Mount Washington Trip, March 2010

My father had his 75th birthday late last year and I promised him that I'd go hiking with him for his present (it's one of his favorite activities). Well, he loves hiking in the snow and one of his favorite places to go is Mount Washington, the highest peak in the US, East of the Rockies. So, I was able to oblige last weekend finally, and here are some pictures of the two days we spent hiking.

The first day, we went up Mount Washington itself by way of Lion's Head. This trail let us try out micro spikes/partial crampons, and then when the trail started going straight up, full-on crampons and ice axes.

On the second day, I wanted to try snowshoeing for the first time, so I was told about the Glen Boulder trail which was seldom frequented and thus had unpacked snow. It was an interesting day/trail, as the weather changed radically as I got above tree line and it started snowing and visibility sank quite drastically. Fortunately it started clearing a tiny bit just in time for me to spot the giant 'Glen Boulder', since the trail was often hard to see. All in all, I had an absolutely amazing time and I can't believe people don't do this all the time. It's great exercise (yeah, I can still feel it) and incredibly exhilarating. It made me feel like a kid again, scampering up almost vertical inclines with my crampons. It's very difficult to fully convey the inclines or majesty of the views, but click on the images below to see the photo set I made.