Mt Washington Hike - Preparations
I've done a lot of winter hiking in the Whites, but Mount Washington
has many special challanges that aren't present in other areas. There
are avalanches, a greater need for self-arrest, and of course the
weather. My climbing partner for the day, Kathy Hooke, and I had been
planning a Mount Washington trip for the weekend, but the weather on
Saturday was snow/rain and Sunday was
clear but had very high winds. Monday however
looked clear and calm. We both arranged to take off work and away we
went.
Here is a list of the equipment I brought for the trip:
Clothes
- Wool socks and liner socks, plus a spare pair
- Polypro bottoms
- Polypro thermal pants
- Gore-Tex bib pants
- OR Crocadile Gaiters
- Polypro top
- Light Polarfleece shirt
- Polarfleece vest
- Polarfleece pullover
- EMS Gore-Tex Mountain Jacket
- Polarfleece gloves
- Polarfleece mittens and OR Gore-Tex overmitts
- Polarfleece neck gator
- Windblocker Polarfleece/Gore-Tex balaclava
- Wool Hat
Gear
- Koflach Air Comprex Vario plastic boots
- Simond Step in crampons
- Choinard Ice Axe
- Sunglasses and Goggles
- One 1 liter waterbottle and one 1.5 liter insulated bottle
- Headlamp with extra batteries
- Emergency/First-Aid kit
- Mountainsmith Telemark daypack
- Camera and film
- Food (sandwiches, gorp, chocolate, gummie bears)
- Map and Compass
We left North Conway around 6:30 AM and made it to
Pinkham Notch just
after 7:00. The sun was shining up high, and we could see a near full
moon that was setting over the mountain. Temps overnight we below
zero, but things were warming up as the sun hit. We registered,
used the facilities,
put on our boots,
checked the forecast and conditions, and headed out the
door. It was 7:30 AM when we started up the Tuckerman Ravine trail.
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