Mt. Washington Part Deux

This past weekend was my second trip to Mt. Washington. Bob, Craig and my self were joined by our guide Conrad. As always the weather was going to be a factor. The call was for temps just above 0, and winds 45-55 mph with a chance of snow showers.

We were all a little more prepared for the trip. Craig and I acquired all the gear so we didn't have to spend time getting set up with there's. The plan was to get an early start which we were able to do. I think Conrad was impressed by how prepared we were.

Things started off like I expected, Craig was crushing the pace and Bob and I were begging him to slow down. Usually the guides from the EMS Climbing School take the clients up Lions Head Trail, Conrad decided we were worthy of taking a more challenging route. He took us up Tuckermans Ravine, through the Right Gully. Man was it freakin' steep. The picture shows Right Gully, but it does not show just how steep it is.

The average time on the mountain is 5 hours up and 3 hours down. Despite taking the hard way we were on pace to summit in 4.5, but 500 vertical feet from the summit we hit total white out conditions. We could have reached the summit with no problem, but would have never seen it, so we decided to turn back. It was a good thing to, because the white out was going farther down the mountain, which would have made getting down really difficult.

The best part of climbing with Bob and Craig is, if any one of us asks to turn back, we all turn back, no question about it. This just means we will be back next year to try again. Hopefully we go up through the Alpine Gully again.
, because who wants to do it the easy way.

Cheers,
Buddy