View Full Version : A "pleasant" weekend in the whites coming up
peakbagger
02-12-2016, 17:49
Current forecast for Mt Washington on Saturday is -60 to -90 below wind chill factors.
Forecasts like these on long holiday weekend are not a good combination. If someone is considering a hike up on the summits this weekend about the best advice is leave a name and next of kin so they can ship the body home
The NWS is bit more conservative
Here is the NWS take
...EXTREMELY DANGEROUS WIND CHILLS EXPECTED IN THE MOUNTAINS...
ANYONE CONSIDERING CLIMBING OR HIKING IN THE WHITE MOUNTAINS OF
MAINE OR NEW HAMPSHIRE THIS WEEKEND SHOULD CONSIDER CANCELLING OR
POSTPONING THEIR TRIP. EXTREMELY DANGEROUS WIND CHILL TEMPERATURES
WILL AFFECT THE REGION...ESPECIALLY ABOVE TREE LINE. THE
COMBINATION OF THE COLD AND WIND WILL CREATE LIFE-THREATENING
CONDITIONS FOR ANYONE CAUGHT OUTSIDE AND UNABLE TO REACH SAFETY.
WIND CHILL TEMPERATURES SATURDAY WILL RANGE FROM ABOUT -30 IN THE
LOWER ELEVATIONS TO ABOUT -60 IN EXPOSED AREAS NEAR THE PEAKS.
WIND CHILL VALUES SATURDAY NIGHT WILL DROP TO -40 IN THE LOWER
ELEVATIONS TO NEAR -70 NEAR THE PEAKS. WIND CHILL TEMPERATURES
WILL CLIMB ONLY TO THE -20 TO -50 BY SUNDAY EVENING.
A WIND CHILL TEMPERATURE OF -35 CAN FREEZE EXPOSED SKIN IN 10
MINUTES. WIND CHILL TEMPERATURES BELOW -50 CAN FREEZE EXPOSED SKIN
IN LESS THAN 5 MINUTES.
BE SAFE...DON`T TAKE CHANCES.
Kaptainkriz
02-12-2016, 17:57
Brrr, tomorrows high on Washington is forecast to be -25 and the low overnight Sat -35 without wind chill.
Puddlefish
02-12-2016, 18:00
So I should wear my mittens with the strings attached?
JohnHuth
02-12-2016, 18:42
Yeah, I'm scheduled for an XC ski near Flagstaff Lake in Maine this weekend, only 1100 ft, and in the trees but that forecast is making me think. Possible option is an in-out of 2-3 miles from the trail heads to the huts - limits the exposure somewhat, but still.
Its a wooded trail, except for the one that skirts the lake.
I'm south of you, Peakbagger. I'm not even planning to step outside this weekend; lotsa luck to my "winter weekend" neighbors heading up to our mountain to ski. Tomorrow p.m. into Sunday a.m. is gonna be really, really dangerous. I'm feelin' for my fellow lifties, particularly the internationals.
Sounds like a good chance for those in the Northeast who always thought they'd like to be one of the mushers in the Iditarod to practice without having to go far ;)
4eyedbuzzard
02-12-2016, 20:43
Sounds like a good chance for those in the Northeast who always thought they'd like to be one of the mushers in the Iditarod to practice without having to go far ;)When it gets that cold and windy, my dogs usually mush me back inside after a few minutes.
Feral Bill
02-12-2016, 21:24
I expect a few people will take the opportunity to test themselves, or to prove something. For good or ill they'll most likely survive. If not, another lively discussion here.:(
And now I'm seeing forecasts of torrential rains on Monday/Tuesday... "a potpourri of heavy rain, sleet, freezing rain, and snow" along much of the eastern seaboard. Strange.
LoneStranger
02-13-2016, 08:36
And now I'm seeing forecasts of torrential rains on Monday/Tuesday... "a potpourri of heavy rain, sleet, freezing rain, and snow" along much of the eastern seaboard. Strange.
I've been watching this week approach on the long range forecasts as my daughter is out of school and I'd intended to spend most of it in the Whites. So far I've pushed my start from Saturday to Wednesday, but the way this Winter has been going I won't be surprised if I have to cancel entirely due to floods or wildebeest migration.
Slo-go'en
02-13-2016, 12:51
Looks like the forecast scared most everyone away. Only one car parked at Lowe's Garage (parking for the main trail to Gary Knob) with a small group with a "Guide". Normally there would be 20 cars there for this weekend. Apparently they want to summit tomorrow, but hopefully they will turn around once they poke their noses above tree line and the wind knocks them to their knees.
psyculman
02-13-2016, 17:42
I was up to Grey Knob last weekend, via Lowe's Path. It is ice and rock, it took out our crampon sharpness in short order, very little snow. Some ice bulges above Log Cabin are difficult, up and down.
This wind is pretty brutal and its not even sub-zero yet.
ALLEGHENY
02-13-2016, 18:06
https://scontent-iad3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfp1/v/t1.0-9/12631491_878139068979009_3828895572264309476_n.jpg ?oh=1d11c7346c89f2ccdabca0508ac2bf18&oe=576A8FCA
At 6:30, temp was -10 and is dropping steadily. Wind has cranked up. Slo-go'en, howz it up your way?
Even here in SW Connecticut it's already down to 4 or 5 degrees, with negative 11 predicted by morning. I ventured outside for the mail, a quick visit to the neighbors, and firewood. Period. It's a day for feeding the woodstoves.
peakbagger
02-13-2016, 20:06
I was somewhat surprised today, my house is on the broad ridge between Randolph and Gorham and usually when there are high winds forecast I feel them at the house. The wind at 1400 feet really wasn't that significant until late this afternoon. I have been watching the winds on Washington and they really haven't cranked up to what was forecast but with dropping temps its still nasty.
I'm 13 miles northeast of Campton at 1,500 ft., surrounded by 4,000-footers. Tucked in a valley but still exposed as heck. -12 right now.
Kaptainkriz
02-13-2016, 21:05
-37 on the summit of Washington....will need to see the official log when they post it, but I think that beats the record for today.
Current forecast for Mt Washington on Saturday is -60 to -90 below wind chill factors.
As of the 6pm news in Albany (NY) Whiteface Mountain in the Adirondacks was already -35 with -80 or so wind chill, so one has to wonder if that forecast for Mt. Washington might be a bit on the high side?
Also might wonder if their -50 and -102 (Temp & Wind chill) records are in danger of being surpassed?
As of the 6pm news in Albany (NY) Whiteface Mountain in the Adirondacks was already -35 with -80 or so wind chill, so one has to wonder if that forecast for Mt. Washington might be a bit on the high side?
Also might wonder if their -50 and -102 (Temp & Wind chill) records are in danger of being surpassed?
No idea what Mt. Washington is like -- so far here in eastern MA it's right cold, but there's no wind to speak of. The calm before the storm?
Puddlefish
02-13-2016, 21:42
No idea what Mt. Washington is like -- so far here in eastern MA it's right cold, but there's no wind to speak of. The calm before the storm?
NH lakes region, slowly dropped down to 1 degree in the afternoon, then the wind hit and it dropped to -8 in about fifteen minutes. (The exact fifteen minutes when I went out to get a pizza.) Been hovering around there since then.
Mount Washington (http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?lat=44.2703&lon=-71.3033)
Slo-go'en
02-13-2016, 21:50
-16F at the foot of Mt Adams and still dropping at 9:45 PM. Heck, that's nothing. When I was winter caretaker up at Gray Knob I'd often wake up to -25 at the cabin while it was -35 down in Berlin, good thing warm air rises :) That was one cold winter! My Presidents weekend was just like this. -25 and howling winds above tree line. No one made it more then about 100 yards above tree line that year. But at least I had like 6 feet of snow.
My thermometer read -14 before it starting "warming up" this morning. Plymouth (NH) Airport still reports -19.
-17 in Fryeburg. So much for Evans Notch today. Way too warm in bed for that stuff. Maybe tomorrow.
Wood stove is cranking, it's -12 out. Might go hear a sermon later, about Hildegard of Bingen, whoever she was.
Will need to bundle up. Brrr.
-14 on my thermometer, well below the predicted -11. Thankfully, the old house made it through, what with running the woodstoves, cranking the heat overnight, and dripping the pipes. Did I mention that I sleep in a virtually unheated bedroom with temps in the low 30s on nights like this? It's just like winter camping, but it's indoors. An old EMS sleeping bag and a few quilts keep me toasty.
Slo-go'en
02-14-2016, 12:23
Bottomed out at -21F here in the northern Prezies, but has warmed up to 0. Opps, just went to +1. My bedroom temp only went down to about 45.
Looks like plumes of snow lifting off the side of Adams and Madison above tree line, so the wind is howling up there. Trees are just swaying a little here in the valley. My water lines froze up at the stream where I draw water from, gonna take some work to get running water again once it warms up a little.
peakbagger
02-14-2016, 17:34
I did take a walk in the woods around noon. With a facemask and the right layers is was quite pleasant but the winds definitely have picked up again. I guess the forecast rain for Tuesday has got to move in.
Never got above 0 today at my house. Wonderful to be able to sit in the sun all day tho!
no problem for tipi walter.......
Remember it was one year ago this President's Day weekend, the sad story of 32-year old Kate Matrosova, the hiker who perished attempting a solo traverse of the north Presidentials during a winter storm. The story was discussed at length here on WB.
http://nealpinestart.com/2015/02/18/a-young-climber-perishes-on-mt-adams/
RIP Kate
JohnHuth
02-15-2016, 16:34
I was up in the Maine Huts + Trails over the weekend. Sunday AM was probably the coldest - -16 F at Poplar Hut, -26 F at Stratton Hut, made it up to Flagstaff Hut. By the afternoon it was a balmy -5 degrees, even ventured out onto Flagstaff Lake, which had winds at 25 mph whipping through. Quite the show, but thru XC'ing and hiking, I managed to stay warm and had a nice cold beer at the end of the days.
-18 this morning in Fryeburg when my gf dragged me out of bed to go hiking. It was -9 at the trailhead. Even at that temp, i was down to 200wt merino t-shirt, grid fleece pullover and medium weight stretch polartec baselayer, within a mile and a half. We snowshoed 8 miles in 5 hours with 2000 ft elevation gain in Evans Notch. Thankfully, there was no wind. Yesterday, it was so cold, her hands froze before she got her trail crampons on and afterbthat, she was done, haha.
Another Kevin
02-15-2016, 22:09
Whiteface hit -38 °F with a wind chill of -114°F last night. http://www.pressconnects.com/story/news/local/new-york/2016/02/15/-114-summit-ny-mountain/80407508/
Down here near Albany, it only got down to -13°F (-35°F wind chill). I walked to and from work today as usual (it was stiil -4°F when I left this morning) but wore full-up winter gear, including face mask and goggles. I'm a wimp, but at least I'm a warm wimp.
So now it's in the 50s here, with a fine drizzle falling on a scant inch of snow, and the ground beneath totally frozen. I haven't been ice skating in many moons, but this morning's experience shoveling off the heavy wet stuff came pretty close to it. Yesterday morning, two pipes were slightly frozen, and this morning it's too warm to start the woodstove. Crazy.
If we do in fact get thunder with the storm moving through later today, we may just have to declare it the shortest 4 season cycle the area has had (from winter Sunday to spring early today, summer when the thunderstorm hits then fall just after before it drops back to freezing overnight to return to "light winter").
Slo-go'en
02-16-2016, 16:42
-21 to + 52 in two days. Just waiting for the heavy rain to show up now.