I don’t know how many people told me we were crazy to be hiking
Mt Washington in January – I don’t think anyone thought it was
a good idea. The White Mountains in New Hampshire can hold some
pretty cold and windy conditions during the winter, and many experienced
hikers will advise novices (and even the advanced) to yield to
caution and stay inside this time of year. We’re not experts,
but we’ve done this a few times, we’ve all got the right gear,
we’ve read enough safety articles and we closely watch the weather
forecast!
Throughout mid-January, New Hampshire experienced some of the coldest and most
bitter conditions on record, but this was when we scheduled
our annual guys’ trip to Mt. Washington. Fortunately, as luck would have it, the more
severe cold and wind was about to lighten, though it was still far from balmy. Here’s a link to the
Washington Weather Archive – click on any date for a summary
of the summit conditions.
January 17th was going to be the best day to make our attempt.
The daytime air temps were going to be above freezing and the
wind wasn’t expected to be too much to handle. As it turned out,
from the Lake of the Clouds Hut and beyond, the hiking conditions
were too dangerous. In the 24-hour period of the 17th, the average
wind speed was 94 mph with a maximum wind gust of 145 mph. And this
was still the best day to hike in weeks!
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We started the hike at 7:00 a.m.
to make sure we had enough time to at least make the Lake of the Clouds Hut and leave enough time to get down in daylight. That meant we started in the shadow of the mountain. It was really beautiful to watch the sun come up over the mountain and rain down its heat and light on our side. |
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The wind was so constant that
any previous footprints were covered over with newly blown snow. The trail looked as if nobody had hiked it yet this season. Everything was pristine and unpolluted. |
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Just as we were coming over the
crest of this incline, the sun came up in full view and as someone stood in it’s way, it made for a pretty stellar image. We were getting close to the hut just as the wind was starting to really pick up. Ironically, once inside, we were all actually eager to get back out into the wind we’d spent so much money protecting ourselves from. |
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Ethan is standing next to
some of the toughest vegetation that somehow survives these harse conditions. Everything is encased with ice and snow and stands through wind sometimes well upwards of 150 mph. The ice that collects here is very unique and makes the mountain look more like a moonscape than a mountain in New Hampshire. |
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Here I am all geared-up. While
all the gear in the world certainly does NOT make the hiker, the absence of the right gear can mean certain danger. I’m wearing a waterproof/windproof shell jacket and pants, nylon gaiters, mountaineering boots with step-in crampons, windproof gloves and balaclava (full head covering hat) and ski goggles. I haven’t left an inch of skin exposed! |
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Here is a close up of my boots in Grivel
G-12 crampons on the ice. It’s almost more comfortable walking on ice with crampons than on dry rocks with new boots. The only problem is walking in the 100 mph winds! |
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The wind was whipping the
snow and ice around us as we came to the trail marker next to the Lake of the Clouds Hut. The higher we went, the more the conditions quickly deteriorated. |
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Standing still, the wind would lift our hiking poles. On this side of the hut, the wind gusts were getting quite
dangerous, and as careful as we were, it did manage to knock Rob to the ground once. Walking upright was getting near impossible so we decided that hiking further toward the summit would be too dangerous. |
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The mix of sun glare and windswept snow played
with us on the way down. Though of all the elements, it was most certainly the wind that kept us from the summit |
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As we looked back on our way
down we knew we were making the right decision not to go any further. The winter summit will have to wait for our next trip. |
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The wind was really doing a number
on us even as we made our way down to lower elevation. This picture captures some of the blinding beauty of the sun, and what apppears to be something on the lens is actually some of the ice and snow blowing in the wind. |
