4000 Footers

March is the best month to climb the higher peaks in New Hampshire’s Presidential Range when temperatures warm up and the days are longer, but it’s still full-on winter conditions above treeline. This is home of Mt Washington, the White Mountains highest peak, which is on the same ridge with …

Mount Moosilauke (4802′) was windy. It’s often like that. It was really cold too, registering -1*F at the trailhead at the start of our hike, with a -30*F windchill forecast at the mountain’s bald summit. That meant we’d probably need full-face protection to prevent frostbite on the final above-treeline portion …

Backpacker Magazine got it right when they named Mt Washington (6288′) one of the 10 most dangerous hikes in America. Several weather patterns collide on Mt Washington and produce its notoriously foul weather, which can move in quickly.  The winds on Mt Washington exceed tropical storm force (40 mph) 110 days …

Eliot needed Mt Eisenhower for his Winter 4000 footer list, so we decided to climb it on the second day of Winter (12/23). Eisenhower (4780′) is a bald dome in the Southern Presidentials, located about halfway up the ridge between Mt Monroe and Mt Pierce. It’s a pretty straightforward hike …

The Great Gulf is a glacial valley that lies between Mt Washington and the Northern Presidential Range in New Hampshire. It’s ground zero for many of the toughest and steepest trails in the White Mountains, including the Great Gulf Trail which climbs the Mt Washington Headwall. The Headwall is a …

The Great Gully Trail is one of the steepest trails in the Whites climbing 1700 feet in one mile. It begins at the bottom of the King Ravine headwall (3700′) on the north side of Mt Adams (5774′),  the second tallest peak in the White Mountains after Mt Washington, and …

Mt Adams is the second-highest peak on the White Mountain 4000 footers list, with an elevation of 5774 feet. The most direct route to the summit follows the Airline Trail, which climbs 4,500 feet in 4.3 miles. It’s a tough climb up a steep and rocky trail, but I was …

I spent most of this month off-trail down in Boston, helping a family member recuperate from major surgery. It was important that I be there, even though it meant leaving my beloved White Mountains for close to four weeks. I decided to climb up Mt Washington to test how much …

Mt Moosilauke is a massive mountain located in the southwest corner of the White Mountain National Forest. The main summit has an elevation of 4802′, which makes it the 10th highest mountain on the AMC’s 4000-footer list. My goal on this trip was to summit Moosilauke twice, once from the …

Mount Guyot is a 4000 footer (4580′) located near the center of the Pemigewasset Wilderness, almost exactly halfway between Franconia Notch and Crawford Notch, as the crow flies. Pronounced “Gee-oh”, with a hard “G”, it’s named after the Arnold Guyot, a geography and geology Professor at Princeton University who is …

Mt Lafayette is the highest peak on Franconia Ridge and the most popular because day hikers and backpackers can stop at the Appalachian Mountain Club’s nearby Greenleaf Hut to refill their water bottles and buy lunch. It can also get very busy on summer weekends with AT Thru-hikers and tourists, …

“You know, thirty-below isn’t that bad if you’re dressed properly”, said Eliot, as we stood in the sun by the South Kinsman Mountain summit cairn. We were suited up in full above-treeline regalia including balaclava, facemasks, and heavy gloves. It was so cold, that I was even wearing long underwear, …

Most winter hikers in the White Mountains check the weather a few times every day, so they can grab a good weather window to climb the more challenging above-timberline peaks and enjoy the view. With temperatures forecast in the ’30s and a calm wind, I knew this would be a …

When we crested Kinsman Ridge, the first thing we saw was Franconia Ridge floating above a billowy cloud of undercast. Also called a cloud inversion, undercast occurs when a cold layer of air is trapped in a canyon or mountain pass and topped with a layer of warm air, which …