| Summary | |
| Owner | Eric Gilbertson |
| Creation Date | 2007-09-09 22:37:26 UTC-0400 |
| Description | Mount Washington via Huntington Ravine MITOC Intro Circus 2007 Intrepid Hikers: Eric Gilbertson, Matthew Gilbertson, Jake Osterberg, Somin Lee, Gary Long, Ravi Faiia, Amanda Gaudreau 9/8/07 We had a great hike up Huntington Ravine to Mt Washington. We started at about 8:45am out of Pinkham and got to the base of the Ravine in a couple hours. After scrambling over and under some boulders at 3000ft we saw a mysterious cloud of vapor drifting out of a deep cave. The wind blew a cool refreshing breeze from the entrance to the cave. Matthew squeezed between the boulders and the small crevice opened up into a large cave full of ice! Ice in September! We took some out and wrapped it in some layers to preserve it. We wanted the snow to last until the meeting tonight back at Camelot. . We continued the climb and visibility got worse and worse. By the time the trail leveled out near the top we could barely see from cairn to cairn. The clouds were tearing by at 40mph and we struggled to stand up in some of the stronger gusts. Matthew called his Dad to check out the 12:30 webcam shot. Eventually we got to the Auto Road and decided to follow it for the rest of the way to the top. Finally, at about 12:30 we reached the summit. Buffeted by 60mph gusts we braced ourselves for a couple more webcam shots. Matthew's Dad dutifully saved the shots from the comforts of home back in KY. You can check out all the shots here: http://mtwashtrips.blogspot.com. We hung around at the top just long enough to call home and measure the visibility (20 paces), and then ducked for cover in the Visitors Center. We weaved through 100 other people to grab some nice warm soup and hot dogs to reward us for the big climb. After one last webcam shot, it was time to head down at 1:15pm. We opted for the slightly trickier, but more scenic, Tuckerman Ravine Trail on the way down. By the time we got to the top of the Headwall we were below the cloud. But above us Mt Washington was still in the middle of the storm. We waited in line behind crowds of other hikers for our turn to descend into the Tuckerman bowl. Once we got down to the bottom Matthew and Jake took a refreshing dip in the creek. The ice made it back to Camelot in alive, and cooled off Matthew's orange juice. Next time you're climbing Mt Washington, be sure to look for the famous perpetual Huntington Ravine ice. |