Most of the time we will write posts about single events: a hike, a climb, a backpack, etc. But on some weekends there is just so much going on it’s a bit overwhelming (not complaining) to try and piece it out like that. Sometimes we have to blend the ingredients and make some sort of mountain adventures smoothie, so to speak. Inasmuch this post will be […]
Leading another backcountry ski tour, Redline Guide Dominic Torro, reached out after the tour in the Gulf of Slides telling us about the adventure and how they crushed it out there, adding specific information about the Fingers, the avalanche conditions, and how they stayed safe. He did this by voice memo, obviously stoked about the day. Our guests come with varying levels of skill and experience. […]
Due to scheduling, weather, and other considerations, we ended up leading our guest up Central Gully in Huntington Ravine in the dark. Redline Guide Debra McCown reported that they got on trail at 3:45AM, topped out of the ravine by 10AM, and made it back to the trailhead by 1PM. If these numbers make it seem like it took a long time, it did, but we […]
A new guest wanted to try his hand at some New Hampshire ice climbing so he signed up for a one day Intro to Ice Climbing course with us. We decided to put Redline Guide Glenn Van Neil on it. Glenn took him to Frankenstein Cliff in Crawford Notch to climb the Standard Route of Lost in the Forest. There our guest was able learn things […]
The weather on Mt Washington can stop us from summiting. The ground conditions can stop us from summiting. A lack of conditioning or self-confidence can also stop us from summiting. And sometimes it is a combination of these things that can halt our progress. So what do we do? Well, we are sometimes hired to lead a do-over. As the well-known expression informs us: “The mountain […]
Not to be confused with last week’s MWOBS trip. this group was originally slated for a date in January. It didn’t happen, though, thanks to insane triple-digit wind speeds, and negative double digit temperatures at the time. Thankfully our partnership with the Mt Washington Observatory (MWOBS) is a solid one and they were able to come up with an alternate weekend for us. And as out […]
A returning guest working on her winter Terrifying 25 list really wanted check off the Wildcat Range Trail and asked us for some assistance. We were stoked to help with Redline Guide Will Murphy leading the charge. What follows are some photos of this wild and windy, Wildcats adventure. The sound of accomplishment! Great work, Will, and to our guest, congratulations and thank you for […]
We had a group reach out to us requesting a Goldilocks hike. They wanted some elevation gain, but a moderate amount as the team was quite varied in fitness, in experience, and in their desire. To lead this half-day snowshoe outing we had Redline Guides Tim Jones and Mary Fields. The objective was to hike up Hurricane Mountain Road, then take Black Cap Trail to the […]
Another training day followed by Mt Washington attempt is in the books. On day one we went over winter and mountaineering skills as is the norm for out Two-Day Winter Mt Washington Program. This was lead by Redline Guide Chase Hall (with Mike Cherim shadowing). On day two Redline Guide Debra McCown led our guest on the Lion Head Winter Route. What follows are a few […]
A tech company out of Somerville, Mass, asked if we were available to lead a large group snowshoe tour at a private retreat in the Lakes Region. As a matter of fact, we were, and happy to do so. For this short snowshoe hike on mostly groomed trails on private lands, since this was in a non-wilderness area, only one guide was requested. We asked Redline […]
After a day of training as part of our 2-Day Winter Mt Washington program, our guest was ready to lock horns with the Rock and Ice Pile. Based on the summary below it was quite the day they had up there. Leading the charge was Redline Guide Debra McCown. Some of her words and a few of her photos to follow… It was cold, and we […]
A couple from Illinois reached out to us hoping to ski something in the backcountry, particularity on Mt Washington as that is what most people are aware of. One skier was pretty new to the sport so we didn’t want to do something too crazy, while to the other skier was clearly seasoned so we didn’t want to do something too easy either. Redline Guide Dominic […]
