-18°f Windchill.

https://www.mountwashington.or...mmit-conditions.aspx

One of my favorite places in summer or winter. -18 Windchill is actually rather balmy at the top for proper winter. Last time I was there in Jan of this year wind chill was in the -50s around 10:30am when we got to the top. While that sounds extreme, given the right clothing and the fact you don't stick around, it's really not terrible if you come up Lions Head Winter or Tuck's. The ammonoosuc\Lake of the Clouds side can be freaking brutal though.





Tuck's-

I hiked all the way up & down Mt Washington in July of ‘98. Was fortunate there were few clouds that day (a rarity) and 5 other peaks were visible. Signed the book in the Lake of the Clouds Hut on the way up. Never forget all the broken rocks from there to the top. Can’t imagine what the summit must be like in the Winter.

People have used it to train for Everest before. At least the uber-crappy weather part of it. The whole lack of air thing isn't as easy to simulate. Though I suppose you could hire a 747, have them depressurize and then climb up and down the upper deck ladder/stair.

Whisp...Thanks for those pictures.

I'll take your word that it gets colder.

Whether it's -18° f or -50°f, too cold for me !

Just always been fascinated by Mt. Washington.

quote:

Originally posted by Otto Pilot:
People have used it to train for Everest before. At least the uber-crappy weather part of it. The whole lack of air thing isn't as easy to simulate. Though I suppose you could hire a 747, have them depressurize and then climb up and down the upper deck ladder/stair.

You’d have to stay airborne for weeks and work your way up in altitude

quote:

Originally posted by Sunset_Va:
Whisp...Thanks for those pictures.

I'll take your word that it gets colder.

Whether it's -18° f or -50°f, too cold for me !

Just always been fascinated by Mt. Washington.

It’s not really well publicized outside of NE, but MWOBS offers educational themed trips to stay overnight at the weather station in winter. They take you up the main road in a snow cat- https://www.mountwashington.or...ures/overnights.aspx So your exposure to the elements is limited.

MWOBS is a non-profit, so while the trips are pricey at least it’s supporting a good cause. A long time ago you used to be able hike up and stay if you were an existing donor, but evidently that became problematic at some point. Now they partner with the guide groups to do the same thing, just it’s expensive and I don’t know how much actually goes back to MWOBS. The visitor center adjacent to the weather station is open in the summer and has some really cool exhibits as well. It gets really crowded on the weekends, but Washington and really the entire presidential range is an awesome place to explore in any season if you get the chance.

In 1980 my high school buddy and me went on a two week hiking trip ending with climbing Mt Washington. It was the end of June. Started hiking in rain. Started seeing signs saying turn around the weather can change in a moment. Ignored them. Then the rain turned to snow.....we kept going. Then we got above the treeline and could see nothing.....we kept going. Got lucky and practically bumped into the AMC Hut we were going to stay at. Walked in and there were some guides on radios. Seemed there was a family stuck on a ridge in the snowstorm. They went out and found them. Ended up getting enough snow that we were snowed in for 3 days. The door was completely covered in a snow drift. When we finally left there was little snow left on the ground but for that few days it was treacherous. Had we been unlucky we may have got lost and possibly died of exposure.