The Mount Washington Winter Ascent was a huge success this year (Check out the pictures on our website’s photo page, Flickr Page, Videos on our YouTube Page, and more pictures on our Facebook Page). We had 6 people attend the trip, which was the biggest group we have had so far! Upon arriving in North Conway, the group instantly clicked and I could tell that they were going to have an amazing time together. The feeling was correct! The entire trip, they encouraged each other, motivated each other, and helped each other accomplish the goals set before them of climbing and summitting Mount Washington.

We began the approach to Mount Washington at Pinkham Notch  early Friday morning, at 6:00am. Apparently, it was the coldest and windiest day they had all year on the Mountain. -5 Farenheit, with 80 MPH gusts at the summit. It made it about a -40 degree windchill! We broke trail that day…no one else was in front of us. After a few hours of hiking and climbing, we passed tree line, where the wind slammed us and made conditions almost impassable. The group was actively checking in on each other, making sure that everyone was feeling ok and staying warm. We had an emergency and had to go back down, and most likely wouldn’t have made the summit that day anyways due to the forecast calling for worse weather later in the day. When we returned to Pinkham Notch Lodge, we saw the weather report for Saturday was for partly cloudy skies and slightly warmer weather.

Saturday morning we woke up at 4:00am and headed out to Mount Washington. What a beautiful day! According to the weather observatory, it was “an unusually glorious day” on Mount Washington. Here is a picture so you can see what I mean: