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 […]
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, […]
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 […]
Instead of the usual blog entry where we write about the day based on information gleaned from our guide, our guests, and other observations, today’s post, barrring a few minor edits, was written almost entirely by Redline Guide Jeffrey Shutak, the leader of the tour in the spotlight. Here it is, Jeffrey’s summary (followed by some of his excellent photos): What began as a planned hike […]
A cool and interesting company, Ridj-it — a Boston carpool platform that helps connect adventurers for events like hiking with businesses such as ours — hired us for some training and adventure. Specifically we provided a day of winter skills and mountaineering training (along with another guest) followed by a hike. Originally on tap was an attempt on the 6288-foot Mt Washington — the tallest mountain […]
As much as we’d like to, we don’t always make the summit of Mt Washington when we try. Especially when the forecast calls for one thing while the mountain dishes up another. What looked to be a fairly mild day with manageable winds ended up offering winds that proved too much. This was a very late notice assignment that was led by Redline Guide Jeffrey Shutak. […]
