What Not to do in the White Mtns- TR

“Several weeks ago a friend asked if I wanted to join him on a trip to the White Mountains, where he hoped to climb Mt. Washington. I’ve always wanted to visit this region and decided to go. After an eight hour drive we arrived in the White Mountains; the jagged peaks piercing the sky was a breathtaking sight. We drove along boulder filled streams with cascades and thick forests of balsam fir. The drive to Franconia Notch was impressive, with thousand foot high cliffs and beautiful streams and waterfalls. The famous Old Man of the Mountain was just a memory, as it had collapsed off the side of the cliff a few years ago.

We camped at Russell Pond and woke Saturday morning to rain. Thankfully the rain tapered off and the sky began to clear. We explored incredible Crawford Notch with amazing views and took short hikes to Silver Cascade and Ripley Falls, a beautiful sloping waterfall. A drive to Pinkham Notch offered more great scenery, including a short hike to Glen Ellis Falls, with a three-dollar fee.

For the first time I saw Mt. Washington as its summit was encased in clouds. As the evening wore on, the clouds lifted to reveal the summits of the Presidential Range. We camped at Dolly Copp campground and I was excited about Sunday’s ascent of Mt. Washington.

We woke to a beautiful crystalline morning and drove to the parking area. The trail ascends along a rocky grade through a hardwood forest that transformed into balsam fir as the trail ascended. We reached a shelter and my friend decided to take the Lion’s Head Trail and I decided to take the famous Tuckerman’s Ravine Trail. The trail ascended over boulders as I entered the ravine with waterfalls. As I neared the headwall, there was still snow and ice. I climbed over the headwall with amazing views and hiked above the tree line.

I decided to visit Lake of the Clouds and summit Mt. Monroe. I hiked down to the small lakes, visited the hut located nearby, and quickly climbed to the apex of Mt. Monroe at over 5,300 feet. Clouds began to roll in as I looked over the deep ravines and distant peaks. I retraced my steps and continued on to the summit of Mt. Washington. As I neared the summit, fog and mist began to envelope the mountain and I picked up my pace. I reached the summit, but the fog blocked all views. The many tourists and buildings on the summit made it somewhat anti-climactic. The summit is 6,288 feet high, over 4,000 feet above where we started the hike that morning.

I met my friend at the summit and he decided to take a shuttle down. As I was in the visitor’s center, I saw the weather radar show rain entering New Hampshire from the south. I told him I was going to take the long Nelson Crag trail back down. We parted ways as I descended the mountain as billows of mist and fog buffeted the mountain. Mt. Washington is known as one of the most dangerous mountains in the world with wicked, fast-changing weather, and the fastest surface wind speed ever recorded at 241 m.p.h. I decided to forego the Nelson Crag Trail as I checked the map for a short-cut; I wanted to get off the mountain as soon as I could. A group of hikers passed, one with a bleeding bandage over his eye and the fog grew thicker. As I looked at the map, I saw the Huntingdon Ravine Trail and I turned right to follow the trail to make the descent.

I had no idea what I was about to get myself into...”

“Oooh, this sounds like a good one!”

“SPILL IT!!!!!!!!”

“What is a hike, without a little bad weather, ey?”

“Dude, don't leave me hangin!!!”

“oh man.........


Hurry up! what happened?”

“I didn't take this trip lightly. Despite the warm, sunny weather at Pinkham Notch, I brought a rain coat, zip off pants, lots of water, filter, lots of food, parka, extra socks, fleece, medical pack, winter hat and gloves. My daypack was filled.

I hiked down the Huntington Trail and passed a group of three people and asked if the trail was very steep. They sneered somewhat arrogantly with a yes, but offered no other info. I then passed a group of five Canadians, three guys and two girls.

I continued down the trail and it grew progessively steeper. As I neared the headwall, the earth fell from view into the mist. I grew a little concerned. A group of guys came up with full packs and told me that there were 6-8 foot ledge scrambles and that it was steep. I expected that. I asked if it was as steep as Tuckerman's and they didn't know. I felt confident I could handle a descent similar to Tuckermans. This same group had the guy with the injured eye, apparently someone stabbed him with a trekking pole. They made it clear I should not descend alone, so I began to turn around as waves of fog swept over the headwall with a strong cool wind.

And then the Canadians showed up...”

“damn....nothing good can come from canadians...”

“Awww, JMitch, your making this stuff up. Everybody knows there ain't no Canadians out hiking when the Stanley Cup is in question!”

“The gracious Canucks invited me to join them- the three guys appeared to have some climbing experience and brought a belay, even though they were backpacking. Everyone introduced themselves to me.

Yes, I did think to myself if the girls could do this, so could I.

But if only I read about this trail before the trip. The AMC guide calls the Huntington Ravine Trail the most difficult, dangerous regular trail in the Whites- the headwall descent is 700 feet over .3 mile. Scrambling and rock climbing experience is strongly recommended. It is never recommended as a descent, particularly when wet, but is usually used as a technical scramble/ascent. I should have guessed, everyone I encountered was coming up the trail. Except for me and the crazy Canadians.

The trail quickly dropped from sight as it descended the ledges and cliffs of the 1,500 foot deep ravine. I carefully scrambled down the ledges, contorting my body into crevasses and along cracks above 100 foot cliffs. I usually kept my pack on, but along a few ledges and passes the pack had to come off to fit through and keep balance.

I desperately sought handholds and footholds along the granite and shoved my feet into the crevasses as I made my way down. These descents would be directly above huge cliffs and sloping ledges. At one descent, one of the guys lost his nalgene as it plummeted down the cliff- amazingly we were able to retrieve it. I helped with the belays and assisted the girls with the descent. The guys helped me with some rock climbing tips.

But the weather grew more ominous- completely concealing the valley and ravine below, and drops of rain began to fall. The descent began to be tiresome and took very long- up to an hour just to go a little over .1 mile. The girls began to look unnerved, if not scared, and I had to keep myself calm and composed.

As we traversed another cliff, one of the girls was belaying a pack and one of the guys was below to catch it...

She let go to soon and the pack and belay plummeted down the mountain...”

“Roam- they were french canadians, who appear to be 90% of the hikers in the Whites. One of the girls kept saying "Merci" to me.
last edited: 6/28/06 4:24:21 PM”

“ah, that explains it. The french are brilliant climbers, but they suck at hockey.

(Didja get any phone numbers from the girls, or better yet - pics??????)
last edited: 6/28/06 4:26:04 PM”

“The ending shall wait until tomorrow...”

“HEY!!! no fair. You just cant end it now >:(”

“ya, what she said!!!”

“ggggggrrrrrrr”

“anyone got his phone #? keep calling him untill he gives us the rest of the story.”

“and next time on... As The Weather Turns....

LOL!
Sorry, this is way better than soaps!”

“so....did you make it down with all your appendenges? did one or two of the girls go splat?”

“This is a real cliff hanger.”

“Roam- they were french canadians, who appear to be 90% of the hikers in the Whites. One of the girls kept saying "Merci" to me.
last edited: 6/28/06 6:24:21 PM”
jmitch
6:23:33 PM
6/28/06


Okay, the only French-Canadian girls I ever met who said "merci" were the type that danced on tables. I'm sure the ones you met had trouble on the descent because of their heels.”

“LOL!
Dam! Why cant I find a nice dirty woman that goes hiking in stiletto's?!! LOL! Oh ya, I live in indiana that's why.
Maybe that is what will be in Part 4. Bring the raunch jmitch! All us lonely dudes need to live vicariously. ;-)”

“Did they get naked??? The last French Canadian that I met in the ADK's stripped down infront of ENS and me, possibly the most beautiful woman that I have ever seen in the backcountry. It was really akward to catch glimpse with your headlight on, no me I wasn't looking, my headlight just happened to shine on you.”

“is it tomorrow yet?”

“No kidding! I just fell out of my computer chair. I was so close to the edge of the seat the thing just shot out from under me. ;)”

“I like the French Canadians in the Whites. When I last hiked there most of them were female and all smoking hot.

Great trip report so far jmitch.”

“there were a couple of french canadian girls that stayed in the same dorm as me in college....they were definatly not shy when it came to strip poker or other drinkin' games.”

“"I checked the map for a short-cut; I wanted to get off the mountain as soon as I could."

"I saw the Huntingdon Ravine Trail and I turned right to follow the trail to make the descent."


Well I can see where this is going. In good weather, going up Huntington Ravine can be on the difficult side :)”

“I was thinking the same thing pepsi. The next time I go to the Whites I want to go up that trail.”

“I like the French Canadians in the Whites. When I last hiked there most of them were female and all smoking hot.

I just realized that I've never hiked in the White Mtns - I can't think of a better place to plan my next big trip!”

“Roamie, I might be available for that trip too!”

“Here's a nice thread on the toughest trails in Northern New England:

http://www.viewsfromthetop.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12312

If y'all are coming to the Whites, I definitely want to try to hike with you.”

“It's tomorrow now. =D

Jmitch you may win the prize for most anticipated trip report ending ever.”

“well we do know he made it out alive so that kind of takes away from the ending”

“Maybe not, he could be a ghostwriter.”

“Well Zac, he is pretty scary.”

“well we do know he made it out alive so that kind of takes away from the ending”
Ewker
9:41:07 AM
6/29/06


Dagnabbit Ewker, thanks for spoiling the ending!! Sheesh!”

“your welcome”

“Road trip to The Whites, boys?

Summer, of course!!”

“when is the most popular time for cute French Canadian girly hikers?”

“Uh.....................summer?”

“Haha, a ghostwriter! You people are silly.

Yikes, that sounds extremely scary...I definitely would've cried, and perhaps soiled myself. LOL! I hate steep downhills, I'd rather walk up one anyday, than down.”

“I'm just as guilty, but look at this...
Here's a guy facing near death experiences, dense fog, slippery wet slot canyon decents, 100's of foot drop offs, they have lost valuable gear, incredible winds, fatigue, etc...

and what is the big anticipation? We want to hear about the hot women. LOL! DORKS! LOL!”

“Soiled yerself, indeed!!

No one would have noticed your tears, what with the rain and fog.

Your cryin' would be all for naught!!

Hahahahaha!!”

“bad weather on top of mt washington is not a good time to be experimenting with "shortcuts"
last edited: 6/29/06 12:09:55 PM”

“Come on jmitch I only got 6 hours left in my work day! Lets have it!

;-)”

“Yeah, who has time for this crap at home?”

“LMAO! that's right! What else am I gonna do? Work?
Pshhhh!!!!”

“{fingers tapping}

tick tock dammit!”

“I go home in five minutes!!”