Wow, I am surprised about such skepticism, and we are not even talking about Global Warming.
Alex MacPhail is also known as "MacPhool," which might help explain. He worked on the A.M.C.'s construction croo during the summers 1961-1965, then fall croo at 'Pah, Ghoul, Zool, and Lone in '72, '73, '76, and '78, respectively. The note below was sent to me today by a VFTT lurker friend, who worked with Alex in the huts in the early '60s. When I worked in the huts in fall of '67 and the summer of '68, there was still a lot of talk about Alex's H2H run in 1963 and the numerous subsequent attempts to break his time (near the end of my friend's email below, he defines my word "lots" as "a number of guys," but I heard the word "lots" at our reunion, so my guess is we are probably talking about a dozen or so construction croo).
By 1968, most A.M.C. construction croo had shifted their extra-curricular activities to packing heavy loads. For example, Syd Havely set every hut's packing record in the summer of 1968, including carries of 310 pounds down to Lakes from the summit (the "perfect load" of pipe fittings!), 280 pounds up to Lonesome, and 180 pounds up to Madison via the Valley Way (took him 8 hours and got him a two-week suspension by the huts manager, who had received word of this trip in advance, drove to the summit, and hiked across the range to greet him at Madhouse). The A.M.C. packload limit was 100 pounds, for insurance reasons, but was routinely ignored by most of us.
The irony is that none of these endeavors seem to mean a lot to these people now, and Alex told me that his run "was no big deal" when I asked him to recall his H2H time for me this past Saturday night (I had remembered his time was under 12.5 hours, which I am sure that I have mentioned to Stinkyfeet, Frodo, Cath, and perhaps others in the past).
In reflecting on my own skepticism about other climbing exploits, for many years I believed that my free-climb of the Armadillo route on Katahdin's South Basin headwall in 1973 (5.8 offwidth jam crack crux) was a first for a one-day ascent (Hot Henry Barber and others had not visited Katahdin yet
). The ranger at Chimney Pond told me that he had only seen two previous parties complete the route, and both required forced bivi's (which presumably meant that they received heavy fines from the BSPA?
). But, a few years ago, I learned that climbers from R.P.I. now in their 70s climbed the same route many times in the late 1950s, when little was recorded (no write ups in Appalalchia, American Alpine Journal, Waterman books, etc.).
So, as I recall in a reply from Cath to Mats' thread about his NH48 backpack trip this past September, we probably do not know about a lot of stuff happening on our White Mountain trails, or words to that effect.
Dr. D. (the "unskeptical scientist")
ps. most of my friend's dialog below is about the trench that was recently dug next to the Cog for the new electric cables to power the summit; I blew it by not getting up there in time to obtain glacial till samples before the ditch was backfilled.
pps. Also, please note that OH Croo always called the Ammonoosuc Trail the Ammi or Ammy, and not the "Ammo."
hi thom,
I infer from your vftt postings you've been out and about, but were prob back in MA when I left a message on your Thornton phone yesterday....just on the off chance that you were there and free for a walk. I had a class moved from yesterday to today, so around 10 suddenly decided that I could use what may be the last warm day for a while to check out the ditch on the Wash. And i just had to see how much the ditch road made it easy to hike up the cog ridge..
It is a direct and pretty easy approach...I just plodded along, not really trying to go fast, somehow carrying a pack so loaded with stuff that Steve Smith would approve..
I wasn't sure how far I'd go....from base to above Waumbeck tank it's a tad muddy dozer track. then from above Waumbeck to Jacob's they've graded, seeded, and covered with hay. then from Jacobs to near skyline they used a mini excavator to lay the cable in steel pipe under the rocks on the s. side of the tracks, so it's either clambeing over the rocks as usual, or walking in cinders right by the track (i came down that way, trying to pretend it was mt adams in wash!)..then once I got to Westside it was too close and too nice and whitish to turn back, so i plodded on, stopped for a minute on top to put on stabicers for descent, and was on my way back down less than two hours after leaving the base...Aesthetically it's not a good way to go, but when snow covers up the junk (including the tracks) it'll be an easier descent than before...on a nice day i usually have gone down that way in winter after going up he Ammy, just because you've got views the whole way.
The trench was filled in, and they were pulling down the last bit of fiber optic cable, so should have the whole project done soon. I talked to one of the excavators, and he confirmed all the dirt and boulders they found, with little ledge i'll enclose a photo of exposed digging just to the n.of the tracks below Jacobs. unusual (to me) almost ochre-colored soil.
I had hoped to get to the OH reunion, but just couldn't get away. It would have been good to see Alex. It's been a while. I think I may have told you he lived as a squatter for a year in my room at college..
You're right.. a number of guys did the hut traverse back then...i never tried, being content to run up and down tuck and the ammy...
Were there many OH there from our vintage?
