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 […]
Friday returning guest, Alex from Pennsylivania, accompanied us on a tour up Mts Eisenhower and Pierce, hitting Ike first and breaking trail the whole way. A tough slog but they did it. Yesterday Alex was back out there again, this time being led by Redline Guide Álvaro Marques — the one and same Álvaro that was guiding [and feeding members of] a snowshoe hike up Mt […]
While we had a couple of guests skiing the north side of the Kancamaugus Highway on Nordic gear, Redline Guide Álvaro Marques was on the south side leading two more guests, a woman, Vinette, and her favorite outdoorsy nephew, John, on a snowshoe hike of the 2532-foot Hedgehog Moutain via the UNH Trail. While Vinette has a fair amount of experience, John is new to winter […]
Our backcountry ski offerings don’t see as much activity as we’d like, but they are enjoyed by some. Today being a case-in-point when Redline Guide Jeffrey Shutak led two guests, Alison and Rebecca, on a backcountry ski tour on Nordic (cross country) gear. Thanks to the recent snow, Jeffrey could have picked anywhere — which is a nice surprise since a week ago we were wondering […]
Last winter, almost a year to the day, we led our guest Alex on an attempt of Mt Monroe in some pretty extreme conditions. This resulted in a thwarted attempt and a close call with frostbite. Thankfully some good gut-borne choices were made and Alex and all his fingers were able to come back for some more winter hiking in the Whites with us this season. […]
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 […]
