Join us for a one day ascent of Mt Washington in the winter! You'll be pushed to new heights over 8+ miles and 4200' of climbing, experiencing high winds, cold temperatures, and a wicked fun time.
Mt Washington, NH at 6,288ft, is the highest point in the northeastern United States and is know as having “the world's worst weather”. We will start our climb at Pinkham Notch Visitor Center (elevation 2000ft) and spend the next five hours hiking and climbing steadily upwards. We will make our way up the Tuckerman Ravine Trail, and take our first long break of the day at the start of the Lions Head Winter Trail (3500ft). We will eat, drink, and change layers, as well as put on crampons for the next section of trail. We'll likely leave them on until we return to this spot in the afternoon. We will then ascend the Lions Head winter route with crampons and ice axes, passing the technical “crux” of the route, with the aid of ropes if necessary. We will exit the steeps, and treeline, at about 4200ft. We are now in the “alpine zone”, and we will quickly start to get the brunt of the wind and cold. We still have about 2000ft of uphill climbing before we reach the summit. We will take our final planned uphill break at the Lions Head outcrop (5100’). From here we will make our final decision about heading to the summit. If we are already cold and tired here, it will only get worse as we go upward. Oftentimes we are forced to don facemasks, googles, and all of our extra clothing here for the final push to the summit!
During our ascent we will discuss how to layer for wind and cold, how to wear and use crampons and ice axes, appropriate pacing, and more! If you want to experience what mountaineering is all about, then join us and come climb Mt Washington! No matter the weather, it will be a trip you won’t forget!
Please reach out as soon as possible if you need to cancel or reschedule!
If You Cancel…
If you provide us more than a week notice of cancellation, you are entitled to a 100% refund, or a 100% credit valid for one year.
If you provide us 4-7 days notice of cancellation, you are entitled to a 50% refund, or a 50% credit valid for one year.
If you provide us under 4 days of notice, this will result in no refund or credit.
We understand that stuff happens, so please don’t hesitate to reach out and we will do our best to work with you.
If We Cancel…
Small Cliffs Guiding reserves the right to cancel any trip for weather, safety, or health and wellness reasons. If Small Cliffs Guiding is the one to cancel a trip, you will receive a full refund, or a 100% credit for a future trip.
These policies are in place to protect us and our guides. Guides sometimes work other jobs, and accepting guiding work takes them away from other potential work. Cancellation with little notice means that our guide may loose a day of work. These policies are in effect to protect our guides in this eventuality, and still provide pay where applicable for lost work.