My friends Jon, Larry and I did a quick trip to the Whites to see if we could manage a Mt Washington summit for Larry, who had not been there before, and to try to tag another 46-er that was close by that we hadn't done, which was Mt. Moriah.
We made it to within .5 mi and 800 vertical feet of the summit of Washington but the conditions were getting worse and worse so we decided it wasn't fun anymore, which is our universal cue that it's time to go home. Winds above treeline were a steady 40mph and before we left we encountered numerous gusts of 60-70mph. That's the point they start knocking you on your ass. You just have to stop briefly and brace yourself on your poles or axe. The visibility was approaching zero, our tracks were instantly obliterated, and we couldn't see any cairns in the snowfield above Alpine Gardens.
Next day, the forecast was even more dire, but it turned out to be a spectacular day for a summit. However, we had already decided to do Moriah and that is what we did. It was a great hike anyway and we got more of a workout than we anticipated. Lots of little ups and downs not revealed on the topo, leading to a lot of calf-burning front pointing with the snowshoes, and some careful glissades on the way down. The views were spectacular and the wind was light. It was so warm that most of the time I was wearing only a base layer and nylon baseball cap. Feeling like Spring!
Above the chute on Lion Head Trail, adjusting layers for above-treeline conditions
Nearing Lion Head rocks, it wasn't getting any better
Approaching Lion Head, looking back down toward treeline
Getting breezy… about 40mph here
Getting nasty… the snowfield above Alpine Garden with winds really picking up. Time to go home.
Home is that way.
Actually got a little closer to the top than I thought… 0.3 mi… oh well, next time!
Next day, a whole different weather picture. Prez range in the background.
Mild temperatures and low wind… time to relax and horse around.
But the blowdowns got to be quite annoying, especially if you're 6'3" tall
But it was an exhilarating experience to take in the panoramas from the top.
The only USGS benchmark I've seen this winter. The rest were covered by ice and snow.
Capping off a fun trip. Glad we did Moriah, which was tougher than we had expected.
Edit to add photo
