At only 6,288 feet tall, you wouldn’t think Mount Washington would be such a killer. Home to many pleasant day hikes, and a charming Top o’ The Mountain observation deck, this barely a mountain tricks you into feeling safe.
Sitting at the crossroads of several disturbingly strong weather systems, Mount Washington is prone to rapidly changing weather, deadly temperature swings, and near-zero visibility. Fatally Curious shares this excellent video on how this innocent-looking bump in the Presidential range fools folks into forgetting how lethal it truly is.
Mount Washington doesn’t need to be tall to kill you, just confident enough to ignore its history.
While at university, a guy I knew (lived in same dorm, but we weren't real close) died on Mt Washington. On an October hike to see the fall colors on a sunny day, he separated from his friends to take what he said was a shortcut. The weather turned shortly thereafter, and a blizzard blew in. Dressed in boots, jeans, shirt and a leather jacket, he was unprepared. Despite many searchers after the storm ended a day and a half later, his body was never found.
Yeah. Mt Washington is a killer.
Some friends and I climbed Mt. Washington in summer. 75° at the bottom and quite pleasant most of the way up. Then, above treeline, a 35 mph wind sprung up and the temperature plummeted to ~30° in about 20 minutes. We had all brought warm clothes, but they weren't warm enough for the wind chill.
We sprinted to the cafeteria, which may just have saved our lives. We had hot soup to warm up and then begged rides down from the few people who had driven up. I had always had disdain for the lazy people who drove up that mountain, but that day I was grateful.
It was surreal to get in our car, which was very hot from sitting in the sun on a 75° day.