Winter Hiking on Mt. Washington

The memorable moment was reaching the summit of Mt. Washington after struggling for hours through heavy snow-drifts and slippery ice.

The other memorable moment was being in a hot tub back in North Conway, appreciating being alive, having survived, and being in a warm place.

Quick Tips:

This experience is dangerous and requires joining a group led by an experienced climbing school staff. Even with experienced climbers, there is always the possibility of getting in trouble when you attempt to climb this mountain in the winter. You need to be in very good shape, have appropriate clothing and climbing gear(in this case, provided by the climbing school) and be a risk taker.

Best Way To Get Around:

The best way to reach North Conway is by car. Take Route 16 (Spaulding Turnpike) which intersects with I-95 outside Portsmouth, New Hampshire. From Portland Maine, take Route 302 to North Conway.

Once you arrive in North Conway, you need a car to get from your motel/hostel to the base of Mt.Washington or to the headquarters of the climbing school.

I stayed here with the recommendation of the hiking school. I chose this place because of the hot tub and sauna which I knew I would appreciate after hiking Mt. Washington.

This is an historic inn located on 8 acres, only two miles from the center of North Conway. This place combines a homey atmoshere with a pool, jacuzzi, hot-tub and sauna.

It was the perfect place to stay for the occasion.

After spending two nights in the plush Cranmore Mt. Lodge, I switched to a hostel to keep my expenses down.

This hostel, conveniently located near the center of Conway Village, is an old farmhouse. The atmosphere is congenial with decent beds and of course, facilities for cooking.

This is an enjoyable place to eat..the interior has huge potted plants and the atmosphere is friendly and informal.

The Italian food was so delicious..of course, after hiking all day, almost anything would taste good.

I had a fettuccine chicken. My friend had the toasted ravioli.

The following day I decided to try some Indian food.. close to the Bellinis restaurant was the Shalimar of India restaurant which offers a variety of tasty, tangy dishes of northern India.

My meal was wonderfully prepared..had a lamb dish that was out of this world.

Atmosphere was friendly with excellent service.

The train station in North Conway is a main attraction..built in 1874, it has been rennovated to perfection.

The Conway Scenic Railway has regular scheduled trips in comfortable cars pulled by either steam or early diesel engines. There is a 1 1/2 hour exhursion which heads south to Conway; a more scenic 1 3/4 hour trip which heads north to the village of Barlett, and a 5 1/2 hour trip through dramatic Crawford Notch with stupendous views of the mountains and beautiful glacial valleys..the one I took.

Tickets range from $9 to $18, depending on the trip.

The Mountain Sports Climbing School is a professional outfit that requires preparation prior to the actual climb. We met at their headquarters very early in the morning for a general orientation which included receiving approprriate mountain climbing gear and clothing. Our group consisted of ten individuals.

We were then taken to the base of Mt. Washington for lessons on using crampons and ice hooks.After an hour of these lessons, actually using a small hill for practice, I felt fairly confident that I would be o.k.

We were fortunate that on this particular day, the weather was sunny and pleasant with temperatures around 15 degrees and little wind...a perfect day for a winter mountain hike.

Finally we were off, happy to be finally doing the hike. After an hour of climbing, it became obvious that, even with decent weather, that this was not going to be an easy climb. Hiking through deep snow-drifts was slow. After two hours, three members in our group turned back. When we finally reached above the tree line, the wind picked up and occasionally experienced a "white-out" with snow blowing, limiting visibility. But eventually we did reach the summit and experienced an exhilaration and intoxication that made any hardships insignificant.

Leaving the summit and returning to the base was also a challenge. One of our group members slipped and broke a leg, requiring emergency assistance.

We finally made it down to the base camp, exhausted but feeling wonderful.