Adam's Mt. Washington trips

April 5 and 10, 2004

On Sunday April 4, swimmer/climber/runner Jesse Leayman and I drove up to Mt. Washington and hiked up via Huntington Ravine the next day.  Unfortunately he bonked in the extreme weather near 6000', a quarter of a mile to the summit and said "Adam, get me off this mountain" so we turned back at that point.  We descended the Auto Road and cut over to base camp along a trail near the bottom.  On Friday I drove up again (by myself) and awoke early the next morning for another summit attempt.  Weather conditions and hike route up were essentially identical (visibility was better) and I reached the summit in excellent time.  (Some hikes have taken over 16 hours, hence the early departure time... just in case.)  I descended via the headwall of Tuckerman Ravine, a smaller cirque southeast of the summit.  (Its headwall is about 700' tall as opposed to Huntington's 1600' maximum height.)  Tuckerman's was essentially deserted when I got there, though there were a couple people at the bottom and LOTS of people at Hermit Lake down below the ravine floor.  Lots of snowboarders and skiiers were hiking up, too, as I headed down past them for base camp.  I was definitely a source of amusement for many of them, all rime-covered with my summit gear, a clear indication of the battering summit conditions unfelt where they were going.

Trip info: Weather data & hike times
April 5 photos: The approachCentral GullyUpper slopes • Going down
April 9 photos: Views of Mt. Washington
April 10 photos: The climbUpper slopesSummit bidSummit areaTuckerman descentHermit Lake & base camp

Going down: Clouds break at 4500' on the Auto Road.
[ADAM R. JONES PHOTO]
 

Sno-cat parked on the road
[ADAM R. JONES PHOTO]
 

Another view
[ADAM R. JONES PHOTO]
 

Adam's cameo, taken about 5 miles down from the summit.
[JESSE LEAYMAN PHOTO]
 

The Observatory sno-cat.  It appeared out of nowhere up top (we first noticed it when it was only 5' away), but it disappeared into the blizzard within seconds.
[ADAM R. JONES PHOTO]
 

Trailhead back to base camp
[ADAM R. JONES PHOTO]
 

The Old Jackson Road trail
[ADAM R. JONES PHOTO]
 

Jesse at the bottom, with a bit of frostbite on his cheek
[ADAM R. JONES PHOTO]
 

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