Trip to Mount Washington, NH today

[cpdaman]

Left from Burlington, MA for a trip up to MT. Washington....left late (1230pm) .took about 3 hours (once i realized we were not going to be there in time to get the last cog (train) tickets (which are a rip off anyway) we thought about taking the mount washington Road way.....i though maybe i can make it half way up in my car....(with my gf scared out of her mind)....then i saw they had these vans that drive you up for a more reasonable price......bought two tickets to the top for the last (5pm) drive and what a GREAT AMAZING ride it was.

At the base of the mountain (1600 feet) the temp was running about 66 degrees or so and it was pretty breezy.....you could see the dark clouds engulfing the top tier of the mountain and then blowing off the steep slope on the SE side...

The weather report for the top of the mountain said 38 degrees with 50 mph winds before we got in the van for the ride.....

The ride up was interesting because there are no guard railes on a fairly narrow but well paved road (at least until you get to about 4500 feet) then the road becomes more gravel/ hard packed sand/dirt with about 2 foot steep ledges right outside the lane....followed by at times couple thousand feet drops next to that.(really just two turns with steep ledges)....suffice to say i was glad to not be driving and only one car coming down the mountain appeared to like driving on our side of the road....

when we got to about 5000 feet we entered the clouds and the temp was in the lower 40's.......soon after we crossed the timber line (lowest timberline i believe of any mountains i've heard of ) and then the wind picked up noticeably.....the driver stop the van ...rolled down the windows ....and my GF (from key west) grabbed her coat and frantically tried to cover herself.....the clouds/fog could be seen coming thru the van and the drivers hair was wipping it was funny.

When we got to the top we bundled up with hats gloves and 3 layers of clothes the wind chill was running in the low 20's and i was 2 weeks removed from living in S.FL for the last 8 years.. .....as we walked out to the observatory "deck" the wind really picked up as you got closer to the railings.....probably gusting to 60 ....and sustained at 50 or so ....just an ordinary day on the mountain. My gf's camera is charging but i will attach some pics we took on the way up and on the top.....can't wait to try it again in like 3 weeks (b4 they close for the season) although the guy said you could drive in a snow cat up the mountain.......alright!

[vbhoutex]

I've always wanted to make that trip. But I have never gotten N of NYC. I do check their cams several times during the winter months.

[tropicana]

thank you for sharing that great experience cpdaman! One day, i will do this trip, i swear.

[cpdaman]

I posted a pic of the Lenticular (UFO shaped) clouds that we took on the way up (50 pics total taken) and that pic is in the winter weather section on here

here is the link to the vid of me at the observatory ....being blown by the winds (of me then my gf who got jealous and wanted to be in front of the camera)

http://img190.imageshack.us/i/077o.mp4/

[JonathanBelles]

Awesome!! Ive always wanted to hear a personal story from Mount Washington, NH.

[Stephanie]

A LOOOONNGG time ago, when I was a teenager - actually it was in August, 1977 right when Elvis died, I went on a trip with my Grandparents, my brother, Aunt and Uncle and cousins to NH. We did take the cog railrail to the top and the temperature contrasts were pretty much the same - it was in the 70's when we started out and in the 30's with the wind whipping at the summit.

Honestly, if you've ever been to the Rockies like on top of Mt. Evans or Pike's Peak, you would expect to have that type of a contrast in weather and temps. It's really kind of freaky to think that the highest point on the eastern half of the US isn't even half the size of the 14'ers in the Rockies, but the weather change is pretty much the same (at least the temperatures).

[cpdaman]

yes the contrast was quite large ......i hope to get up there in the winter on a snowcat......this friday will probably see hurricane force gusts on Mt. washington as well.

it's a nice chilly 47 degrees out side my new home right now.....and i have to say i do not miss the s. fl heat....i have always been a snow lover and i can't wait for the storms this winter.....(i'm living about 15 miles NW of boston)

[tomboudreau]

I've made the trip about 5 times already. I've driven to the summit 4 times and hiked to the summit one other time. The views are absolutely amazing. I have a picture someplace at the house, showing the first time I've been to the summit. I was suppose to have taken my wife to the summit when we were in CT for vacation in May, but the day we chose to go, they had rain, sleet, and snow that day, and the lower elevations had all rain. Would not have been a great day to go. I absolutely miss and love going to the summit of that mountain. I hope when we go to CT in May next year, the weather is good, and I can summit the mountain again.