Scouter Bill
New member
I ascended Mount Washington twice from the east with a Philly Meetup group last weekend. We stayed at the lovely Nereledge Inn in North Conway. The proprietors, Laura and Steve (a climber), were very accommodating, offering a homey charm not unlike that of Joe Dodge Lodge. I highly recommend it to day hikers.
Saturday’s conditions featured moderate wind and a near-freezing summit temperature producing a wind chill near 0 F. Plans for a party of four to ascend via Huntingtons were aborted because of ice on the head wall as reported by the Obs; others met later found no ice on that route. Our party of 17 ascended via the Tuckerman Ravine trail, reaching the head wall after the morning verglas (as reported by several earlier solo hikers who had retreated at that point) had melted. We observed significant rime ice on all northern aspects throughout the day. We were able to assist a pair of hikers, one of whom had sprained her ankle on the Rock Pile, in their self-rescue; they proceeded very slowly, but attained the summit before we departed it. There appeared to be scores of hikers on the summit cone in mid-afternoon including a bare-chested runner in shorts who remains thus attired on his regular runs to the summit into October! Our party was counseled to dress warmly in layers above HoJos which led at least one member to overheat and, later, flag; he did finish in good form, however. (There is a lesson to be learned for those leading novices.) The 6-hour ascent of our mixed-speed party of mostly Rock Pile novices was, otherwise, unremarkable. Most of the party descended using public transportation ($29 a pop). Five descended unremarkably via Lions Head in 2½ hours, about the same time it took the others to arrange transportation and reach Pinkham Notch.
Sunday’s conditions were unseasonably balmy - summit temps in the 50s and winds in the 20s - when a smaller party of 9 ascended via Lions Head. We followed the example of Mr. Bare Chest that day. This stronger party ascended in somewhat less time. All descended via the bus. The driver advised that the trip to Pinkham would take 30-35 minutes, but he made it in 12, overtaking several cars along the Auto Road and dodging others that were ascending. Some found it amusing, but most just clung to whatever they could find. Party members trained significantly for this adventure using multiple 300 m / 1 mile ascents in Pennsylvania and the Cats; all were thrilled by their first successes on the mountain. All cheered Mike Pelchat who led a team who removed one party member from Boott Spur in March 2003.
Hiking with large groups offers significant advantages when self-rescue is required, but has its disadvantages as well, including obstructing the passage of faster hikers. Trained Whites/Daks neophytes teamed with a experienced hikers can reliably summit big northeast mountains safely under dry, favorable autumn conditions without all the ‘proper’ gear (boots, shells, etc.).
Saturday’s conditions featured moderate wind and a near-freezing summit temperature producing a wind chill near 0 F. Plans for a party of four to ascend via Huntingtons were aborted because of ice on the head wall as reported by the Obs; others met later found no ice on that route. Our party of 17 ascended via the Tuckerman Ravine trail, reaching the head wall after the morning verglas (as reported by several earlier solo hikers who had retreated at that point) had melted. We observed significant rime ice on all northern aspects throughout the day. We were able to assist a pair of hikers, one of whom had sprained her ankle on the Rock Pile, in their self-rescue; they proceeded very slowly, but attained the summit before we departed it. There appeared to be scores of hikers on the summit cone in mid-afternoon including a bare-chested runner in shorts who remains thus attired on his regular runs to the summit into October! Our party was counseled to dress warmly in layers above HoJos which led at least one member to overheat and, later, flag; he did finish in good form, however. (There is a lesson to be learned for those leading novices.) The 6-hour ascent of our mixed-speed party of mostly Rock Pile novices was, otherwise, unremarkable. Most of the party descended using public transportation ($29 a pop). Five descended unremarkably via Lions Head in 2½ hours, about the same time it took the others to arrange transportation and reach Pinkham Notch.
Sunday’s conditions were unseasonably balmy - summit temps in the 50s and winds in the 20s - when a smaller party of 9 ascended via Lions Head. We followed the example of Mr. Bare Chest that day. This stronger party ascended in somewhat less time. All descended via the bus. The driver advised that the trip to Pinkham would take 30-35 minutes, but he made it in 12, overtaking several cars along the Auto Road and dodging others that were ascending. Some found it amusing, but most just clung to whatever they could find. Party members trained significantly for this adventure using multiple 300 m / 1 mile ascents in Pennsylvania and the Cats; all were thrilled by their first successes on the mountain. All cheered Mike Pelchat who led a team who removed one party member from Boott Spur in March 2003.
Hiking with large groups offers significant advantages when self-rescue is required, but has its disadvantages as well, including obstructing the passage of faster hikers. Trained Whites/Daks neophytes teamed with a experienced hikers can reliably summit big northeast mountains safely under dry, favorable autumn conditions without all the ‘proper’ gear (boots, shells, etc.).
