Oh, sure, the sun may be out, and some folks might be seen scurrying about town wearing shorts still, but in the mountains, the tide is turning fast. Up there the air is starting to hurt. The wind machine is cycling up, the temperatures are swirling downward in an irrevocable cycle. Winter is coming! Hypothermia — a perilous dropping of your body’s core temperature — is […]
On December 21st and 22nd, 2019, we are offering an overnight Camp Craft-inspired Backpacking event providing detailed instruction to participants on how to successfully camp out in the winter months while staying reasonably comfortable. Backpacking is not about suffering. Quite the contrary, actually. Even in winter. But why, you might ask. Well, due to road closures limiting access to certain parts of the National Forest in […]
[…] maybe Fort would come into view. The same private guest we recently led to the Rangely area in Maine came back to finish what she started, working on the New England Hundred Highest list. Still in the lead was Redline Guide Ken Hodges. There’s not a lot to tell. She needed Coe (3795′), North Brother (4151′), and Fort Mountain (3867′). South Brother she had gotten […]
Flexibility in business is a positive thing. Whenever we and our guests are able, we will often work around the weather or anything that might lessen the enjoyment of the day. This isn’t policy, per se, but it is how it is. Policies are designed to protect us when we can’t, but if we can… well, flexibility in business is a positive thing so we try […]
“Of the seventeen peaks I have left, only the hard ones remain,” she said as she booked our services for a guided ascent of the 5712-foot Mount Jefferson (third tallest of the 4000-footers). This trip, however, would be atypical. Instead of hiking with our guest from trailhead to summit then coming back down as we normally would, this time our guest would be headed up on […]
Having a close friend or family member who is a strong, skilled hiker with myriad related outdoor skills and specialized gear at the ready just in case things don’t go as planned is awesome. Literally a would-be life-saver. But if you don’t, you still have us. More and more we find ourselves being that close friend. Obviously we do this professionally so we can’t settle for […]
That’s the title we came up with. We tossed around other ideas with our guest but ultimately the one above is the one she liked best while still being rated PG. Other PG titles that were considered: “One Last Hurrah” and “Why I Hated Ryan.” The rest can’t be printed here without marring our reputation for posting family-friendly content. So, with that said, now on to […]
A marriage ceremony is a solemn event, a serious thing… so please refrain from laughter. Unless, that is, you’re the bride and groom who even on your wedding day spark lively with your irreverence. To you, dear couple, you may carry on. For you, dear couple, you will be unstoppable. That’s what we saw at Frank and Jennifer’s wedding atop Square Ledge in Pinkham’s Grant (Pinkham […]
This is a very simple story with a very happy ending. Our recent guest who hiked with us to Owl’s Head had come back to us for one more peak (for now). Owl’s Head, you see, was her 47th mountain toward the completion of the NH 48 4000-footers list. Thus, she had one more: Mount Isolation. Like Owl’s Head, Isolation is as its name implies, out […]
The sky began to get lighter in the east, then colors started to reveal themselves as the low sun crept closer to the horizon forcing its brilliance through our atmosphere. This created an otherworldly, Martian-like alpenglow. Before long the sun rose over Hurricane Mountain and kissed the ledge with its sunlight. It was stunningly beautiful — shaping up to be a fantastic day. A great one […]
When going over isn’t an option, going around surely is. This was the choice Redline Guide Ryan Mcguire was presented with on his most recent Presidential Traverse attempt leading a single guest. Attempt, yes, because as much as we would love to complete all our quests, weather and other factors will sometimes get in the way. In this case it was the weather. Specifically, the winds. […]
They’re a tough crowd to keep up with, but we try. We love to write about some of the cool things our guides do when they’re not guiding or teaching. We also love to tout their certifications and technical accomplishments. For example, this summer Redline Guide Arlette Laan finished hiking the Pacific Northwest Trail. She then went on to complete a Direttissima (hiking all 48 4000-footers […]
