Proof that the seasons can waffle a bit can be found in our mountains. In this case, on Mt Moosilauke. At the trailhead the end of the day it was becoming a spring day, but for a good part of the day it was pretending it was still winter. Leading this multi-season trip for a visiting couple from Ohio was Redline Guide Debra McCown. What follows […]
Life can get in the way of our more youthful desires and pursuits. Work, family, responsibilities, general adulting, time. These things can conspire against us, sometimes forcing us to shelve our wants in favor of our needs. Sometimes we realize these things later in life, blurring the line between said wants and needs. Hopefully before it’s too late to act on both. The most adaptable among […]
The title refers to the Grid — meaning hiking all the 4000-footers each month of the year. For our oft-returning Grid Gettin’ Guest, prior to this hike, that is, he only needed the Osceolas to complete April. And now, that task has been completed with Redline Guide Chase Hall by his side. Here are a few photos of the day. Great work, Chase, and to our […]
In one recent post we talked about our spring classes taking center stage, displacing all the winter classes we love to teach. Then here we are, the very next day, talking about winter again. Do note it’s not us flip-flopping, unable to choose a season, but rather it is nature taking its time with this annual metamorphosis. After all, the changing of the seasons doesn’t happen […]
It’s that time of the year… our educational offerings begin a seasonal change. Mountaineering, Winter Skills, Ice Climbing, and even Backcountry Skiing are beginning to get replaced with more seasonal offerings like River Skills, Wilderness Navigation, Rock Climbing, Hike Intro (spring version), Camp Craft, and others. In fact, just this week Redline Guide Debra McCown ran a Camp Craft course while Mike Cherim introduced three students […]
A Fun and Educational Weekend Event We’re excited to offer a women’s‑only overnight backpacking experience designed to build confidence, foster skills, and help you connect with nature in the backcountry. This exciting opportunity will be with Redline Guide Rhonda Willett. Rhonda is a licensed EMT, Wilderness First Responder, and experienced New England backpacker who brings a calm, safety‑forward, and supportive approach to learning overnight skills. Rhonda […]
Once again our Grid Gettin’ Guest was going at it, chipping away to what is a nearly all chipped away Grid. This post is covering two days, back to back. The first was Cannon Mountain. The second one was actually two, as in North and Middle Tripyramid. Leading this guest, as usual, was Redline Guide Chase Hall. Here are some photos… Well done, Chase, and well […]
We had one more group up there on Mt Washington, this time with Redline Guide Will Murphy. There were able to start skinning up Tuckerman Ravine Trail about a mile in and at the end of the day they were able to ski out on the Sherbie until the third water bar. From there they hiked. This was another father-son duo thing, getting the kids hooked […]
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 […]
A returning guest reached out looking to link some turns in the backcountry. We were able to help and happy to do so. Thanks to the Tuckerman Inferno race with its usual crowds, however, we decided to stay out of Tuckerman Ravine. Instead, Redline Guide Erik Samia decided to venture into the Gulf of Slides (GoS) just to the south. As it turned out, this was […]
Some folks, inquisitive as they may be, will pick up a new hobby and run with it during which they’ll potentially make every mistake in the book — some innocuous, some not so much. This is pretty common, too, if one pays attention to folks meeting at trailheads — water bottles in hand, shenanigans afoot. This phase of embracing the sport of hiking can take months […]
It starts off innocently enough with a clear appreciation for all things winter so the father introduces his 14 year-old son to his hobbies. Next up they’re hiking a mountain which progresses to hiking lists, then some ice climbing gets thrown into the mix, then some backcountry skiing, and bam… just liek that it becomes a need. The idea of stopping a foreign concept. This is […]
