If this was correct, we would have a forty-ninth 4000-footer. We were having a conversation about a bushwhack with Steve Smith, owner of the Mountain Wanderer Bookstore in Lincoln, NH, and compiler and editor of the 30th Edition of the AMC’s White Mountain Guide. During our talk Steve broke out some maps as he’s been known to do, pointing out this or that to his customers. […]
We’ve experienced a number of trips this season that ended up coming up short of the intended Mt Washington summit — some of those ending up on completely different mountains thanks to such rotten weather we didn’t even attempt the Rock Pile — so we were ready for a win. Redline Guide Jeffrey Shutak delivered the goods leading two guests, Delia (who returned to us after […]
While Redline Guide Arlette Laan was taking her long walks with her husband, Rich, more of our guides were doing their own thing — this is why we need so many guides, half are always out playing. Specifically, Redline Guides Liz Wyman, Ken Hodges, and Jeffrey Shutak were off in three different directions having three distinct adventures of their own. Let’s start with Liz, since she […]
In the case of Redline Guide Arlette “Apple Pie” Laan, we really mean Guide’s Winter Off. In typical fashion, Arlette spent the winter crushing big miles with her husband, Rich “Greenleaf” Gambale. Specifically, from December 31st, 2017, to February 28th, 2018, the husband-wife thru-hikers clocked about 850 miles during two back-to-back hikes. The first was Benton-MacKaye Trail, a 550 mile figure-eight involving part of the AT […]
Another Mt Washington attempt, that is. As much as we’d like to say we always summit, in all honesty this season’s Mt Washington’s attempts have been for the most part falling short. Either the weather has been uncooperative or our guests haven’t been up to the task on the given day of their attempt due to illness, cramps, etc. All of this is normal in the […]
Nice weather is rare on Mt Washington so yesterday was special. Mild temperatures, full sun, and slight winds. It’s not often like that on the Rock Pile. Especially in winter. But that’s what Redline Guide Ken Hodges got to enjoy today as he led a single guest, Oleg from Brooklyn, on a summit attempt of our infamous mountain. Of course this wasn’t by accident. We offer […]
Have you ever been scared on a mountain? Frightened for your life — or for your fingers or toes? Have you ever wondered frantically which way to run from an alpine thunderstorm? Have the winds ever knocked you flat? Has the cold ever invaded your body so deeply that you had extraordinary difficulty with the most mundane tasks? These conditions and more can consume your mind […]
Yesterday, February 24th, 2018, was the wedding of Corey and Jodi, a couple who reached out recently with plans for a small, intimate service. Since we do remind couples they can have it however they like, this service had a custom twist. To begin, our Justice of the Peace Mike Cherim recited a poem called the “The Invitation” by Oriah Mountain Dreamer. And this was but […]
While the Baldfaces lack the stature and notoriety of Mt Washington and the Presidentials, the South and North peaks, 3570-feet and 3610-feet, respectively — located in Evan’s Notch just east of the Wild River Wilderness and tantalizingly close to Maine — are nonetheless stunning. And stunning sounded about right as it concerned the wants and needs of Dana and Doug from New Jersey. Dana approached us […]
Allowance is unacceptable. We’ve previously mentioned the triad of systems that create us, the hiking machines that we are. What we didn’t tell you was that these systems are not self-maintaining. You have to work at keeping things running right. Like other machines, some maintenance is required. In the hiking world, we refer to this simply as self care. Of those three systems — us, what […]
Our Nordic and Alpine backcountry ski intro classes aren’t top sellers for us, but they are solid classes and a ton of fun. Today, thanks to lean, crusty snow conditions in the actual backcountry, we took it to Black Mountain Ski Area in Jackson, NH. There Redline Guide Mike Cherim and a single guest, Alex, purchased uphill skinning passes so they could ascend the snow covered […]
Monday was cold and breezy at higher elevations, but what a beautiful day it was. Clear under partly overcast skies, sun and blue skies in the distance, simply stunning. And what a great day to be hiking in the Southern Presidentials. That’s where Redline Guide Jeffrey Shutak was. He was leading one gentleman, Gary from West Virginia, to the summit of Mt Pierce (4312′). The plan […]
