow will go away. For now, though, we will enjoy what’s left. Though don’t ask us to define “enjoy.” Redline Guide Chase Hall lead this trip to Mt […]
[…] heights were reached that most cannot reach. It was one of those days, to be sure, and we had more than one party on Mt Washington. Also up there, climbing the same route, aiming for the same summit — and also running the same two-day program — was Redline Guide Ken Hodges. The training in his case was done over a week ago. Another difference […]
Many of our guests complete our two-day program with a near-summit of Mt Washington, happy nonetheless stoked by witnessing truly crazy weather. The mountain’s an ill-tempered character and it yells at us kids to get off its lawn. It’s an experience. On some days, however, if you tread lightly and think good thoughts, the old man sleeps. The kids scamper freely. This was one of those […]
What did you get for your birthday? Some things? A cake, perhaps? All lovely, we’re sure, and all very traditional. One guest and long time friend of Redline Guiding, however, hoped to celebrate her birthday in an atypical way. She wanted an experience! That makes sense to us. Experiences last while most things don’t. Especially nowadays. Originally the plan was for our guest to take our […]
SIGN UP WITH EMAIL Volunteer to give back to the WMNF mountains and their trails! For anyone who’s had the privilege of bushwhacking in the White Mountain National Forest (WMNF), you know just how instrumental the trails really are. If you think our trails are rugged, try pushing your way to the top of one of our 4000-footers off trail, amid the “pencil woods” — conifers […]
A couple of climbers, trained and tried once, were stopped at Mt Washington’s door (probably due to weather). They were back, and after it again. Or that was the plan. The next date selected for it ended up being what would have been a great summit day but one that sounded bad enough beforehand that they opted to pass on the date and move it to […]
We had couple of fellows reach out looking to salvage their day. They had planned on coming up to do some ice climbing with a group but it ended up getting canceled as climbable ice is limited right now (that may change briefly, now with snow on its way — cross your fingers). Instead of ice climbing they opted for a Glacier Skills Course. This, we […]
Flexing our flexibility is sometimes what we have to do. Flipping the safety switch, as needed. Here’s what happened: A returning guest reached out, so stoked about her recent winter hiking experience with us that she wanted to do it all again. This time, though, she also wanted to introduce her husband to the sport. Since Redline Guide Chase Hall led her last time, he was […]
