Mt. Washington in NH - most difficult trail
Scott DiNitto
Washington (without using ropes) next weekend. I don't know the name
of the trail, but I also don't know if I am technical enough to do it.
The most technical I have done is the spellman trail on Mt. Monadnock
in NH. Has anyone done both of these trails, and can anyone offer a
comparison? Thanks
SD
King Pineapple
regular trail in the Whites, even harder than Spellman. Spellman is steep,
but there's a longer steep distance on Huntington's.
Scott DiNitto <mail...@yahoo.com> wrote in article
<35e17ddb.432420878@news>...
J...@drexel.edu
mountaineers with the highest level of equipment. Please keep off as we are
getting tired of tripping over all the dead bodies on our way up to the
cafeteria for chile with the train-riders and car-trippers.
In article <35e17ddb.432420878@news>,
mail...@yahoo.com wrote:
> I may hike what is known as the most "difficult" trail on Mt.
> Washington (without using ropes) next weekend. I don't know the name
> of the trail, but I also don't know if I am technical enough to do it.
> The most technical I have done is the spellman trail on Mt. Monadnock
> in NH. Has anyone done both of these trails, and can anyone offer a
> comparison? Thanks
>
> SD
>
-----== Posted via Deja News, The Leader in Internet Discussion ==-----
http://www.dejanews.com/rg_mkgrp.xp Create Your Own Free Member Forum
Barry Johnston
>
> That would be the Huntington Ravine Trail. It's considered the hardest
> regular trail in the Whites, even harder than Spellman. Spellman is steep,
> but there's a longer steep distance on Huntington's.
>
> Scott DiNitto <mail...@yahoo.com> wrote in article
> <35e17ddb.432420878@news>...
> > Washington (without using ropes) next weekend. I don't know the name
> > of the trail, but I also don't know if I am technical enough to do it.
> > The most technical I have done is the spellman trail on Mt. Monadnock
> > in NH. Has anyone done both of these trails, and can anyone offer a
> > comparison? Thanks
> >
> > SD
> >
Huntington's is a fun trail. Don't plan on a quick trip. I've done it
twice..once with my 9 yr old. It is a good climb, but hardly technical.
P.S. Don't attempt it if it's wet.
Bejay
david mann
: I may hike what is known as the most "difficult" trail on Mt.
: Washington (without using ropes) next weekend. I don't know the name
: of the trail, but I also don't know if I am technical enough to do it.
: The most technical I have done is the spellman trail on Mt. Monadnock
: in NH. Has anyone done both of these trails, and can anyone offer a
: comparison? Thanks
My guess is that you are refering to the Huntington Ravine
Trail. There are several places where a basic knowledge
of rock climbing is useful, if not mandatory. There
are several places where a fall would have serious,
perhaps even fatal, consequences. Wet conditions make
it very very hard. Downclimbing would be very very risky --
much more difficult than going up. You should be
confident enough in your skills to be able to complete
the climb up the headwall BEFORE you go past the fan.
You should also be sure about the weather up on
the Alpine Garden as the weather tends to come at
the mountain from the west, leaving you blind to
any changes since you are on the east side.
Here is an excerpt of TR from a trip I took there this spring.
Trip Report
===========
June 7, 1998
Mt.Washington via Huntington Ravine
Conditions: off and on rain, occasional grauple,
little to no wind, 30f - 40f
My buddy Dave Salzer has joined us for a visit so we took
a day and drove north for hike. We left Boston at 5:30
and got to Pinkham around 9:30. Dave had led (dragged?)
me up the Mountaineer's Route on Whitney a few years
back and I wanted to return the favor as much as these
NewEngland mountains would allow.
We creaked up the trail tasting the sour joy of aging
joints and softening metabolisms. My legs finally got
moving by the time we hit the junction with the Huntington
Ravine trail.
At the base of the headwall, the trail winds around,
under and over a jumble of cabin sized boulders. The
whole effect is reminiscant of a short version of
Mahoussac Ravine -- a jungle gym for big kids. We
took shelter under one of the overhanging boulders
and layered up, downed some food and I stowed the
hiking poles for the upcoming scramble.
The crux of the route is large angled slab that you
need to traverse up and over to the right. The slab
is located at the top of large scree fan. As we
ascended the fan, we discussed the possibility of
turning back at the slab. Several cascades were running
off of the slab and downclimbing it would be nuts.
We found the slab to be more of a mini-cascade with
run off from the rain. But, our soles were giving us
very good grip despite the water. Further, the forecast
for the summit was for little to no wind and most
surprisingly, the weather was coming at us from
the east (Huntington opens to the east) so we knew
we wouldn't get blindsided by bad weather and forced
to downclimb the ravine. So, we slowly and deliberatly
went up and across the slab.
The rest of the climb up the trail is a classic scramble.
The slab is not the only point that would be hard or
impossible to down climb, especially in the wet weather.
At one point, higher up, there is a large awkward step
over to the left that drops you into a short, tight
and somewhat exposed chimney. In the middle of the chimney
is a yellow blaze indicating that yes, surprisingly enough,
this is the right path. It's a sick joke. I reminded Dave
that this is not a climbing route, it's a hiking trail!
We crested the top of the ravine around noon and after a
brief look around the rim, we started the long slow grind
up the Nelson Crag trail towards the summit house.