4000 Footers

After turning around on an Mt Jefferson attempt last week, I was resigned to not getting the peak for my January Grid: The weather has been so exasperating this month, with frigid temperatures and high wind, that there have only been a …

I really wanted to climb Mt Jefferson (5712′) this month, but some things are more important than bagging a peak. Many of us partner up on potentially dangerous hikes, especially above treeline, but when push comes to shove, are you willing to …

Franconia Ridge is lovely to hike any time of year. But it can get pretty hairy to climb in winter when it’s cold and the wind is blowing hard. The best days don’t come around that often so you need to watch …

Mt Adams (5774′) and Mt Madison (5367′) are the second highest and fifth highest four thousand footers in the White Mountains. They’re usually hiked together on the same day because they’re adjacent at the northernmost end of the Presidential Range. Climbing Adams …

Backpacker Magazine got it right when they named Mt Washington (6288′) one of the 10 most dangerous hikes in America. While avalanches are a concern, safe routes exist to climb the peak as long as the weather is favorable. But it often …

Winter isn’t so much of a season in the White Mountains as an altitude. The onset of winter always starts at the higher elevations first with freezing rain and snow before the snow line drops into the mountain passes and valleys below. …

The forest service road (Haystack Road, also called FR #304)  that leads to the North Twin Trail trailhead is gated in winter. While you can hike 2.5 miles along Haystack Rd to the trailhead from Rt 3, it’s much shorter to park …

I’d been hoping to climb Mt Washington and Mt Monroe early in the month before it snowed and got winter-like above treeline, but winter came earlier than expected this year. But then I sprained my ankle on November 3rd while hiking back …

A one-page listing of weather forecast and trail conditions information for each of the 48 New Hampshire White Mountain 4000 footers. How many of you spend hours each month searching NOAA, NETC, or Mountain Forecast, typing in mountain names into their tiny …

The White Mountain National Forest, known as “The Whites” has its share of difficult hiking lists and challenging hikes. The White Mountain 4000 footer list with its 48 peaks, is the list that most aspiring New England hikers cut their teeth on …

Mt Moriah isn’t the highest White Mountain 4000-footer, but it requires 3200′ of elevation gain to climb which makes it one of the more strenuous peaks to ascend. There are a number of different trails you can use to climb it, but …

There’s an expression in the gridding community called “gridding out” a mountain when you finish hiking it at least once in every calendar month. You need to do that for each of the forty-eight 4000-footers on the White Mountain 4000-footer list to …

Mt Isolation is one of the most remote White Mountains 4000-footers and can make for a long day in any conditions. Being April, you might think that spring has arrived in New Hampshire, but it’s nowhere close. We’re still contending with full-on …

February is the height of winter in New Hampshire’s Presidential Range and it can be difficult to find a weather window where the temperatures and wind speed are safe to climb the higher peaks. I’d passed up a few opportunities the week …