Mike, a.k.a. NH Tramper, began his hiking career at four-years-old on Mt Washington (Tuckerman Ravine Trail to the summit). He has since hiked the 48 several time (a yearly thing for him) as well as several mountains/ranges outside of New Hampshire (see Climbing Resume below). He is also into other outdoor pursuits such as indoor and outdoor climbing, skiing, backpacking, snowshoeing, fishing, and more.
What is your favorite climbing trip of all time?
My first trip up Mts Hood and Rainier were pretty amazing. And Mt Shuksan, too. So was End-to-Ending the Long Trail in Vermont. As was leading the upper pitches of Pinnacle Gully. Ski touring the ravines that surround Mt Washington gave me “perma-grin” more than once. Glimpses into my past uncover relics such as feeling cold and crappy atop Mt Fuji, yet being there for sunrise, amazed, peering into an endless crater. Then being wow’d a year later in Japan’s beautiful Minami Alps. And a year after that foolishly hopping the pack ice that crowded the northern-most shores along Hokkaido Island in Japan. Those retrospective glimpses also show me fragments of multiple trips out west during my childhood to places like the floor of the Grand Canyon and Yosemite. In my twenties I explored caves, slot canyons, and craggy spires of rock in the Dolomites in Italy. It’s all been so much fun. I’m not sure I can offer a favorite. One place or experience doesn’t trump the others for me. Yet, in a way, it does. All of these experiences I’ve been blessed with, which started here (Mt Washington on my own legs at four), have one thing in common: I’ve always come back to the mountains of New Hampshire. My favorite trips here number in the hundreds. Right now I am “redlining” the AMC’s White Mountain Guide (meaning I’m hiking ALL of the trails). At almost 85% complete, these 1440.4 miles of trails have been my new passion. My latest favorite. Continue reading
Tristan felt the pull of climbing from a young age while growing up in rural Wyoming. When he headed east to Dartmouth for undergrad, it was in part because of its reputation as a top skiing school and because it had good climbing nearby. He skied for the Dartmouth ski team, but found that competition in the east was as hard as the snow. He took his first climbing trip in the spring as a freshman and learned the ropes from the amazingly attuned and renowned instructor John Joline. He sallied forth trying to make sense of the world by exploring its heights and finding adventure along the way. In college, he lived and breathed climbing and history, then moved to Colorado before boomeranging back to New England. He enjoys all types of climbing, from pebble pinching to snow slogging, and believes any good day involves a heavily beating heart.
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