Mt.Washington Road Race

[kmac]

Okay, need some advice. My son will be running the race this year, and of course there are family members who would like to cheer him on. I am "in charge" of arranging the weekend. Are they capable of hiking to summit of George....via Lions Head....Tuckermans...No. Plan A is to stay at Joe Dodge Lodge
friday night, wake early, and hike up Nelson Crag to auto road intersection..My memory does not serve me well, do you think non-hikers would be able to handle this?
Plan B cog railway to summit....descend Jewell...
Thanks.
Kmac

 

[Mohamed Ellozy]

Plan B cog railway to summit....descend Jewell...

IMHO the above treeline section of Jewell is likely to be too rough for non-hikers.

 

[kmac]

Ok. Thanks.
What do u think about Nelson Crag?

 

[Mohamed Ellozy]

If by "Nelson Crag" you mean what the WMG calls "closest approach to Auto Rd. near Cragway Spring" you are talking of 3.4 miles each way with 2,800 feet of elevation gain.

You obviously know the hiking ability of family members better than I do

 

[Ed'n Lauky]

The Nelson Crag trail is a great and really lightly used trail up Washington. I've been up it six or seven times and one time only I saw one other person on the trail. The 1.7 miles on Old Jackson Rd. is very easy and could be done by none hikers. The 1.7 miles and 2200' elevation gain up to the auto road from the Old Jackson Road is not bad for a hiker but it is fairly steep and if the non hikers are not in shape I think they would find it difficult. If one could make it that far it would be a great place to watch the race and the views from there are also great.

 

[Breeze]

I always feel like a big bad meanie when I talk to people about foot-race day on Mt Washington. I'm not being mean, and I'm not unsympathetic, it is just that what I have to tell them is ( often) not what they expect to hear.

There are 1300 runners in the Foot Race. If every runner has just 2 people ( one driver and one spectator) who need/want to be at the summit for them, that obviously is 2600 people at the summit, plus the 1300 runners, PLUS race-support folks ( race volunteers, radio operators, water station folks, timing officials, medical/safety support, media,parking crew, etc etc etc) it very quickly gets right up to 4000 + people FOR THE RACE ALONE vying for summit space. That doesn't even count the ?? # of Cog Train passengers who may not even know that there is a race that day. If every runner has 5 or 6 people in their cheering team............ well, you run the numbers, and it is mind boggling.

The Sherman Adams Summit Building has a MAX occupancy of 250 people. On Race Day, there are people at the door with clickers, keeping track of how many are in the building at any one time. There will be no quick potty calls, no quick cups of coffee or snacks, no place to get out of the weather without waiting in a very long line. It is a tremendously hard venue for everyone, even if the weather is PERFECT ( and how often does that happen on Mt W?)

The car-parking areas at the summit can hold @ 300 cars in full on " sardine can" crush. On foot race day, there will also be cars parked bumper to bumper along the road all the way down to 6 mile post, any small turnouts and flat spaces in " Cow Pasture" will be packed in as well. As it requires nearly 400 vehicles to get all runners back down to the Great Glen safely, one might begin to appreciate why there are very specific and very stringent driving logistics on race day.

http://www.mountwashingtonroadrace.com/driving-logistics/

So, if the folks in your family can manage a " woods walk", the easiest thing would be .... take the Old Jackson Road trail from PNVC JUST to 2 mile park on the Auto Road and watch from there, don't try to get above treeline, because the higher more people go, the more problematic it becomes getting everyone down.

While the MWRR is an event that " belongs" to Mt Washington Auto Road, it could not happen without an amazing partnership with Dave McGillivray Sports Enterprises for race management expertise. DMSE is also the race management team for the Boston Marathon, the Beach to Beacon and a full schedule of popular and challenging road races across the eastern Seaboard.

Breeze

 

[Tom_Murphy]

Nelson Crag up to where it hits the Auto Road at the switchbacks above halfway house from its intersection with Old Jackson is a comparable to hiking Mondanock.

A few scrambles and knee popping sections in there and you hit the Auto Road above treeline so you are exposed to the elements with no shelter nearby.

So a good practice hike would be Monadnock from the Ark [the Christian retreat on the road to the state park] or via Pumpelly trail.

 

[Breeze]

kmac, you have a private message

breeze