Trip Reports

This weekend I’m going to attempt a Winter Presidential Traverse, one of the big winter routes we have up here in the White Mountains. This route – 19 miles with over 10,000 feet of elevation gain – is typically hiked end-to-end in June in one calendar day when there’s maximum …

Climbing Mount Carrigan (4700′)  in winter is an ambitious quest requiring 14 miles of hiking or snowshoeing and 3900 feet of elevation gain. Route finding and bushwhacking skills are also useful, as the trail reroutes resulting from Hurricane Irene washouts are poorly blazed (yellow blazes) and the treadway may be …

Mount Osceola (4340′)  and its subordinate peak East Osceola (4156′) are always a challenging climb in winter.  Scarred by avalanche slides and ice encrusted cliffs, it is hard to comprehend how rugged these mountains are until you need to carry full winter gear up their steep slopes or climb them …

I have always admired the long sweeping ridge between Mount Washington (6288′) and Mount Monroe (5372′) and wondered what it would be like to hike it in winter. While I have hiked the route a half dozen times during the warmer months of the year, the 1.8 mile traverse is …

My friend David and I popped up to New Hampshire mid-week to hike two winter 4,000 footers, Mount Field (4340′) and Mount Willey (4285′) in Crawford Notch. While I’ve climbed these peaks many times, I’d never climbed them during the winter peakbagging season and needed them for my Winter 4,000 …

Last night was a big moment for me because my application to become a full 4 season winter leader for the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) was approved. This is not an easy qualification to get and builds on the 3 season leader qualification I’d already earned. It means a lot to me …

One of the most time consuming parts of the TGO Challenge, a 15 day coast-to-coast backpacking event held every May, is getting to the one’s start point on the west coast of Scotland. Challengers are required to start at one of 12 absurdly remote but picturesque inns and hostels at …

Yesterday was one on those perfect winter days in the White Mountains when it all came together – good friends, clear blue sky, gorgeous views, and a great climb. Our destination was Mt Nancy (3926′), a New England Hundred Highest Peak, which is climbed via a very steep and un-maintained …

The anvil-shaped spire of Mount Garfield stands an isolated sentinel at the north-western end of the Pemigewasset Wilderness with excellent views of the other peaks that ring the 182 square mile forest. Blasted by winds, its rocky summit provides meager protection to hikers, except for the bunker-like foundation of an …

Martin Rye, Grant Sible and I have been planning our Scotland coast-to-coast backpacking route for the past month. We’ll be walking together as a team in the 2013 TGO Challenge this May, an annual backpacking event, where 300 hikers hike from the west coast to the east coast of Scotland …

Try as I might, I can’t put my finger on the one reason I enjoy winter hiking and mountaineering so much. While the views from the high peaks can be exhilarating, there’s also the satisfaction of intense physical exertion, using the technical skills required for winter hiking, and the cameraderie …

The two most difficult winter 4,000 footer hikes in the White Mountains are Owl’s Head Mountain and the Bonds, consisting of Bondcliff, Mount Bond and West Bond Mountain. The difficulty in reaching these peaks stems from their remoteness. All of them are located in the heart of the Pemigewasset Wilderness, …

I went for the meteors, but stayed through the clouds and the cold. Somehow I loved the experience anyway and want to do it again. I hadn’t seen a meteor shower recently and really wanted to see the 2012 Geminids, which were supposed to be spectacular. There was a new …

History’s Lessons for Today’s World I love the history behind the Appalachian Trail and how it came into being. It’s amazing how an army of volunteers and organizers coalesced behind Benton Mackaye’s original vision for the Appalachian Trail and established a trail that runs within easy reach of the urban …