Preferred Mt Washington Route?

[NorthShore]

I am doing a 2 day trip with my 14 year old son next Weds-Friday and we've got frightfully expensive nights booked at AMC Lakes and Mitzpah. The plan is to start at Pinkham Notch on Wednesday and end at Crawford Notch on Friday where my loving wife will be waiting to pick us up. My plan was to do the Tucks trail, which I've done before but my son hasn't.

Is there an overridding reason why we should do Lions Head or another route this time of year? I've only done the Tucks Trail from Pinkham Notch (and the Ammonoosuc ravine trail from the other side, which I thought was awesome). Both those were during the summer so I am aware of the extra traffic on Tuckerman.

But we do plan to start from Pinkham Notch and include the summit. Its too early to bank on the forecast, but it looks like we may have picked the best weather of the summer for this trip.

Thanks,

Ed

 

[Quietman]

This was recently discused
Mt Washington Route

 

[Mike P.]

Assuming your son is 13+ & is up for full days.....

See the other thread, if I was starting at PNVC & wanted to see something new I'd go Nelson Crag, if you want a different view of Tucks, consider Boot Spurr.

On a really good day, I'd go up Jewell & get to the top of Clay, do Washington & descend to LOC. I prefer this side over the PNVC approach except for HRT. I've seen Tucks, for a glacial cirque I'll hike the Northern Presi's & look at the GG or there's Katahdin too.

 

[NorthShore]

This was recently discused
Mt Washington Route

Thanks. That thread was very helpful. Based on what I read, Tucks sounds like an appropriate route for this trip...but we'll definitely keep some of those alternatives in mind for the future.

 

[Trainwreck]

North Shore:
I went up Tucks to Lions head. Nice views into the ravines. Not as crowded as Tucks, a bit steeper. Tucks is an awesome trip, despite the crowds, and your son might enjoy that more. BTW a lot of the crowds stay in the ravine, and don't climb the headwall. The views change as you gain elevation in the ravine. At the top, the view down is magnificent. Then you get to climb the sharp rocks to the top. The Crawford path is very enjoyable. Dont skip the summits unless weather is iffy. Have fun.
b.

 

[Woody]

If your son has not climbed in Tuckerman Ravine it is worth the trip!

 

[NorthShore]

How windy is too windy?

Are there specific places / sections of trail to avoid in high winds (aside from the obvious anywhere above timberline).

I see that wind gusts up to 70mph from the North are possible on the summit tomorrow, with a decrease in sustained wind speeds as the day goes on. I'm guessing that is not the most favorable direction for avoiding high winds on our route. If its too windy to summit, will heading from Tucks straight to the Lakes hut be a less windy route, or does it bear the full winds that the summit does? For that matter, is that wind direction a problem on the headwall?

70mph sounds like a bit too much, but we can certainly play it by ear, and are not bound to try and reach the summit during the morning, or at all (although that will be a dissapointment).

Thanks in advance.

Ed

 

[leaf]

70 mph winds? drive on the interstate and then stick your head out the window.

 

[DougPaul]

70mph sounds like a bit too much, but we can certainly play it by ear, and are not bound to try and reach the summit during the morning, or at all (although that will be a dissapointment).

It is certainly difficult to hike in 70 mph winds. Somewhere around 70-80 mph is where people start having to crawl...

Doug

 

[Kevin Judy and Emma]

70 Mph

Generally, those wind speeds will be on the summit. Bigelow Lawn may or may not experience winds that strong. Usually, you will not experience the full force of the wind until you are above the headwall. It's hard to say what you will face until you're there. Always hike with a plan B and C. Good luck!

KDT

 

[NorthShore]

Blessed with Plan A

We took our sweet time and the reward was that we made the summit during the only 2 hours of the day that it was not in the fog. I polled everyone coming down over the headwall and it looked grim, but as we were nearing Tuckerman junction we finally met some souls coming from the summit with some positive reviews...we were a breath away from heading straight to Lakes. We made it to the summit around 4PM and it was very windy, but manageable up to the parking lot. The parking lot was kind of crazy with the winds...and it was fun watching people crouching as they walked across it. The walk up the stairs from the parking lot was the toughest part of the day. A check of the obs from 4PM on 8/20 shows that the summit winds were 59 gusting to 68 when we arrived and the temperature was 37, but the winds were somewhat less below the parkling lot and we enjoyed a challenging but manageable hike up the summit cone. The top of Crawford Path was fully exposed to the winds and made for an interesting hike for the first 5 minutes as we headed down to the Lakes hut...until we got below the worst of it. The AMC huts were a good experience. With clearing skies the next day the southern Presidentials were absolutely spectacular! And my son now believes me about the weather on Mt Washington ... all of the extra winter clothing I made him carry went to good use. Plus...we both had a blast.

Thanks to all for the good advice.

Ed