Day One: They Train On some days people go up to the top of Lion Head, poke their heads up, catch the wind as it steals their breath, then hunker back down saving the summit of Mt Washington (6288′) for another day. Smart people. Sunday was just such a day. And that’s where Redline Guide Ken Hodges happened to be. He wasn’t the only guide out […]
On Friday we brought returning guest, Brian, an accomplished boxer from New York, on a snowmobile to Caps Ridge Trail for a Mt Jefferson summit attempt. Weather and other factors stood in the way of an actual summit, but he got to fight another bout Sunday, this time with Redline Guide Álvaro Marques in his corner. And this time against a new contender: one of Vermont’s […]
Friday opened the door to some extreme cold and wind. The day was born a gentle albeit ugly lamb but throughout its development, as forecast, it turned mean. Negative twenty, eff, and winds nearing the century mark. This is a combination that will result in kill-you-fast windchills. Of course this was also the day we had long-slated for a dual adventure: remote access via snowmobile followed […]
Winter camping isn’t supposed to be about toughing it, suffering the cold, or feeling uncomfortable. That is one of the fundamental truths we teach, along with the how-to required to make this sentiment a reality. That said, Sunday into Monday the temperatures were mild enough to not have to seriously test ourselves in this regard. And that’s good because Redline Guide Álvaro Marques was out there […]
Day by day, group by group, person by person, we are making winter safer for a lot of hikers. We’re referring to our safety-centric wilderness education programs. Lately this refers specifically to our winter offerings like our Winter Skills and Mountaineering Skills courses. As we move further into the season we should see others begin to happen, too, like our Glacier Skills and our Backcountry Skiing […]
Remember Devin, a.k.a. Das Boot? We just lent him a hand. And then yesterday, with the help of Redline Guide Ken Hodges, we lent him another. This time on a shakedown hike traversing all five peaks of the Wildcat Ridge, the section on the Appalachian Trail (AT) running from the AMC’s Pinkham Notch Visitor Center to the junction of the 19-Mile Brook Trail via Lost Pond […]
Imagine our surprise when we learned a very late season northbound Appalachian Trail (AT) thru-hiker was in the area and requested our assistance. Devin, who goes by the trailname “Das Boot” (like the movie, but not inspired by it), was stopped in Lyme, NH, and was seeking winter support for sections of the state as well as bits of Maine. Devin, being from Florida, was new […]
We just finished running a two-day program featuring a day of training followed by a winter summit bid on the notorious Mt Washington (6288′). Here are some details and photos. On day one Redline Guides Mike Cherim and Ken Hodges trained a group of six people on the finer points of Winter Skills and Mountaineering Skills. With them were a returning guest, Jon, another individual, Steve, […]
Thanks to our 2016/2017 wedding clients — we thank you so much — we have won the 2018 WeddingWire Couples’ Choice Awards® and represent the top five percent of wedding professionals. Or, as WeddingWire puts it: Congratulations! You represent the top 5% of wedding professionals on WeddingWire. The Couples’ Choice Awards® honor the exemplary work you’ve done over the past year and the highly regarded reputation […]
This is just a reminder that our 2018 SOLO Wilderness First Aid (WFA) and Wilderness First Responder (WFR) course dates are available and we’re open for registrations now. These offerings are discounted at $149 and $549, respectively. For active status WMNF SAR volunteers, these discounts are extended further (see details in form below). For full details about these courses, check out our Wilderness Medicine page. Click […]
Happy New Year, everyone! As we did last year — offering our readers a condensed list of our best articles of the year — here we are again offering a quick overview of our most popular blog posts, most educational in nature. January, 2017 01/23: Being a Good Hiking Buddy (Steps Toward Being a Good Hiking and Climbing Partner) 01/26: How I Died Hiking (No additional […]
The patriarch of a family in Randolph, NH, contacted us late in the afternoon on the 29th with a request that we guide four young adventurers on a Mt Madison summit bid the following morning, two of which were his own kids. He sought us for our judgement and ability to ensure the safety and well-being of those most important to him. Given such extreme conditions […]
