Mt. Washington Climbs

On Saturday January 28th, we climbed Mt. Washington. The day was yet another perfect one for climbing. We got started from Pinkham Notch around 8AM with 8 climbers. The Tux trail was fully covered with snow, which made for easy-going. No traction was needed at all, although I do wish we had skis for the descent! Conversation with our new friends made the first hour fly by and before I knew it, we were at the Fire road junction. After putting on crampons, harnesses, helmets, turning on our beacons, and swapping our trekking poles with an ice axe, we began the steep ascent to Lions Head via the Winter Route. The route had great snow coverage throughout. We found only one short 20ft section which we set up a handrail for added protection. This section caused a bit of a traffic jam. Once past it, we continued up steep terrain until it began to mellow out as we approached tree line. From that point, it was another 30 minutes or so to Lions Head and to our surprise, no wind. It was at this point where 3 climbers made their decision to spin it around. Brett hung out with them on Lions Head for quite some time, taking in the views before heading down. I continued on to the summit with 5 climbers. The summit cone had sustained 30mph winds, but rather tame by Mt. Washington standards. After our customary summit shots, we took in the views, ate some food, and celebrated with some hot chocolate for the group. There is nothing better than warm liquids when you’re in a cold environment. After a fairly uneventful (thats a good thing) descent we arrived back at the rock/ice section of the winter route and I again set up a handrail which aided our descent past this tricky section. I think the climb took us around 8 hours or so roundtrip. Another great climb of Mt Washington and a big thank you to all of the climbers who decided to come along.