mt washington friday night

[hikerfast]

gave it the old college try. nhmtnhiker and I started at 6:25 and headed up. made good time. pretty windy most of the way up to about mile 3. at mile 4 came out in the open. we wanted to try the shortcut that bangs off the the right and comes out at mile 6 but it looked like glare ice. kept going up the road. i started getting vertigo just looking down to the left, dizzy and other such garbage. aborted hike at 8:15 at maybe 4.5 miles and 4300 feet. good hike anyways. It started getting windy again where we turned around. saw a bit of snow on the sides going up. I imagine it would have been maybe 50mph near the summit if we kept going. I figured the shortcut would avoid the exposure but too icy for my stablicers, a slip on that section could have been nasty. If not for the vertigo I think we would have been on the summit in an hour and 10 more. Moon came up when we turned around, really gorgeous. Nice light on the way down. Frost on the car at the bottom. Had to swerve around a moose on 115 on the way back. Im tired.

 

[dom15931]

Wow man sound's interesting. Definately a uniquness to that type of attempt, too bad you didn't make it. How heavy were your packs? You made pretty good time for such cold, dry air.

 

[Artex]

Bummer about the vertigo, but at least you got out there and gave it a shot. Sounds like it was a fun adventure, nonetheless.

 

[NH_Mtn_Hiker]

How heavy were your packs?

My pack was about 28-30 Lbs. Full winter gear except for snowshoes and my MH down parka.

Fortunately the moose was mostly in the other lane, and most importantly, I was using my high beams so I was able to see him in time to avoid hitting him. I'm amazed at how many people drive the highways and backroads at night with just their low beams on...if a moose walks out in front of them, they won't have a chance.

 

[Breeze]

gave it the old college try. nhmtnhiker and I started at 6:25 and headed up. made good time. pretty windy most of the way up to about mile 3. at mile 4 came out in the open. we wanted to try the shortcut that bangs off the the right and comes out at mile 6 but it looked like glare ice. kept going up the road. i started getting vertigo just looking down to the left, dizzy and other such garbage. aborted hike at 8:15 at maybe 4.5 miles and 4300 feet. good hike anyways. It started getting windy again where we turned around. saw a bit of snow on the sides going up. I imagine it would have been maybe 50mph near the summit if we kept going. I figured the shortcut would avoid the exposure but too icy for my stablicers, a slip on that section could have been nasty. If not for the vertigo I think we would have been on the summit in an hour and 10 more. Moon came up when we turned around, really gorgeous. Nice light on the way down. Frost on the car at the bottom. Had to swerve around a moose on 115 on the way back. Im tired.

LOL hikerfast. Now you know why the Auto Road was not open above 4300 feet all week. Once you leave treeline, things get very interesting, very quickly. Looks white like snow, but it is not snow.

That "shortcut that bangs off to the right" has a name, it is "winter cutoff". It is the route the Obs snowcat takes to avoid the exposure of the 5 mile and around Cragway Turn to 6 mile park. Currently, the shift-change cat is still using the Auto Road 5 mile and Cragway to 6 mile, because the "cutoff" is exactly what you describe--- bulletproof ice.

Congrats on a neat adventure.

The frost on Friday Night/Saturday AM was the first killing frost at Great Glen. Sunday AM brought snow.

Breeze

 

[gaiagirl]

That "shortcut that bangs off to the right" has a name, it is "winter cutoff". It is the route the Obs snowcat takes to avoid the exposure of the 5 mile and around Cragway Turn to 6 mile park. Currently, the shift-change cat is still using the Auto Road 5 mile and Cragway to 6 mile, because the "cutoff" is exactly what you describe--- bulletproof ice.

Yup, we did this same thing in later Spring this past year and were aware that this was the path the snowcat takes and it was a very handy shortcut, since at the time it was starting to warm some and the terrain was nice packed snow. Guess I won't be doing this anytime soon again though ... so thanks for the ice update.


The frost on Friday Night/Saturday AM was the first killing frost at Great Glen. Sunday AM brought snow.

So I've heard. Missed out on heading up Washington yesterday due to a nasty cold/flu coming on, but I'll be ready next weekend ... wild horses couldn't keep me away!! Can't wait to get up there ... I can only hope we get more snow and not ice. Can't ask for better early winter conditions!!! I'm sure the peaks are stunningly white-capped as well. I hope it decides to stick around for a little while .

 

[hikerfast]

my pack was maybe 20 lbs at most. we made pretty good time, we actually stopped a couple times also, once to put duct tape on my heels due to these llbean boots im about to return, and clothing changing breaks. it was an interesting night.