Hiking the Summit Mem Day w/kids

[Andy Long]

What do you anticipate the conditions to be along Tuckerman's around memorial Day weekend. I am hoping to bring some 13-15 year old studetns up and I was wondering if it woul be possible to get to the sumit of Washington without winter-specific gear. Please advise.

[TenSeven]

I am in New Hampshire each year around mid May usually the week before Memorial Day. Usually there is no problem hiking to the summit and no winter gear was required.
Last year it snowed big time in the Mountains and Mt. Washington could only have been done in full winter gear. I had a load of high school students with me and decided that it was too much of a risk to try. The Pinkhams Notch Visitor Centre was a great source of information for conditions.
We ended up going to the top of Mt. Pearce by way of Crawfords Path. It was great.
I am heading down on Saturday and from the pictures that I've seen here it looks like I will be able to hike up Mt. Washington in just standard hiking apparel. I always go up prepared that the weather can turn on a dime.
I would venture that around Memorial Day you would be able to go up and not ahve to worry too much about winter gear.
Hope this helps.

T.

[RR]

Let me appologize in advance. There are some harsh realities about travelling above treeline on Mount Washington. And tht's for skilled, experienced outdoorsmen. Children have great resilience, it's true, but few skills and little experience. The depth in your leadreship cadre is the only real protection the children will have.

That being said, and hopefully understood as the broadest outline, there are a few tips:

Required (AS IN NO GO WITHOUT, all 4):

1)Decent shells (waterproof and breathable is best waterproof in any case) both Jacket and Pants
2)fleece jackets or wool sweaters (check carefully and don't believe it without seeing the liable, oops, label).
3)If they haven't got fleece pants or skipants with insulation, wool pants (NATO surplus, etc) will do.
4)Polyester long underwear is cheap insurance.

Critical!
1)Remember, wet cotton is a hypothermia time-bomb. It will take three people to handle one hypothermic teenager.
2)Food with real value and two litres of water, minimun--kids need more than adults pound for pound in body mass

Tips:
Sports tape, 1 new roll for each group

Ski poles can be split up and 1 pair can serve two people as hiking staffs when TSHTF.

Crampons should be in your pack and as many others as possible...somebody has to be an anchor in the wind, etc.

Background:
Basically, it's always (any day of the year!) about 45 minutes before winter above the Ravines, unless it is winter conditions at the moment. So, the lower the utility of the gear, the sooner you have to consider turning back.


The Math:
The most important thing you can do is prepare the group for having to turn back. Let's say every body in the group is equipped for K-2....great, if there is a weaker hiker, that's how fast you go...so even if you can see the summit, if there are no headlamps or flashlights with fresh batteries and spares you will have to turn back before 3 o'clock.

Tired kids are slow and if the wind kicks up it can take an hour to travel a quarter mile above treeline (that happened to me and a climbing partner last summer and we are both strong men with all the right gear and 35 years of experience between us), assuming you can move at all.

Splitting up is a bad idea unless there can be two leaders with each group...you will have radios? One for each leader? You'll practice?

I suggest that each and every one of your group read "Not Without Peril".

I have been on mountain trips with 7-8th graders on several occaisions. Something always goes wrong, but the trips are a great success anyway. But we always went to smaller mountains and stayed in fixed groups. Think long and hard about taking yougsters to a Mountain reputed to have the worst weather on the planet.

Sorry, but you asked.

[saxman]

Great post. Good wisdom. 99 times out of 100, well....on Mt Washington let' say 89 times out of 100, the extreme conditions will not be a factor. It only takes 1 time to lose a kid. I hate when that happens. Properly prepared may get you through, should extreme conditions arise. /Saxman

[SkiStooge]

Truth has been spoken. Al