48 Winter Record Attempt 3/10 - 3/18 (Updated title)

[Michelle]

Neighbor still thinks Swedes are tough,no matter what! He also figures it's just a matter of time before you acheive your goal.

 

[sli74]

A valiant effort . . . . Mother Nature is in charge and I am glad you have decided to let her win this round. We will be looking forward to your attempt next winter and hoping for better weather.
From one Brightonite to another . . . till next time,

sli74

 

[vegematic]

Mats,
Too bad the weather didn't cooperate this year, but I'm glad to hear you are none (or very little) the worse for wear. Better luck next year!
-vegematic

 

[Artex]

Not much you can do about the weather. Regardless of what happens, kudos to you for the attempt and, like the others who have the records and have held them in the past, being a class act.

 

[albee]

Why did you choose to go down to Lonesome Lake instead of staying on the Kinsman Ridge trail and crossing over the Cannonballs? It might have required more trail-breaking in wet, sticky snow, but there aren't any stream crossings if you stay on the ridge.

I'm also curious as to why you took a "rest day" on day 3 and stopped after only doing Whiteface and Passaconaway? I was keeping an eye on the upcoming forecast for Thursday and Friday and expecting you to get more done earlier in the week before the weather deteriorated.

Either way, you have gained valuable experince in the New England version of winter peakbagging that will aid you in your next attempt. This also goes to show that the endurance and hiking talent of Frodo, Stinkyfeet, Cath, and Tim are not to be underestimated!

Hope to see you back out in the mountains soon!

 

[giggy]

great stuff matts - swedes are the best at the right stuff -

1) hockey
2) death metal
3) beer consumption

and now hiking too!

sound like you had fun doing this and thats really what counts - congrats on the success - sounded successful to me anyway as the peaks you did do in the time you did them - are tough in own right

 

[Mad Townie]

Way to go, Mats. Here's to next year!

 

[HAMTERO]

Tough Guy!

 

[dr_wu002]

Matt,

way to go on the attempt!

I hope you stick around here though. I wouldn't mind going fer a hike with you sometime. Lots of good ideas for this summer.

Cheers.

-Dr. Wu

 

[gaiagirl]

Mats,
Congratulations on the successs and experiences you were able to rack up on the summits during what had to have been some extremely trying conditions. I would say I'm signing up to join you next winter, but I figure I would probably slow you down (or at the first sign of physical distress cry like a little girl!! ). I'm all over helping you with logistics or with a place to stay in the area if you wanted to crash in the Mount Washigton Valley during your quest, however.

I hope to hear more about your adventures this winter, too. And again, congratulations.

 

[Mats Roing]

Why did you choose to go down to Lonesome Lake instead of staying on the Kinsman Ridge trail and crossing over the Cannonballs? It might have required more trail-breaking in wet, sticky snow, but there aren't any stream crossings if you stay on the ridge.

I'm also curious as to why you took a "rest day" on day 3 and stopped after only doing Whiteface and Passaconaway? I was keeping an eye on the upcoming forecast for Thursday and Friday and expecting you to get more done earlier in the week before the weather deteriorated.

Either way, you have gained valuable experince in the New England version of winter peakbagging that will aid you in your next attempt. This also goes to show that the endurance and hiking talent of Frodo, Stinkyfeet, Cath, and Tim are not to be underestimated!

Hope to see you back out in the mountains soon!

I tried the Kinsmann Ridge first but it wasn't well packed and I was sinking through a lot. At 210 lbs in nature's costume I'm not in the feather-weight division exactly. The ridge is also very windy and in combination with rain (much heavier up there than below), I decided to go down to the hut and up fishin jimmy highway which is more well packed and out of the wind. My feet needed re-greasing and the hut seemed like a good place for it. I didn't know about the stream crossings until after the hut either. In hind-sight it would have been a real bad idea to do Kinsmann's ridge from Cannon, because then I would have been stuck on fishin jimmy coming down from Kinsmanns and would have had to go back up to the ridge and back that way.

One advantage of going by yourself is that you can eat as much garlic you want - I love garlic! The disadvantage is that you need to spend time cooking and getting gear ready etc etc. You need a couple of hours after coming back to the motel room and a couple of hours to get going in the morning. It means that if you are running behind schedule you can either chose to crank out more in the evening and night and screw up the next day's schedule. You can see that on Tuesday I cranked out Isolation, Cabot (had to pack it out to Kilkenny Ridge trail) and Waumbeck and packed up basecamp in Gorham and unpacked basecamp in Lincoln. I wouldn't have been able to do that if I kept cranking peaks after Passaconnaway.

Another aspect when doing it yourself is that you need to be able to drive safely. At least I need at least three hours of sleep every night to function properly. If you have a support crew or just one person helping you with food cooking etc or a fellow-hiker you can split duties with you can probably crank out one more project every day. When you get back from a 10,000-calorie burn day your mind is not always on top and it takes longer to organize yourself when coming back. That's where the advantage of a team comes in. I'm pretty new in the hiking community and haven't developed a team of like-minded people yet willing to pull off a project like this.

If you have a combination of snowshoes, crampons and a pair of lightweight very short skis and a pair of boots which fits them all, I think you can hike faster in winter than in summer. You are more vulnerable to trail conditions in winter though.

Looking forward to hike with you one of these days. I'll be here Thursday - Sunday next week with a friend visiting from Michigan. WOuld be great if you would like to join.

Happy Wet Trails

Mats

 

[WildPeaks]

Hey Mats,

Great attempt!
I agree with the support team 100%. If you go for it, or I should say, when you go for it next year, give me a shout. I may be able to help out for at least a part of it, especially in the Twin Mt. area. If I can help, I will.
Even though I was born in Brighton, It will have to be a support roll at base camp.

 

[Double Bow]

Seriously, way to go on a very admirable attempt. Just being able to do what you were able to is an accomplishment and a great learning experience.

Some may point out things that you might have done differently but remember the old Russian proverb: "There is no shame in not knowing; the shame lies in not finding out."

You have found out. Way to go. I tip my cap to you, sir.

I hope to meet you on the trail someday and perhaps join you for part of next year's attempt.

 

[beverly]

Wait till next year

This time of year can be very challenging, no?! Swedes are tough, but not stupid! Glad you had a good experience and can put the lessons learned to good use next year.

 

[Enapai]

Winter Record

Mats,

Sometimes Mother Nature can pull a fast one even with the best planning. I know from first hand experience. Mats, it was great to hike with you and I would be happy to help you out in future adventures. Till our paths cross once more.

Dave

 

[Mats Roing]

Hi Everyone!

Thanks again for all your support during this attempt. I added some more descriptions in the initial thread of the last couple of days in the woods if you want to read.

Hopefully I'll be more seasoned for next year's attempt

Cheers, Mats

 

[Dr. Dasypodidae]

This also goes to show that the endurance and hiking talent of Frodo, Stinkyfeet, Cath, and Tim are not to be underestimated!

I do not think that anyone who has lurked or posted on this board would ever (mis)underestimate (sic, GWB) what those four can do!

I think that for the winter NH4s record attempts, two people can be much faster than one, for many of the reasons that Mats mentions below (sharing cooking, driving, spotting cars, etc.), but also because two people can mentally push each other. I witnessed this "feeding off one another" first hand with Frodo and Stinkyfeet on their winter NH4s sub-11 day initial record set three years ago. I was with them for a lot of the time then, completing 35 peaks during the 11 days, and was even out in front of them on a few occasions, which I like to think kept them motivated. But, I needed another 24 days to complete my remaining 13 peaks; ok, sure family and work responsibilities interferred, as did some incredibly cold temperatures, until I was accompanied by Cath on the my final 7 peaks.....

I am not convinced that a third person adds much to the speed equation, but I am I convinced that having a "rabbit" does help on shorter ultra events, such as the summer NH4s, where one must go without sleep for nearly the entire time (ex. see write ups by Cave Dog [aka Ted Keiser] on his initial summer NH4s and Long Trail records, where he was paced for extensive time periods by Stinkyfeet, Frodo, Andrew Thompson, and others).

Finally, I am convinced that having "new blood" tackle hiking challenges in our backyard is great for the sport, and I thank Mats for bringing some late winter-season excitement to the Whites.

 

[RoySwkr]

Congratulations on how far you got, that was a couple dozen more peaks than I went to in that time frame. And not being familiar with many of the trails must have made it harder.

Anecdotally, I seem to remember drizzle and wet snow being common the last week of winter, wonder from National Weather Service records which week would seem best.

In line with Dr. D's comments, it would seem that there is a lot of difference between ~3 days in summer and ~9 days in winter caused mostly by actually sleeping several hours per night. Some trails might actually be faster in winter and if broken most should not be that much slower. It appears that an expedition-style push with trailbreakers ahead, a relay of people to pace the runner and bring supplies, and an RV at trailheads to change clothes and nap will ultimately beat any single runner or pair. Of course nobody may want to be the runner in such a bureaucratic setup much less any of the vast support group.

 

[Snowflea]

Impressive effort, Mats. My prediction is that the record will be yours next winter.

I also agree that if one has a full support crew, one can save much time dealing with car spotting, meals/food, dealing with gear (sorting, drying), etc., leaving more time for the hikers to hike and... SLEEP! Taking it to the extreme, a support crew could even break trail, and with perfect weather/conditions, could potentially take days off the current record...

During Frodo & my W4 quest, we had a bit of help w/the car spots (thanks Chickety, Cruddytoes, and Dr. Dasypodidae!!); otherwise we were pretty much on our own. I still don't know how Frodo found the energy to post trip reports every night...

Great memories!

 

[SherpaKroto]

Mats,
When I first read your post, I thought "On no, here comes another one". As the time grew near, and the more I read, I went from skepticism, to cynicism, to intrigue, to reluctant belief, to respect, anbd finally to awe-striken. Very well done! You had a lot of cards stacked against you. Good vibes to you for your next attempt!