The Mount Washington Auto Road

[GAD]

I've written about our journey through the Hell that is the Mount Washington Auto Road. You can read all about it here: http://www.gad.net/Blog/2011/09/02/the- ... auto-road/

GAD

 

[davismanLV]

Great story, GAD!! You can tick THAT adventure off your list now, right? Great story and great pictures... thanks!!

 

[GAD]

Great story, GAD!! You can tick THAT adventure off your list now, right? Great story and great pictures... thanks!!

I told my wife that, "I'm glad we did it, 'cause I'll never do it again!"

 

[geoguy]

I've hiked that mountain in all seasons, probably close to two dozen times. Actually earned high-school credits one winter for working at the Appalachian Mountain Club's Pinkham Notch Camp, at the base of that mountain. Some folks go to Mt. Washington to train for Alaskan expeditions - it is known for dangerously severe weather, particularly in winter. Haven't yet read your blog, but from that photo, it looks like you were there on a beautiful day. 8)

It is common in New England to see cars with bumper stickers that say "this car climbed Mt. Washington". If you buy a used car with that sticker, be sure to budget for a brake job before agreeing on the purchase price. :mrgreen:

I recently saw a different bumper sticker . . . paraphrasing, it said something like "the driver of this car RAN up Mt. Washington".

Gotta tip my hat to anyone who can claim that!

 

[poser]

Thanks for the tip. Many years ago I drove up Whiteface in a Toyota and it left me pretty rattled. I probably would not have survived the Mt Washington road.

Great writing.

 

[killdeer43]

Great summit photo of a good-looking family.
I'll plan to read the story later.

Thanks for sharing,
Joe

 

[Jeff_L]

A friend and I made the same trip the week after Woodstock in 1969, in a '66 Corvette. Yep, that's what I said, a 'Vette. In those days they were just another car.

As I remember, the road was all dirt then, there wasn't much traffic, it was not clear on top, and it was colder than the circle on a well digger's A**! We were dressed for summer; in fact we had been traveling with the top down on the 'Vette until we started up the mountain.

An interesting trip that I still remember.

 

[Scratch]

Neat pic and a great looking fam you have there, GAD.

 

[chazmo]

Fun read, GAD.

Hiking the thing is the way to go, I gather.

I've done a lot of hiking in the Whites including a trail that overlooks the Tuckerman's Ravine trail. The signs on the trails are very similar... worst weather... abandon all hope...

 

[bassmyf]

Climbed Mt. Washington on foot in 1976. Rode it on my Harley 2 years ago. Good riding test. A few of my pals learned they weren`t quite as skilled as they thought.

 

[fronobulax]

A friend and I made the same trip the week after Woodstock in 1969, in a '66 Corvette. Yep, that's what I said, a 'Vette. In those days they were just another car.

Maybe at your age or in your part of the world, but from '63 on they were lust objects in mine. Course they were Stingrays or Corvette Stingrays back then. However I have not climbed Mt. Washington in any car, let alone a 'Vette and I did not go to Woodstock because the buddy of mine with a car and driver's license was not sure he wanted to drive 'all that way' without having tickets :wink:

 

[Jeff_L]

A friend and I made the same trip the week after Woodstock in 1969, in a '66 Corvette. Yep, that's what I said, a 'Vette. In those days they were just another car.

Maybe at your age or in your part of the world, but from '63 on they were lust objects in mine. Course they were Stingrays or Corvette Stingrays back then. However I have not climbed Mt. Washington in any car, let alone a 'Vette and I did not go to Woodstock because the buddy of mine with a car and driver's license was not sure he wanted to drive 'all that way' without having tickets :wink:

We went down NY Rt 17 from Broome County on Saturday with the idea of stopping at Woodstock. By that time they were parking on Rt 17 and walking - miles - to the concert grounds. We were towing a rented camper and decided we didn't want to take a chance that something would happen to it, so we kept on going. Stayed at a campground in Conn. that night.

The Corvette (at least in our part of the couuntry) was nothing special in '69. I had a '62, my friend had a '66. His was a 300 hp 327,, mine was a 340-horse 327 with a close-ratio Warner T10 gearbox and not suited for towing as much as his was, so we took his. I sold mine later for $1750.00, he sold his in the spring of 1973 for $3800.00. If he had kept it six months, he could have doubled his money. Summer and fall of '73 was when they took off around here. If only we had known. . .

Jeff