Mt Washington gave us permission to climb to her summit again on February 5th. It’s a good thing it did as we had 4 climbers and our friend Curtis who came up from Georgia to climb this weekend. The day dawned clear and cold with a temp of -3 at the base. We geared up and set out at 7:30am. The ski trail was very firm and a bit slick underfoot, but straight forward nonetheless. After the walk to the fire road, we put on the crampons etc for the climb up to Lions Head. I was happy to see very few parties on the route, which meant no traffic jam at the rock/ice section. We broke treeline and took a break, as it would have been a crime to break below the trees considering the clear weather and awesome views. I noticed between the alpine garden and split rock the trail had moved about 20 feet to the left since last week. This section had quite a bit of wind blown snow, which concerned me slightly. It also made the footing a little bit like walking in sand. It firmed back up beyond split rock. We made the summit in a marathon of 7hrs. The wind was blowing about 40-50mph but until the summit we hardly had any wind at all. We got to watch the clouds blowing in from the west and funnel over the lakes of the clouds hut and into Tuckermans and then immediately disapate. Weather and clouds always fascinate me. The descent was fairly uneventful again and we reached the ice section as the sun was setting. After a short rappel we were back on then ski trail for a moonlit descent reaching the parking lot at 7pm….that’s an 11.5 hr round trip!!! A new record. But the bottom line is we got everyone to the summit safely.
Spent the net day ice climbing at Frankenstein. Tomorrow will find us climbing in Crawford Notch somewhere. Stay Tuned!

Climbing from tree line to Lions Head

Hanging out at Lions Head. Tuckermans behind

Heading up the summit cone!

Looking Southeast from the summit cone.

Summit! (Big thanks to Sam and Kim MacGown for all of these images)

Unlike the day before, Sunday brought snow, clouds, and wind. I knew when I woke up that today would be a bit of a battle on the upper mountain. We got a late start with 3 climbers from Boston. About 30 minutes into our climb up Tux trail, one climber began falling behind so I stayed back with him while Brett carried on with the 2 others. He mentioned that it felt like his feet had pins and needles so we loosened his boots a bit, which gave him his second wind and by the end of the day he was ready to summit! Its amazing what little things like a tight boot, or a pack not fitted properly can do. A blister could ruin a climb, or a broken pack strap could knock the energy out of you. Regardless, we cruised up the ski trail to the Fire Road and geared up for the upcoming steep sections. Today we decided to fore go the handrail for protection and we climbed up it, but not before waiting in the traffic jam for 10 minutes. As we approached tree line, we met a few parties on their way down after turning back before Lions Head due to winds and low visibility. The forecast called for decreasing winds as the day went on so I guess our late start was a blessing as we encountered very little wind on the climb from tree line to Lions Head. We took a break at Lions Head and watched as a few more parties turned around at the beginning of the Alpine Garden. We figured we’d give it our best shot and at least get to experience the high winds that Mt. Washington is capable of. The traverse to the Summit Cone was indeed windy, but not nearly as bad as I expected when I woke up that morning. Sustained winds of about 40-45mph. As usual the winds died down passed the traverse. We were set for a summit, until one of the climbers had an old injury from service in Iraq started acting up. He made a very smart move by deciding to come back another day to finish the climb. The other two climbers, also in the military, decided they would also turn back so they could all come back another day together. We’re looking forward to their return so they can stand on top of New England!
*Note: My camera was in my pocket and my sweat created condensation on the lens. When I took it out to take a picture, the water froze.. hence the crummy quality on the photos.

Climbing to Lions Head

The guys at Lions Head

Brett on the windy traverse to the summit cone.

On the traverse to the summit cone.

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.

Climbing the Rock/Ice step on the Lions Head Winter Route.

View into Tuckermans from the traverse to the summit cone.

The summit of Mt. Washington

The Summit Crew at 6,288ft.