On December 3rd we climbed Mt. Washington again. This time with our friend Rich, who had never been to the top of New England. Yet again we got the best day of the week (maybe the month). I know our last climb was titled “Perfect Weather”, but I can now say that this climb was “Perfect Weather”. We had balmy temperatures, sun the entire climb, and zero wind. Even at the top of Lions Head, there was not a breathe of wind.
We got started up Tucks trail at 8AM and arrived at the Lions Head junction by 10AM. Tucks trail was mostly snow covered rocks (caused by the slight dusting we got the night before) with ice in the low spots. Mainly rock hopping to the junction. Lions Head up to treeline was more of the same, but slightly less ice. Above treeline, we found hardly any ice and a little bit of snow. Mostly summer conditions. We actually took our second break of the day on top of Lions Head Proper, which is typically impossible due to the high winds that are almost always present there. The traverse between Lions Head and the summit cone was quite wet and icy, but easy going. The summit cone had very little ice or snow on it at all.. again summer conditions. We spent about 30 minutes on the summit and Rich logged his first ascent into the history books (great job Rich!). We took our standard hero shots next to the summit sign, ate pringles, and headed down. We thought we would increase our sightseeing and take Tuckermans Ravine Trail down, as many people that day had come up it. We found the trail to be extremely icy. We mostly had to walk along the side of the trail, as the trail itself was a frozen waterfall. Although it proved to be a great change of scenery, we found it to be very slow going as each step took care and proper placement. I would recommend a Lions Head ascent and descent at this point. Crampons are recommended for Tuckermans. We finished the jaunt down the ski trail in the dark. We couldn’t have asked for a better day to summit Mt. Washington!

Lions Head from the Traverse to the summit cone.

Rich reaching the top of New England for his first ascent.

A shot of the Northern Presidentials to compare with our last post.

A sea of Mountains looking South from the summit.

Lions Head in the fading light from the top of Tuckermans

Last week the summit of Mt Washington had 10″ of fresh snow. The past 10 days have been warmer than normal and the snow has since melted. Minimal snow this early in December is not that abnormal though. We are back in the mountains tomorrow and it’s is supposed to be a balmy 0-10 degrees on the summit with the winds only at 25mph or so. It’s going to be a great day up there, but I am really looking forward to the snow.. Whenever it comes. Stay posted for some updated route condition pictures and a description of our latest climb.

Brett and I climbed Mt. Washington for the fun of it on Sunday November 13th. Luckily for us, it turned out to be the pick of the week. We climbed into clear skies and amazing views of the surrounding peaks. From the summit we could see the entire presidential range and beyond, which is quite rare for the winter months. The ski trail from Pinkham Notch to the Lions Head Trail is still mostly rock, with some spotty ice. Lions Head was more of the same. The ice made for some tricky footing in some sections. We set a leisurely pace from the start which put us on Lion’s Head proper in about 2 hrs and 15 minutes. Here we were greeted by 40-55 mph winds. The winds were short lived and we found hardly any wind as we traversed across the rim of Tuckerman’s to the the junction of Lions head and Tuckerman Ravine trail, which is typical. We climbed the final summit pyramid in 20-30mph winds. We reached the summit in 3hrs 45minutes from Pinkham Notch. On the summit we got to view the sun through a special telescope, part of a program the Park Service was running. It was a balmy 20 degrees or so on the top with a windchill around 5 degrees. We spent 45 minutes on top taking in the fantastic views and a can of Pringles. It took us 3 hours to descend to the car as the ice covered rocks made for tedious footing. What a great day on the mountain!

Northern Presidentials: Left to Right- Jefferson, Adams, Madison

Brett climbing through the boulder field that makes up the summit pyramid

Looking down into Tuckerman Ravine from the Summit Pyramid

Corey on Lions Head

The ski trail conditions. I personally prefer snow instead of a rocky path.. a few more weeks...