Death on Mt. Washington: The Igloo Incident
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- čas přidán 13. 11. 2023
- In January of 1954, two graduate students from the prestigious Harvard University headed into the White Mountains with plans to build an igloo to camp in for a few night. For one of the men, it would be his first trip to the mountains...and his last. This is their story.
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I tried a winter ascent on Mt. Washington many years ago. 48 degrees and partly cloudy in the parking lot when we arrived. By the time we reached 300' from the summit, the wind was howling, and it became a complete whiteout. We decided to turn around and go down. Visibility was near zero. It was crazy. I have done mountaineering in the Cascades in Washington state, ice climbing, and rock climbing. I've never experienced anything like that weather. It was completely insane.
I’m so glad that you turned around and are here to type a message on this video. I wish there were more climbers like you.
Good call. Washington is known for that but too many people don’t believe it.
yep, gotta go with your "gut" if you think its getting too dangerous. There is no shame in "Aborting a Mission" when life or limb is at stake.@@HealThyAse
@@littleblackcar Thus giving more content to creators like MorbidMidnight.
Truth.
Labor day 1997, I was on my 4th ascent of mt Washington. When halfway through the alpine zone a seemingly harmless little puffy cloud in the distance turned into a full blown blizzard in about 10 minutes. Luckily I ran into a couple of seasoned mountaineers who were through hiking the AT and told me to follow them as they were headed for shelter at the summit. We followed the rock cones that guide you in the barren alpine zone and about 45 min later we made it to the top where the place was packed with tourists waiting out the weather. Most of them had taken the cog railway to the summit. A ranger told us how lucky we were as he pointed at the digital anemometer indicating winds of 115 mph with higher gusts. He said we are officially members of the 100 mph club. I was so exhausted that I decided do fork over the 10 bucks and take the cog railway back down. Scratched that one off the bucket list (100 mph club) while almost kickin the bucket!!!
I was one of those tourists waiting out the weather. What an experience that was.
Member here, try skiing down in that shit.
It is amazing how fast the weather can change up there. I have been up a few times myself. I think the reason it's supposed to be like that and why the winds are so fast and strong sometimes at the top is that, there are 3 weather systems/ weather tracks or storm fronts that meet at the top, they come in from the southwest, then up from the south east, and blow in coming down from the north. When they are all blowing in together it creates the rapidly changing bad weather and the high winds.
Ten bucks to take the railroad down sounds great. I've gone up a several times times and couple of them I've paid at the top at this little post office area they have in the visitor center. They were charging around 50- 55 bucks a piece for a one way train ride down the mountain, the times I have ridden on it. This was just like 2019 probably the last time I've ridden down on the train. I didn't use the train to come down the last time I was on it and I won't probably use it again because I don't want to support the cog railway in any way. They've become very greedy and they want to build a hotel at around 5000 feet near the railroad on the mountain. That will obviously be detrimental to the environment up there and should not be allowed to happen. They've already got a whole visitor center at the top. That should be enough. In my opinion anyway.
"This mountain is really easy and for beginners" are famous last words. Nature will humble you.
The problem is "easy" and "good for beginners" isn't synonymous with "you can go up in flip flops with no prior research." "Easy" is relative. Denali and K2 are "hard". Being a beginner welder doesn't mean you can just grab a torch and start blasting away without any safety training or proper equipment. Being a beginner sewer doesn't mean you can just hack and slash with a rotary cutter before learning how to not cut your thumb off with it. Beginner climbers who haven't bothered doing any research and don't listen to more experienced climbers aren't beginner climbers, they're idiots.
@@FireMageLayn I completely agree.
A bit like ”this boat is unsinkable”
Also: Mount Washington is emphatically not that. It’s not the height, it’s the weather.
Nature hates you and will try to kill you.
Mt. Washington proudly announces that they have the worst weather in the world, and there are geological, geographical and meteorological reasons which back up the claim. Just because they're easily accessible, doesn't mean any mountains are "safe," and the White Mountains are routinely underestimated. When the locals tell you how bad it gets, listen.
ya, i never would have guessed such a small mtn could be such a danger to the point of it being life threatening. ive learned a bit about the White mtns out of curiosity via the net, and indeed they are impressive in ways one would never imagine.
I mean, merely reading this very recent comment from Twitch0331 says it all:
I tried a winter ascent on Mt. Washington many years ago. 48 degrees and partly cloudy in the parking lot when we arrived. By the time we reached 300' from the summit, the wind was howling, and it became a complete whiteout. We decided to turn around and go down. Visibility was near zero. It was crazy. I have done mountaineering in the Cascades in Washington state, ice climbing, and rock climbing. I've never experienced anything like that weather. It was completely insane.
Every year I hear about people dying or needing to be rescued in the Whites. It’s no joke
you're the guy typing a paragraph, LMAO 🤣 😂 😆 💀 😅 🙄
Amen that!Spent 4 days in early Fall up Top.Like San Fransico,Coldest Days Of Summer I've encountered.
I'm a mountaineer from the West Coast and even we know Mt. Washington is treacherous in Winter, in fact it's used as a training ground for mountaineers tackling bigger peaks like Denali, which has weather you never experience on any of the West Coast ranges. (edit: west coast ranges in the contiguous U.S., I mean. The Rockies becomes a different place entirely the further North you go)
That bowl is obviously where avalanches come down. Didnt take more then a few seconds of looking at that photo to know that was a dumb place to camp. Then the fresh snow the next day. Some people choose to be stupid and this is the result.
I've walked up in fog so thick I could barely follow the trail. I had to stop at every trail marker and look in every direction for the next marker. Walking a few feet off the trail meant never finding the trail again. I haven't hiked many tall mountains but I know Washington is dangerous because it doesn't seem dangerous.
It’s comments like this that keep me humble. I mistook a deer trail for the actual trail and ended up on a very different peak than the rest of my cross country team. This was in broad daylight.
I've climbed in white out conditions, and lacking trail markers I didn't go anywhere until the weather cleared. As a mountaineer, it's an easy way to get dead and hopelessly off course. I'm a West Coast climber, but even we know Mt. Washington is treacherous in Winter.
I've been in similar winter conditions on Mt Washington, coming up from LionsHead to the summit. VERY Foggy, and navigating from cairn to cairn was difficult. Luckily, I was with a larger group, and we spaced ourselves out enough, where one could see the cairn above, and the last person could see the cairn below.
As an NH native, love seeing the Whites covered by one of my favorite CZcamsrs, keep up the great work Morbid!
Anytime I wanna see the whites covered I just turn on MSNBC
*ba dum tss*
Who's some of the others you like? I like Outdoor Disasters, Terror Twin, and Fascinating Horror.
In training for a Denali expedition, a guy in our group was from the Mr. Washington area. He said Mt. Washington can be 80 F at the foot of the mountain and be freezing at the summit at the same time.
Yes. I am from New Hampshire. This mountain can be savage. I've hiked in 85 degree weather and looked towards Mount Washington, and she was covered in snow in July.
@@chilkootsailor492 Wow!
One 4th of July weekend, we hiked the southern Presidentials. When we got to the crest of the ridge, the wind was gusting to nearly 100 mph and the wind chill factor was 2° F. These mountains are not to be trifled with. I characterize them as being 'exquisitely dangerous' - and they are dangerous in all four seasons. 🥾
Nope
Freezing? That's a nice way to say -50
In every one of these stories, there’s a local who offers a warning about weather, or terrain, and someone who thinks they know better. Really sad.
Hey they are from Harvard. I’m sure they thought they were the smartest people on the mountain.
Ive climbed that mountain in every season, staying at Hermit lake as a base camp, summited countless times , attempting twice during winter, tuckermans trail one year and lions head several yrs later, both were a turn around, the windchill and blinding conditions come out of nowhere making frostbite conditions, one spring-summer summiting was 150 mph gusts and sustained 60-70, wind gauge inside broke from the needle get slammed to the max 150mph, standing on top of the food court for the famous "45°" angle walk lol, last time was up was my father's final run to Hermit lake, it was the day before the big tsunami in Asia, we started our trip up around 8:pm , snowing medium to heavy flakes which was weird considering temp maybe 20°F, 65 lb pack , father had. 50lb, we had brought 3ish foot long sleds with us, no more than 400 ft up trail my old man's knees were really getting him, so i swapped his pack put it on my back and took put mine on the sled , and pulled it up to the lean-to , at this point its -5°F, stripped down and jumped into mummy bag and lit up the ole Peak 1 stove, next morning was so quiet other than the pines slightly crackling from the weight of the snow ,no wind just -10°, we "shoed" around a bit the ole stomping grounds and got our gear together, strapped em to the sleds, sat upon the packs and headed down the trail, what a blast!, first time ever, highly suggest, i went first , bout halfway down one of the "culverts" was pretty deep, hit it fast stopped me almost in my tracks , instantly jumped up thru my gear to the side and ran up trail hoping to warn dad in time... i hear him "yahooing"!! From around the corner, couldn't stop him in time, he to got stopped immediately, thought he would have been dead or severely injured, get down to him ad he's laughing is A$$ off! A lil sore but no broken bones luckily, made it back down to check out , when the rangers told us about the tsunami. In our ride home we said to eachother that being up there it would have to be a F'n huge wave to get us .our last trip to his favorite mountain , I love and miss u Dad, may u always return and fly threw those trails in spirit RIP
Good stuff!
My ex tells the story of how his family drove up to the summit of Mount Washington on a bright summer day in the sixties. They were in one of those big station wagons. As they drove up it cooled off and a heavy fog engulfed them The road up is narrow without guard rails. There was no place to turn around only to keep going up. They placed one of the boys on the hood to see the road so that they wouldn't drive off the mountain. They made it to the parking lot on the summit. There they took a home movie. The three boys are standing in a grey mist and then they take one step back and disappear into the fog.
The White Mountains are tricky and the weather unpredictable. When I hike I carry what I need to make it through the night, tell people where I'm going and when I expect to be back, carry charged phone(not that reception is reliable) and dont go alone.
That isn't "fog" those are actual clouds. Went a lot as a kid usually rode the Cog train up. Drove up the first time September last year with my wife and son, near Identical conditions to what you described. This year we did it again but had much better weather. Now they have little mini parking lots along the road so you can turn around if you so choose or just park and enjoy the views while your brakes cool off.
Reception up there is awesome.
A friend and I drove up the auto road in Aug 2016. Conditions at Intervale were sunny, light breeze, around 80F. At the summit sunny, stiff breeze, around 60F. Within 15 minutes the entire place was socked in, visibility a few hundred feet, temps dropped to around 35F, pouring rain and winds gusting to 80-100mph. It was like flipping a switch. They closed the auto road up for the rest of the day, some hikers we were talking with were now stranded because their friends were supposed to drive up and get them. IIRC the Cog was around $100/person, when the rain slowed down we got in my Jeep w/no top and started down. (I’d put the doors on at home so my friend didn’t freak out looking out over the edge.) Before 1/4 mile we’d picked up 2 other hikers who’d started on the 8 mile descent, and now had 6 people & 2 dogs. It was cold but better than walking! My friend realized why I’d brought raingear for her, too LOL
I did a 3-day winter backpack trip in the Sierras near Hope Valley when I was 16. My friends and I decided to sleep in an igloo. Long story short, the mountain gave way while we were digging(I was inside the igloo), and I was buried under 5 feet of snow. It was like concrete. My friends dodged the slide and dug me out. I thank my lucky stars we never actually slept in it. We may all be dead, trapped with our arms to our sides in our sleeping bags.
Nightmare stuff. Yikes. Glad you lived to tell the tale.
The only thing possibly worse would be sealed in a sinking submarine. But maybe not! Trapped in avalanche sounds really hairy
No mountain is "easy" or "safe", especially in winter. Those who forget that are either quickly reminded by nature, or become subject for Morbid Midnight's videos.
Tree line in New Hampshire’s White Mountains is around 4300’. That is two miles lower than in the Rockies, and is in fact among the lowest of any inland mountains on planet earth. This is due to the extreme weather systems that pound the Whites all year round. It is not uncommon for the high peaks to receive snowfall in June and July, and many locals have skied Mt Washington during every month of the year. Many seasoned mountaineers come to the Whites every year to prepare for excursions on some of the world’s most challenging peaks, because of the potential harshness of this region and how easily accessible the mountains are. Most of the hiking trails in this area ascend at a rate of about 1000’ per mile, which is comparable to many of the world’s most challenging hikes.
I am proud to say that I have lived in the Mt Washington Valley for forty years, and have hiked Mt Wash (and the rest of the Presidentials) many times during all seasons of the year. I worked three years as a caretaker at a backcountry cabin for the US Forest Service, during which time I participated in dozens of search and rescue operations. I know the mountains here very well, and can tell you they are among the deadliest on earth. Because of their relatively low elevations and their close proximity to a huge tourist area, many people underestimate the potential dangers of hiking these hills. There are literally hundreds of rescues each year in the Whites, and always at least a few fatalities, the majority being caused by lack of planning and poor preparation.
Be safe and hike smart! And remember to buy a HikeSafe card!
The tree line in the Rockies is around 10k. Which is not two miles higher than 4300… And Alaska and the arctic have inland ranges with tree lines 2000 feet or below.
Whoa that's a low tree line. I live in the flatlands and we're higher. Yep, as someone who lives in the Rockies, a 4300' treeline is terrifying. That's a very severe climate. Until I started watching AT videos, I didn't realize there were tree lines on the east coast, which feels like me being intentionally stupid, tbh. But wow 4300'. That mountain is a monster.
Also thank you for your Forest Service! I work in cultural tourism, without seasonals the whole system will fall apart. Appreciate your contributions.
@@samcerretani4424 Heck in CO specifically it's higher than 10k even. Treeline is around 11.5k-12k.
@@ag5477 That's still not 2 miles higher than treeline on Mount Washington. In fact, highest summit in the entire Rockies is less than 2 miles higher than 4300'.
It's incredible that people will ignore advice from experienced veterans on top of insufficient research and preparation on their own parts. That's like trying to put the pin back onto a live grenade while in the tight confines of an ice cave. An impossible task with one free hand, and the hand holding the grenade is getting tired...
Some people believe that they know better than those with experience. Even to the point that they’ll place their own lives in danger. I’ll never understand that.
What is it with men and accepting directions? :) It makes sense to me to hear modern stories of unprepared dummies, but i kinda feel surprised that older dudes in the early 50s weren't a little more nature-wise... maybe i have a mistaken sense of human skill sets in the early 20th century. I thought men could open tin cans with a free hand til the 60s or so.
@@ingridfong-daley5899 so women don’t make the same dumb ass decisions? They do, it’s just you choose to focus on the male aspect of it.
Mt. Washington weather is bizarre. One day in June we decided to ride our motorcycles to the top of the mountain. At the base, the temperature was 79 degrees and sunny. Halfway up, the weather drastically started to change and started getting cloudy and much colder. By the time we reached the peak, the temperature dropped to 30 degrees and was snowing! We were smart enough to always pack warm jackets and gloves which literally saved us from freezing to death on the rest of the way up and back down. Craziest weather I’ve ever been in but Mt. Washington is absolutely beautiful and definitely worth visiting.
Just be prepared.
That’s kind of like pitching your tent in a wash on the bottom of the mountain when it’s raining near the top.
It's exactly like that lmao
Reminds me of when I was in fourth grade and my family was homeless. Dad set us up below a hill that funneled storm water directly into our tent. Never been so happy to sleep on a 1973 Toyota truck floor
What a terrible location for an igloo. RIP. 😢
The worst place for an igloo, what were they thinking??
That was my first thought when I saw the picture of the place. Who could not think "avalanche" in a spot like that?
The second the video showed the location I thought the same thing.
No common sense and the disregard of local advice sealed their doom.
Harvard students🙄
@@persephoneszeliga Stupid people don't always come from Harvard (or Florida).
When locals tell you something is unsafe, it seems like it would be a smart idea to chalk it up to a lesson and try again somewhere safer.
It would have cost very little, aside from hurt pride perhaps, to simply make an igloo as practice, and then leave it to the mountain as a practice run.
Personally, I wouldn't want to sleep in my "first time" igloo, since the ice blocks are so imposing. I would be happy to make several and observe them over time to be sure I wasn't building my own icy grave just out of sheer ignorance.
Sad how these guys thought they knew better than the locals.
Harvard lol
must be sunk cost fallacy
Just walk the easy nature trail that takes you back around to the car. I would never head towards the mountains unless I was trained for that. Mountains will look like nothing until you start walking towards them, then it turns into a hike and everything just snowballs from there if you’re underprepared and not trained for the brutality of Mother Nature.
He discarded their lives with the
local's advice. Poor men. Thank you, author!
I’ve done the Presidential range and summited Washington a couple times. Even in the summer, the weather can change from perfect to terrible in a matter of minutes. It’s no joke.
372km/h winds?! Jesus christ, that's MUCH higher speed than HURRICANE winds. Even if you are the most seasoned outdoor and athletic person ever, there's no way you would survive that in the snow, the windchill would completely freeze you in mere minutes, without mentioning it would be impossible to even walk or stay up. It's a nightmare fuel to even think about winds going at that speed. I'm not a person who is afraid of strong winds, but THAT kind of wind? That's absolutely terrifying.
The observatory can handle 300mph winds.
I could barely walk against 150 km/h winds, leaning into it at about a 45° angle. It was a humbling experience. Couldn't imagine winds approaching 400 km, you could be blown away like a leaf!
I could be wrong, but I believe this mountain holds the world record for the highest wind speed recorded.
I remember going here on a calm sunny day in the summer and the winds at the top of the mountain were a sustained 60 mph.
@@UraTrowelieit did until recently. A tornado topped it by a few MPH
Thank you for warning of the dangers of this mountain! Deaths from hypothermia on this mountain happen in the summer as well as the winter! Weather is crazy!
I use to do "day hikes" in the Sawtooth mountains when I was young and in shape. The summits in the area are over 9000 feet for Bald Mountain and Saviers Peak at over 10,000 feet. I always carried enough supplies and even a small tent for my hikes just in case something happened because anything can happen at that altitude. A few times in late spring unexpected storms would come in and it wasn't a good idea to keep going so I would hunker down and stay put until the morning. Never take what is called an easy hike for granted. You never know what mother nature is going to do. And remember when setting up your camp site look out for widow-makers aka rotted trees that could easily fall in windy conditions.
Thank you for covering this story, this mountain has a lot to offer people in the winter and summer!
I know you probably meant "hike," but I love the idea that you have a full wardrobe of Mt Washington gear and hype it up to people wherever you go! I work in tourism & am essentially a hype (wo)man for montana's prairie region 😂
People underestimate the mountain in the summer too! Hypothermia can happen then too if you're not properly prepared.
I've climbed all over Nepal and this range is one of the toughest
They'd have been better building a snowman and retiring to the nearest pub.
Last season there were several days where it was colder on the summit of mt Washington than it was on the summit of everest
Ive climbed it in all seasons and Washington should not be underestimated
Being born and raised in the Mt.Washington Valley, winters in the valley like North Conway,Conway,Bartlett, Glen,Jackson etc. are freezing never mind up higher. Nice to hear a story my elders didn't tell me thank you.
No matter where you are you can never play around with winter 🥶
You obviously have never been to northern Australia shorts and t shirt in winter , gets down to 24C or 75F coldest time of the year .
Tell that to Jack Frost 😮
Mt. Washington sticks up exposed above other peaks in the area, and up into several crossing major air 'highways,' who guide weather fronts. These are part of how winds can pickup quickly into very high speeds and plummeting temps.
I've enjoyed and recommend video by Weather Station personnel atop Mt. WA in winter: Tossing pots of boiling water in the rooftop air -- freezing into ice crystals before it can reach the 'ground.' And deliberately shoe-sliding on roof ice, pushed by winds, across the roof.
The merging of multiple jet stream patterns over New England accounts for the variability of weather. The Venturi Effect accounts for the ferocity of Mt. Washington's winds.
To me, it is more likely that hypothermia drove Jacques to remove his clothing vs. his leaving the igloo so rapidly that he did not stop to don his clothes. It is not uncommon for hypothermia fatalities to be found naked because of the late-stage paradoxical effect of cold feeling like fire instead of ice.
Seems incomprehensible to those of us who have never even come close to hypothermia. Wondering if anyone who's had that happen to them lived to tell about it. (Have only read about Himalayan misadventure.)
That is exactly what I thought. He would not have been resting in the igloo with so little clothing on. Clearly he was suffering from severe hypothermia felt confused and paradoxically hot and removed most of his clothing.
@@mortalclown3812 That is a really good question. It's standard ski patrol and wilderness medicine doctrine. That's all I know.
There is enough stuff in my car to survive for 30 days. I am always over prepared😊😊
Our group in high school climbed Mt. Adams and camped in an unheated cabin on the edge of Tuckerman's Ravine in April in the late 70s, and I almost froze to death due to not having a goosedown bag. So cold that my leather mountain boots cracked from the cold. There was a fireplace in the hut but Park Authority banned using them years before. It is frigid up there.
"Put down the pookie pipe buddy" is hilarious 😂
only a racist and bigot like you would find humor in another racist bigot comment. what a loser you are.
Lived here all my life, the white mountains is a very sketchy place in the winter 🥶
Pretty tragic story. Yeah last year we lost Emily, a 28 year old dude christmas of '22, and a 21 year old kid on cannon mt on upper ravine trail (skiing). All around my age too. It's definitely unusual for that many young people to perish. There's always at least one every year but 3 kids in their 20s, really sad
One of my buddies works at the summit in the observatory. He describes the sounds of the wind at night as deafening.
The structures they use have cement foundations deeper than 80 feet into the rock.
I looked up a video to see this! It’s cool! Ty!
I remember hiking this mountain in the summer when I was 12ish. My dad took me because I was upset that I hadn't been able to go with a group from my school to another nearby mountain because they thought I was too young and wouldn't be able to handle it. It took us most of the day to hike both up and down it and there were a few spots that were a bit nerve wracking to me (I do have a fear of heights), but I did it! The ironic thing about this video is I was talking to my friend a month or so about it and the deaths that have happened on or near this mountain and we looked up a list. It's an easy hike, but that extreme weather can sneak up on you. I remember starting the day off in shorts and t-shirt and changing into my windbreaker coat and pants by the time we got to the summit, but that was just normal weather.
I can't remember what its called, but they have an initiation thing for the newbies at the observatory up on top of the mountain where they have to make a lap around it in bad weather.
Someday I'd like to go back up it, though I'd love to take the Cog Railway that time :'D
Its called the 100mph club, I became a member on labor day 1997! Almost biting the dust in the process!
@@miketsangarakis7237 Thank you! I was feeling like it was close to something like that, but was feeling too lazy to go looking for the name :'D Congrats on becoming a member of it :D
I lived in the whites for a few years, the weather in new england is pretty unpredictable as is, but in the whites, it’s no joke. I never dared to hike if there was even a small percentage of bad weather that day, because more often than not, it turned into something in the mountains. They have their own weather system. One puffy little cloud can turn into a snowstorm and dump inches, or cause torrential downpours and unpredictable thunderstorms. One winter it snowed perpetually for a month or so straight in Lincoln.
@ChrystalLonge I bet you're talking about winter of 2007-2008. 137" of snow in the valley, and I had just bought a new Skidoo Summit long track sled : ) unfortunately, I didn't buy a snowblower until the following year. And that shoveling got tough. Half of every shovel would come back because the banks were too high to throw it all over the top. My kitchen windows were under the snow. Good times
Been to that very spot several times. Sketchy place to put any shelter with the avalanche danger. There are campsites about 3/4 miles below this area with lean-to's for sleeping.
The narration is much more tolerable at 1.25x speed. Give it a try!
Thank you!
Much better, thank you kindly.
Never knew I could do that. Thanks
I wonder if Philip told Jacques about the local men's warning? And maybe I'm wrong, but if I wanted to build an igloo, saw a relatively flat area of snow, with a hole big enough for an igloo in it, I still wouldn't build my igloo in the hole, because I would assume the hole had been caused by that things naturally liked to happen in that area. As said, maybe I'm wrong, but I would only build an igloo on top of flat snow, in a slope, or if a hole was involved, it would be a hole I had made myself.
And we'd recognize: don't build an igloo or camp below a headwall. Slides or avalanches, or 'just' overhead big projecting curls of packed snow will fall and get you.
Smart people wouldn't build an igloo. Let aone one in a barren hole. Smart people would build a lean-to, under tree cover, and with the abillity if they could, to make a fire. A lean to, done properly, can be the difference between life and death in that part of the country.
I went to mt. Washington for a day trip last July and it went from perfectly clear to so cloudy I could hardly see in less than a minute. I can’t imagine being there in the winter
The Cairngorm Plateau is similar in this regard - not particularly high in elevation, but can be extremely dangerous.
Reminds me of Ben Nevis in Scotland. They say it can be a mild day at the base and blizzard conditions by the time you reach the summit. Many people have had to be rescued. Thankfully, Scotland has a fantastic Mountain Rescue organization. People have disappeared among Scotland's peaks, never to be seen again.
I’ve climbed Washington several times. It can turn on you in a heartbeat, and you better be ready when it does. I’ve made autumn, and even late summer climbs where the weather below was beautiful. And out of nowhere, temps can drop 40 degrees, winds of 30-50mph can churn up, and visibility can plummet to 20ft. She’s a witch when she wants to be, and she always wants to be!
I lived and worked , many years ago, among the Presidentials and the White mountains in general. And in the summer they're fairly tame, inviting and non-technical. The winter, however, is a different story, especially in regards to Mt. Washington.
Thing is, winter lasts a long time up on that summit
The Sierra Nevadas scared me enough. Random dumps if snow too fast to deal with. Like a foot in 30ish minutes is terrifying.
I climbed mount washington many times. Only once in winter. With the EMS climbing school in north Conway. We did it in Feburary with -30F wind chills and waist deep snow fields above treeline. It was the most insane thing I have ever done hiking in NH. At time you could only see 20ft with all the blowing snow. having climbed several 4,000 footers in NH, the idea they were going to build an igloo seems insane to me. IDK anyone that would do that, especially on mt washington.
I've climbed and skied Mt. Washington many times over. I've camped many, many times at Hermit Lake which is just below Tuckerman's Ravine. I remember one night it got to -29 F, but it gets much colder.
I've been climbing in the North Cascades in Winter. I've summited all 5 of WA's volcanoes (Rainier, Adams, Glacier, Baker and St Helens) along with many others. But one my earliest ascents was Mt Washington. I was 18. Beautiful sunny, summer day. Hiked all way up. Stopped at the hiker hostel, then made for the summit. Froze my nips off. The summit photo I'm just a blur from shivering so hard.
Mt Washington is just a walkup. Heck you can drive or take the cog railway. It requires zero technical climbing skills. But it can kill you as easily as any PNW, glacier covered stratovolcano.
I will say that Huntington in winter definitely requires technical climbing skills.
That's a cool picture of Mt. Washington at 2:10. The snowy bowl on the left center (also in closer shots beginning at 4:50) is Tuckerman Ravine, home of liftless, supersteep, extreme Spring skiing for the masses. It opens for skiing in April-May every year, once the snowpack is deemed stable. I've skied it a few times; the last time, everybody but my partner and me watched the weather report, and we had the bowl to ourselves. But as soon as we crested the headwall, clouds enveloped us and the wind started screaming. We got lost. My buddy tried to ski, disappearing into the pea soup; a few seconds later, I heard his faint scream as he fell over a cliff, but was saved by the long runout that makes Tuck's reasonably safe to ski. I wimped out and downclimbed with my skis, a two+ hour epic through scary terrain.
The more rugged ravine at the right of the 2:10 shot is Huntingtons, with its classic moderate ice climbing routes, including the prominent Pinnacle Gully, the first ice route I ever climbed (with a guide) in 1990, and came back to lead two years later. Highly recommended!
It was cool to finally see a picture of it at 2:10 after reviewing the maps over and over. I'm hoping to climb that portion soon.
Doing Tuckermans in winter as your first winter excursion is wild
New England weather is very unpredictable, even without the altitude. Temperature swings of 30 or 40F can happen in the course of a day.
On the West Coast we consider anything East of the Rockies to be hills, but we have nothing even close to the severe weather on Mt. Washington. Even in the Winter on the worst possible day. The uninitiated see an avalanche chute and think it's the easy way up or down. The initiated avoid them like the plague. Mountaineers are reluctant to even traverse them, but since it also looks like the easy way down, it is not unusual to hear of skiers, and especially snowboarders, getting caught in an avalanche or even causing them.
This mountain is no joke. I’ve been up the big mountain. There are technical routes up. Having summited Mt Washington 8 times the weather can be fierce.
I've always wanted to go there. Never been
Being from noob hiker from Maine, I want to hike this MTN.
Very true. No actual mountain(not hill) is a joke. Between unpredictable weather, terrain, rock slides, avalanches, injury, flash floods, etc.... ANYONE can die on ANY mountain.
I wish you safety in your future adventures ❤❤❤❤
OH LOOK AT YOU, MISTER I SUMMITTED IT 8 TIMES
@@goddammitalananope
Not that its relevant to this but there are some really funny videos of people on the summit of Mt. Washington dealing with the wind. Testing their mettle I suppose you could say. One of them is called "Breakfast of Champions" and it is absolutely hilarious.
Done a few winter climbs of Washington, no joke. Last one I did on Washington only it was -17°F with wind at 80/120G Mph. Absolutely no joke. Just did the presidential as a winter challenge, 24 hours of hiking straight. Those mountains are not for the faint of heart. (But go climb them anyway because they are a ton of fun)
I summitted Mount Washington, when I was a child. oh, almost forgot to mention that we took the train up there
I hiked the long trail and always wanted to hike the white mountain part of the Appalachian trail. I heard its rough. I love New England but ya you gotta have respect for the power of the mountains and the weather that the area has.
Serveral years ago i hiked up mt lassen in California. They say its the easiest and smallest of the cascade volcanoes, which yeah it is but man i was worn out and obviously not prepared but i made the trip up and down. It was worth it and maybe someday I'll climb again but I'll have to be really fit. I believe the "beginner friendly" thing applies more to beginner climbers, not someone that is not into it. The hike took me over 5 hours and thankfully my father was with me. Im proud i did it but yeah i was not in shape.
I'm 1½ months away from turning 45 . I'm somewhat overweight and not in the greatest shape but even I have summited mount Washington 4 times since turned 35 . The last time I did was the summer of '22 ... it's not difficult as long as u keep an easy pace and come prepared. I wouldn't try it between Oct 1 and
May 1 , the weather can change up there in literally minutes
Great upload.
You should do one about the two men that went hiking on the Franconia Ridge loop trail. Only one came home. Rescue operation was a HUGE deal. There's even a book called "The Last Traverse" written about it.
The summit of Mount Washington is one of the most extreme climates on the planet... literally. There are an insane amount of violent storms that occur there, which is crazy and awesome due to its unique geography. Good weather day? Phenominal. Bad weather day? Akin to Antarctica. I wanna experience one of those storms one day. ❤
The eastern peaks in winter can dish out some of the harshest conditions around.
Been up with -50 wind chill, the situation can get pretty desperate pretty quick even with the correct gear...
Another fine video, Midnight. Thanks.
I remember the whites on my 2004 AT thru hike. Me and two others were at the lake of the clouds hut were they told us we could not stay and had to keep going. We took washington in 70 mph winds and a few times i was picked up and slammed to the ground by the high winds. Got to the post office and it was the same story. Had to keep going and it was way worse going north. My pack cover was ripped off at the drawstring and one of the others bashed his knee. We did that because we had to not because we wanted to. Needless to say.. im not the biggest AMC fan.
Ya that’s absolutely fucked. They basically risked your life because they didn’t want to be mildly inconvenienced
There's something about Mt Washington and it's crazy weather that makes me want to go there lol
It's an amazing place! Probably my favorite, so much fun to hike!
Time stamp 0:25 Appears to be a skull with maniacal teeth that covers the mountain.
I also see it. Very strange
I can't see it. Maybe my pareidolia is not so strong. Where is it precisely?
@@POLARTTYRTM Yeah, I don't see it either. I can never see the hidden picture in the dots either.
@@thelogicaldanger Hi! Split screen in half vertically. The face is on the right. Wish I knew how to outline it for you!
@@JulieCaptivatedinFl Thank you! I do see what you mean now. Yes, split the screen vertically, face is the center up and down, just right of the vertical line. I know it's probably just an anomaly, but it is creepy looking!
my dads friend has skiied tuckermans many many times and i remember me telling him when i was about 14 that i wanted to climb it and ski it. I’ll never forget the story he told me after. one day he was climbing up and huge chunk of ice broke off and took a dude out( and almost many others) around 50 feet above him. The guy died right there though. Still haven’t skiied it but i need to
You had me at "head caved in from a falling ice block". Darwin wins again.
This might _seem_ like a cruel comment, but they were warned, and the fact that the one survivor of that collapse missed out on all of the telephones and the shelter just goes to show the level of incompetence at play.
Romans created arches that could withstand thousands of years. These guys didnt build the igloo correctly
You really think looking around that only the smart and strong survive?
That's right keystone arches they will absolutely not fall. They cannot fall. You passed two telephone phones? Maybe they were doing acid and were confused.@@gp123lIlI
as an east coaster here Ouch.... yeah white mountains can be easy also can be quite dicey if you find yourself in a bad storm
There is a shack not far from the base of the headwall, you have ti have an escape plan.
Understand, the higher you go, the more verticle you are the more Northern in latitude you are. Summit of Mt Washington has the weather and temp of that of Northern Labrador.
Mt Washington is therefore known as the most dangerous "Small Mountain" in the world. Many climbers are unprepared.
I had the coolest job at Mount Washington!!! I was a prep cook at the visitor center with a split shift!!! I could work breakfast 4:30-7:30.... Hike up to Tukermans, hang out awhile. Then ski right back down to the parking lot!! An work dinner 6 to 10. Loved it!
As someone who has a decent fear of heights, I can’t tell you the sheer terror I felt just driving up and down the mountain. Just proves that I could never possibly climb one. And on top of that, I visited in October and I don’t recommend staying more than 15 minutes outside, it was so bitterly cold
Late May is the best time, before all the summer haze obscures the spectacular view below.
@@d.adrien7423early October is pretty great too, when the weather cooperates
I was there Oct 3rd this year. It was perfectly clear out. I was terrified riding my motorcycle up the auto road. The wind was blowing me all over the place. It was an amazing view!
So they call in local avalanche experts who say wasn't an avalanche it was a smaller snow slide 🤔 Wouldn't that still be an avalanche? ....Just not a large avalanche 🤷
Hope your throat is better now. Big fan of your videos (watched all the montaineering ones 😊
Sometimes smart people have poor common sense.
I've summited Mount Washington in Crocs. That being said, if you get caught unprepared in the right seasons you can be killed in minutes from the insanely ferocious weather.
Taking the train doesn't count
I loved your commentary style, got a few chuckles from me.
I know nothing about Mount Washington. 6,800’ and basically a hiking trail. I grew up in Colorado, the State with 14ers. I’ve skied, hiked, camped and rock climbed in my youth. I’ve experienced extreme winter weather both in Colorado and Wyoming. I’m no stranger to 100 mph winds and white out blizzards; weather that can literally kill you. This Mount Washington sounds insane. 200 mph + winds? That’ll rip you apart.
Excellent content as usual
Buddy & I did Tuckerman's Ravine late in the 1990's, April I think. We were skiing so summit of Washington was not our goal, but we did end up just below the summit. A few huge ice balls came down while we were there, impressive.
IIRC, Mt Washington is the deadliest mountain in the USA, with almost 170 deaths. I've been on the summit multiple times, but never had an issue....yet. But a friend of mine was nearly dead from dehydration, thinking it was only a simply hike up and down.
It doesn’t matter how hard the peaks are. Respect must be given because even relatively simple obstacles can do you in.
What an incredible experience you guys had! Max was a good sport who seemed to enjoy it as much as you. Great video. I was moved by your closing thoughts.
Out of many dream destinations, if I have to pick one, it would at this moment be the Amalfi Coast. (Subject to change.) ❤️
Apparently going to Harvard doesn't necessarily indicate intelligence.
It is known as death mountain. The weather changes in minutes and it catches people off gaurd. It held the record for the coldest temperatures on the planet for decades.
If you were born up here, grew up up here, have family lines up here... you know to respect the mountains. Way too many flatlanders underestimate the power and don't approach the land with the respect it demands. As a very young child I hiked Tuckermans Ravine. As we were going up, we had to step aside as the body of an unfortunate soul was being brought back down. Things suddenly became very real and very solemn very quickly.
Right on. I wonder if the term FLATLANDER holds much significance outside of the 603.
As a kid growing up here, that would be the equivalent of GREENHORN or TENDERFOOT .
But there is more to it than that. It describes a mindset or mentality of a people to the south who have a lack of rural "Rugged indevidualism" and a dependence and reliance upon urban infrastructure and disposable mass production.
@saltpeter7429 Please, forgive me. I don't usually use such derogatory terms in public (no sarcasm intended). In my group of family and friends we usually use the term "flatlanders" in reference specifically to people from southern New England, especially Massachusetts, that act impolite or ignorant while visiting the 603 and 207. They seem to often be the majority of our tourism woes. It was my own ignorance to fail to realize that my comment could easily be misunderstood to extend to the entire southern United States. I am somewhat ashamed of myself for publicly insulting our neighboring states, let alone the entire country. I am dumbfounded, though, that in this day and age, when knowledge and information regarding the necessity of peoper planning and the consequences of not doing so is so easily accessed, why people still foolishly attempt a climb and regard it as "no big deal". Mt Washington may not be Everest, but that doesn't make it a completely "safe" hike. The wind speed alone should be a bit of a red flag. However, I've been told I think differently than most other people. I was raised here and seen tragedy first-hand. I just don't understand. Anyway, thank you for replying to my comment and calling me out on the use of a negative label. I honestly do appreciate it.
I'm from here as well.
I meant no harm or criticism, I was just commenting on the nature of the natives use of the term "Flatlander".
I have have witnessed firsthand many a friend or family member yell at an ignorant out of state vehicle, "93 south!! Back to where you belong!" Lol.
All lighthearted enough, By no means was I implying anything toward you in the nature of my original comment, I was just identifying with another original New Hampshirite.
You just made my day LOL!
Thank you for the laugh ! I'm from Kansas but I also know to check with locals about things especially when it comes to mountain climbing ! I have climbed mountains in West Virginia and Colorado but only after talking to locals about them ! I have told by some of those locals that I must be part mountain goat ! 😆 🤣 😂
Ignoring the locals' advice is a sure way to meet your grave. Don't ignore the locals!
No matter how many times we tell people how fast the weather can change, every year someone has to be rescued or recovered. Last week a 20year old Vermont student died skiing Tuckerman with friends. She fell 600 feet.
Drove up Mt Washing on a date one summer. I dressed for hiking, he dressed for the beach. We were both from the Great North Woods of NH (nearer the Canadian border) so he knew better. Over 85 degrees at the bottom. But at the top once the clouds came in ice formed on metal. No visibility. Even inside it was cold. Some women were crying (shorts, crop tops, and heels on motorcycles). Their guys were swearing and wanted to leave but couldn't find the road with the fog. The range is not nice to the foolish, sometimes not even to the wise.
Sounds rather similar to the various tragedies in the Scottish highlands which have similar poor weather conditions.
Always listen to the locals
I've been up Mt. Washington half a dozen times in my life and drove up it twice in the last two years. It may not look like much comparedably but it is an exhilarating experience and the views are quite a sight to behold. If you find yourself in NH you absolutely should either take the drive, ride the Cog train or hike it if you can hack it.
One thing I remember was looking DOWN on a sailplane in the ravine.
i hiked down Mt. Washington when i was around 11. i slipped on a rock, fell, and almost went off the side. never hiked a mountain again
We have very easy hikes here in Oregon and Washington, in the gorge, but they're not really safe. They aren't even on mountains, more like hills. They just have random sudden dropoffs, the dropoffs can be covered by greenery, and we have mud and ice. We just don't do guardrails so much here. Cultural differences like that can make spaces extremely dangerous. People from other states have said access would be cut off or there would be fences on similar areas in their states. So people think it's safe. I had to jump across a gap in the trail when I was a little kid, and if I fell I would have fallen down the side of saddle mountain. I wasn't with my parents, they never would have allowed it.
Like that video of the mom who had fallen down a dropoff and her daughter was holding her with one arm. That type of hazard is very typical, you think it's just bushes but they're covering the edge of a cliff
They're often taller than you so you don't even know exactly where anything is
Vacationed in New Hampshire several times as a teenager with my family. Took the auto road to the summit (terrifying in its own right at many turns). Weather at the base couldn't be more mild. At the observation center on the summit, where a wide open outdoor platform is available, I was alone, trying to walk against the wind. I was never a lightweight person and it took me effort to walk across that platform. I was glad to go back into the center where my family was enjoying the view.