View Full Version : Weather in the Whites in October
Hi Folks:
Looks like I may try to "flip-flop" this year with the summer at work. This would mean starting the south-bound portion from Katahdin arounf the 1st of September. What are the weather conditions likely to be in the White Mountains in October?
Thanks
Rattler
The Old Fhart
12-11-2006, 16:56
Rattler-"Looks like I may try to "flip-flop" this year with the summer at work....... "I think you actually mean next year, unless you forgot to change your calendar.;) The weather can be nasty in the Whites that time of year but you also have to remember there are some big mountains and remote places in the south that can also be big problems. Check out trailjournals.com to see if you can find some info on really late SOBO hikes.
Weather in the Whites in October can be all over the map. Snow is probable. Nighttime temps down into the low-mid thirties. Or lower.
Totally variable. It can be shorts and T-shirt, or life threating full blizzard
fiddlehead
12-11-2006, 18:02
As most on here know, the weather in the Whites can be any extreme. We did our SOBO winter hike in 2001/2002 and when we came thru the whites, we had cold but clear and windless days (by "white mtn" standards) Came over Mt. Washington in November and saw no other people from Pinkham to Crawford. Nice!
however we were expecting the worst and had snowshoes, crampons, goggles, and heavy duty clothes ready. Be prepared for nasty weather for sure.
SideWedge
12-11-2006, 19:39
I did a several day loop around Lafayette and Garfield from October 7-9 and the weather was unlike anything I'd ever seen in the Whites...not a cloud in the sky, and the only day we had any wind was the last on the Lafayette ridge, and it wasn't all that bad. I spent most of the weekend in a T-short with my pants rolled up.
Then I went back on Halloween weekend to attempt the Presidential Traverse...the weather was, again, unlike anything I'd ever seen (ok...thats an exaggeration). It was awful. Pretty chilly, and by midnight of the 27th we had hurricane force winds on top of Washington and had to abort the rest of the trip. We had to fight our way back down to Lake of the Clouds and then haul ass out at 4 in the morning. We spent most of the trip postholing (I'm 5'3" and it was up to my knees frequently) and trying to locate the trail in the dark...the cairns were invisible in several spots.
Long story short, be prepared for anything in October. We're talking a difference of well over twenty degrees and from no snow to lots in a matter of weeks.
TJ aka Teej
12-11-2006, 21:13
I think you'd do well to plan on being past Mt Washington by October 1st.
hopefulhiker
12-11-2006, 21:18
I was in Maine last year in October. It was unseasonably warm.. But I would not want to be in the Whites in October. There was snow up there in 2005 in Oct.
Jim Adams
12-11-2006, 21:19
Totally variable. It can be shorts and T-shirt, or life threating full blizzard
all in the same afternoon.:banana
geek
OK Next year, sorry. It sounds like I may be a "section hiker" after all, although I will try to do the entire Trail in one year. Maybe I will try to get the Whites in during the last few weeks in May/early June. Any comments on the weather then?
Rattler
prana'smom
12-12-2006, 18:32
May can be worse than October! The winter's accumulation of snow is still everywhere. Tuckerman's Ravine (Mt. Washington) is just opening for skiing around then due to avalanche danger.
Mud season takes on new meaning when mixed with ice and exposed granite:(
Several things.
First, it's still spring skiing in Tuckerman Ravine.
Second, expect mud. In Vermont, the Green Mountain Club recommends that you stay off the higher elevations until after Memorial Day. Foot traffic does a lot of damage to the treadway during mud season. In fact, the State of Vermont closes Mt. Mansfield and Camels Hump during mud season.
Third, full service in the huts usually doesn't start until after Memorial Day. That means that the high huts are still closed, and most others are on self service.
the_iceman
12-13-2006, 08:15
I have hiked the Whites extensively in all seasons. You can encounter high winds and whiteout conditions with very little notice. Temperatures can and do drop 1 degree a minute when a storm rolls in. There used to be a sign (might still be there) near Mispagh (sp?) Hut that said “….entering most severe weather in the world …. 60 degree temp drop in 1 hour recorded……, highest winds ever recorded on earth…..” You get the idea. That does not mean you won’t get summer like days but you MUST, I repeat MUST be totally prepared for insane weather. There are crosses all around the summit of Washington where people lost their way in a storm and perished. I am not trying to scare the crap out of you but rather prepare you. Watch the sky, know the nearest trail off the open summit, and bring clothes to survive zero degree weather. Do not count on pitching a tent if you get in trouble the winds may be too high and you have to descend quite a way down side trails to find level ground.
Common sense and good equipment and you will enjoy the challenge.
And when you do your hike, check the plaque on the wall at the lodge at Pinkham Notch, with the engraved names of those who've died on the mountain. They've thoughtfully left a good deal of extra space for new names.
And when you do your hike, check the plaque on the wall at the lodge at Pinkham Notch, with the engraved names of those who've died on the mountain. They've thoughtfully left a good deal of extra space for new names.
Including Harley on 9/11/2002, while trying to complete a thru-hike.