What is Huntington's REALLY like?

[erugs]

Yes, it certainly is. Great fellow. I've just cleaned out my message box.

 

[Kevin Judy and Emma]

Huntington Ravine

I've climbed this twice, both times in hiking boots, and both times wondering if rock climbing shoes would be better. I had no problems in boots, just thought it might be easier in rc shoes.

As far as comparing it to the Knife Edge I think it's two different animals. This is steep up with a precipituous fall possible in places. The KE is more like being on a tightrope, albeit a wide tightrope.

Emma and I made our second trip here with Bob on June 25th. We made our first hike there seven years earlier when Emma was just a pup, now she's my age (in dog years). I won't bring her again, too tough. One slip it could be all over. I'm sure many will question the sanity of bringing a dog here. If I were not absolutely sure of her ability and the fact that she is absolutely fearless and even seems to seek out high precipices from which she can peer out into the ravines, I would never bring her here. My advice to others would be to definitely leave Fido home for this one. Emma had to be lifted over many obstacles in the trail leading up over rock scrambles. Because she is small and easily lifted over said obstacles we were capable of making this climb together. A larger, heavier dog might not make it. Because of her low center of gravity she has little problem climbing steep rocks. I would be interested to know if anyone else has made this climb with their dog. If anyone is interested, pictures and trip report are here:

http://ghostflowers.com/white_mtns4000/washington62507/washington62507.html

http://ghostflowers.com/white_mtns4000/monroe8600/monroe8600.html

We had a hearty discussion on the Mount Washington Observatory Forum a while back about the steepest trail in the Whites. The AMC guidebook claims Huntington is the most difficult. Great Gulf Headwall has got to be tough. It's 2950' elevation gain over 6.5 miles just to reach Spaulding Lake. From Spaulding Lake it's 1700' elevation gain over a mile to it's junction with the Gulfside Trail. Huntington is 2050' elevation gain over 2.8 miles to reach the bottom of the talus field, then 1400' over 8/10ths of a mile to reach the Alpine Garden Trail. What are people's thoughts on this? The Tripyramids North Slide comes to mind, as does the hike from Galehead to South Twin on the Garfield Ridge Trail.

KDT

 

[king tut]

Lots of good info and pics. I am gonna have to give this a go sometime. I really like hiking the knife edge but i hate the exposure on it, but I loved the Cathedral trail up to Baxter b/c there was less exposure and more of "climbing" than traversing. Just as long as Huntington is not like Half Dome with the 4-5,000 foot plunge, i am still seeing the top of that hike in my nightmares...

 

[giggy]

nice pix chris - last time I was on hunts summer trail was around 2001-2002 - got to get back up there.

The last time I climbed it was with a co-worker that claimed to be a serious hiker and froze on that slab - interesting day to say the least. me and my pal shawn (RIP) had to talk him up it. the dude was shaking and all....

 

[albee]

Fear of heights and fear of steep climbs are both emotions that vary widely from one person to the next. I consider myself a big chicken when it comes to real vertical stuff, but Huntington's was no problem - and I was wearing regular old road running shoes on a dry day.

I've done the Knife Edge 3 times (in running shoes each time, and once on a wet day with a girl that only wore Chaco sandals) and never had a problem or felt uneasy, either. I think the way you mentally approach these climbs can really affect how you perform. Have you ever seen someone that was so scared that their motor skills became impaired and caused them to have an accident? I have. I find that when I approach a situation with confidence and conviction, my rate of success goes way up.

If you don't think you can reach that hold, you probably won't. But if you know your abilities and limits, and you think you can do it, you probably will. If you go into it thinking Huntington's is going to be scary and treacherous, your mind will find reasons to prove yourself right. If you think you will need rock climbing shoes, you will find a reason to use them when you get there. If you expect to freeze up if you get to an exposed section - guess what? You will! I guess my point is that a lot of it is mental.

 

[DougPaul]

I've done the Knife Edge 3 times (in running shoes each time, and once on a wet day with a girl that only wore Chaco sandals) and never had a problem or felt uneasy, either. I think the way you mentally approach these climbs can really affect how you perform. Have you ever seen someone that was so scared that their motor skills became impaired and caused them to have an accident? I have. I find that when I approach a situation with confidence and conviction, my rate of success goes way up.

If you don't think you can reach that hold, you probably won't. But if you know your abilities and limits, and you think you can do it, you probably will. If you go into it thinking Huntington's is going to be scary and treacherous, your mind will find reasons to prove yourself right. If you think you will need rock climbing shoes, you will find a reason to use them when you get there. If you expect to freeze up if you get to an exposed section - guess what? You will! I guess my point is that a lot of it is mental.

Its a con game. If you believe you can do it, you can.

One trick is focus--look (and think about) only where you are putting your hands and feet and where you are going. Don't look down and if you must look at your feet, don't look beyond them.

Huntington is technically easy, just a bit exposed. If you focus on the moves and ignore the exposure you will be fine. In many of the "scarey" spots, you can simply sit down on the rock and stick there.

Doug

 

[peakbagger-paul]

I don't really have a problem with exposure. On the contrary, I enjoy steep rock, sharp dropoffs, and the views down a cliff. However, I could stand to lose a few pounds and am a bit of a slow climber. I also tend to worry about being trapped up above treeline in a thunderstorm or a whiteout. So I agree with the comment about the whole thing being largely mental. If I get really tired climbing, and start to worry that I won't have enough energy to make it, I sometimes have tell myself that I don't have to get all the way to the top, just to the next trail intersection or even just 100 feet more. Then I just keep doing that until I make it. My own mental battle is simply with exhaustion or the threat of bad weather instead of height and exposure. Trails like Huntington Ravine tend to energize me whereas long grueling and viewless climbs below treeline tire me out more, especially when they have numerous ups and downs.

Now for a comment about the following:

We had a hearty discussion on the Mount Washington Observatory Forum a while back about the steepest trail in the Whites. The AMC guidebook claims Huntington is the most difficult. Great Gulf Headwall has got to be tough. It's 2950' elevation gain over 6.5 miles just to reach Spaulding Lake. From Spaulding Lake it's 1700' elevation gain over a mile to it's junction with the Gulfside Trail. Huntington is 2050' elevation gain over 2.8 miles to reach the bottom of the talus field, then 1400' over 8/10ths of a mile to reach the Alpine Garden Trail. What are people's thoughts on this? The Tripyramids North Slide comes to mind, as does the hike from Galehead to South Twin on the Garfield Ridge Trail.

I've never been up the Great Gulf headwall (but would like to). It certainly is a longer route up Washington, so that has to count for something. King Ravine is steep, and I found it more tiring than Huntington's because of the larger boulder fields you have to go through before the actual climb. I would imagine that Mahoosuc Notch would be similar, and probably even tougher, than King Ravine's Subway or Ice Caves Loop.

The North Slide on Tripyramid, Owl's Head, or the Flume Slide didn't seem as tough to me. In general, I find slides more of an issue going down when the rocks start rolling downhill under your feet. The climb up to South Twin from Galehead is definitely steep but doesn't go on as long. I would rank the climb up North Carter from the north about the same as South Twin, but a bit shorter in my memory.

Here's a couple that I haven't hiked but would probably count as steep and/or tough: the Madison Gulf Trail up Mt Madison, and the Great Gully Trail up Adams from King Ravine.

 

[forestgnome]

Excellent pictures! You have managed to convey the steepness, which is difficult. Great pics from Mike and Kevin as well!

Additional comments: There are tons of wildflowers, especially surrounding the nice streams flowing down the rock.

It's very quiet and peaceful, with only a fraction of the people who visit Tuckerman Ravine on a given day. Sunday, I saw only one small party, and the weather was spectacular.

The trail is in shadow by mid afternoon now, so you can consider that when planning (sunburn, photography,etc.).

Happy Trails

 

[Sleeping Giant]

As far as I'm concerned the Great Gulf headwall and King Ravine don't compare with Huntington. Huntington definitely required the use of hands, and I don't remember that being the case with the other two (though maybe I forget). The Great Gulf Headwall was tough only because I hiked all the way from Pinkham to get to it, which if I remember right is about 8 or 9 miles. King Ravine I thought was just easy and not exposed at all, though certainly fun. Huntington, as I said, made me use my hands and arms a lot, plus I was slightly freaked because I was alone, there was no one else there, and it had poured the night before. (Not recommended unless you enjoy being slightly freaked. I guess I do.)

 

[brianW]

Thanks for the pics. I have hiked huninton 3 times and the last was in the early 90's. I forgot how awesome the views were. I never thought it was that hard of a climb, than again I am not afraid of heights and do a little rock climbing anyway. -brianW

 

[bryan]

i have always found huntington just plain fun with beautiful scenery. i am moderately afraid of heights and have no rock climbing skills or experience. i have had much more fear on other steep trails like six husbands and in particular the north slide of tripyramid than i have on multiple trips in huntingtons. as long as you are tall enough to get to all the holds it feels really solid. i spoke to a woman before our first trip who was giving info. at pinkham and she said she had to climb it with others so they could help her reach the holds (she was in her 70's and very small). her first response to our plans to hike the ravine was "why would you want to do that?" was one of the best days in the mountains i've ever had.

bryan

 

[grog]

Same with me Bryan! I have a lot of fun on Huntington, Flume Slide, all the Baxter trails, but when I did North Slide on Tripyramid I turned around. I was near the top and there was a slab of rock about 100 feet that was too steep for me . I tried 5 or 6 times and didn't feel comfortable and decided then that pizza and beer was more of a priority than the top of the slide.

grog