Climbing Mt Washington

Trip legs (latest at top):

20 Sep 04 - Climbing Mt Washington - White Mountains, New Hampshire
Impending good weather has inclined us to stay an extra day to hike to the summit of Mt Washington. While there is an Auto Road upon which one can drive their own auto to the summit, and a van service to be driven to the summit, and even a cog railway, there are probably a dozen hikes to the summit. We start at the Appalachian Mountain Club’s Pinkham Notch Visitor Center, and hike up Tuckerman’s Ravine Trail. This is the easiest route and most protected from the elements, and while it is in the 60’s at the start, the weather report is windy and in the 30’s at the summit. We gird ourselves for a 4200’ elevation gain in the next four to five hours.

Weather Report
Before our hike to the summit of Mt Washington, we stopped at the Appalachian Mountain Club's Pinkham Notch Hut. Here is the day's weather report for the summit. Notice it's below freezing up there with 30mph winds. We wonder what 100 mile visibility looks like.
Waterfall on Tuckerman's Ravine Trail
Our Hiking Gear
This is the stuff we usually strap on ourselves when we hike, or darn close to it. On the left is a Mountainsmith Day lumbar pack, which holds Stephen's spare shell and fleece, and some munchies and emergency supplies. In the center is a Targus camera pack for the Canon A70 we use. On the right is Stephen's Jansport day pack which Dawn carries with her spare outerwear and some munchies. She usually uses a cheaper hand-me-down pack which gets much abuse, but this day because of the strenuousness of the hike, she wanted the comfort of the nicer pack.

Mountain Ash in Fruit
Full tree with brilliant red berries seen on Tuckerman's Ravine Trail.

The hike is easy for the first two miles to the Hermit Lake hut, on a wide rocky path that looks marginally passable for a 4-wheel drive vehicle with a couple feet of ground clearance. But after Hermit Lake, the path takes a sharp climb up as we climb the headwall of Tuckerman’s Ravine. The huge bowl is clear of snow now, but can be skied as late as July on its north-facing slope, for skiers willing to hike themselves up. For us, the views start becoming tremendous.

No Crampons on Porch
About half the distance to the summit of Mt Washington at the AMC Hermit Lake Hut, though only about one-fourth the elevation gain. In the background is the headwall of Tuckerman's Ravine. Notice sign to right of Dawn.
Ravine Headwall
Headwall of Tuckerman's Ravine. Hey, does the trail go up that?
Alpine Wildflowers
As yet unidentified.

After we crest the headwall, there is another mile to go before the summit, all rocks, all steep. The way now is marked by cairns, piles of rocks placed as trail markers. The views are just way cool.

Tuckerman's Ravine
View from headwall looking southeast into the ravine.
Talus Slope
This is almost the final assault on the summit. All this talus, or rock debris, is due to previous glaciations. When the glaciers came over the summit from the other side (the north side), they contained these rocks they had ripped off the mountain. The rock was dropped here when the glacier was melting, because the south side melted first.

Finally, as we climb to the end of the trail, we are dismayed to find ourselves not at the summit, but at… a parking lot? We are confronted with motorists and van drivers who used the Mt Washington Auto Road, and a general hustle and bustle way more annoying than the significant wind and temperature drop. New Hampshire has the 59-acre Mt Washington State Park on the summit, and the entire experience is designed as a destination for those who have been conveyed to the top by fossil fuel. The summit is completely surrounded by busy roads, train tracks, concession stands, gift shops, and the famous weather station. The wilderness experience of hiking to the top is not even an afterthought, it is completely impossible.

Mt Washington Weather Station
From the state park building you can tour a museum which provides a nice exhibit about the Mt Washington Observatory.
Mt Washington Cog Railway
Because we were hiking, we found the smell and incessant steam whistle of the Mt Washington Cog Railway rather obnoxious. However, if we weren't hiking, this would likely be a pretty cool trip. Especially if we had no way of knowing how many delicate, sensitive hikers we were annoying.

The temperature drops precipitously as we near the summit, and the winds are heavy. We have been hiking up the protected south side of Mt Washington, and the sudden wind and cold of the summit feels out of place. The views are spectacular... on days like today one is supposed to be able to see as far as 130 miles.

Mt Washington Summit
Look, Ma, we made it!

Good spirits return after we leave the commotion of tourism and commerce and begin our descent at 3pm, which we worry is rather late. We return by the Lion Head trail, which hugs the northern ridge of Tuckerman’s Ravine, affording a view into the ravine from above. The trail rejoins our original path on Tuckerman's Ravine Trail just below Hermit Lake, and as darkness descends we emerge at Pinkham Notch and rewards ourselves with showers.

Lion Head Trail Marker
The trail marker is 6 feet away. The horizon is at least 60 miles away.
Lion's Head
Looking down the trail to the Lion's Head formation just ahead.
Clouds on Descent
Just when we thought our hike was over, we were rewarded by this amazing cloud formation. Even Dawn, who goes crazy when I take too many pictures, said to take a picture of this. We are looking east from Tuckerman's Ravine Trail across the Mt Washington Valley. The far hillside is almost encased in shadow here at sundown.