Trip Report: Mt. Washington FAILED Solo Winter Summit Attempt 2/10/13 - 2/12/13

[copper_head]

Great trip report, looks like fun summit or not!
I definitely wouldn't call it a failure, it would only have been so if you'd pushed on in spite of the weather and got yourself in trouble.

 

[Stringmaker]

Excellent piece of writing and a fine example of knowing when to turn back.

Better luck next time.

 

[petrochemicals]

dear ross,

An amazing report, and such a short time frame, and as long as you had a nice time, who cares about the summit? Do you think that next time you'll leave larger time frame ?
Unlucky on the weather this year, probably the first time in 40 years it's been this bad going by abc news.
The food, I have thought nuts for a long time are a lot cheaper and lighter than buying a stove and using it once a day. 1kg of any nuts contains about 5500kcal , pop em in your jacket to walm em. Brazils are 65%fat 20%proetin and 15%carbohydrate, plus some of the nutrients and salts

 

[bopdude]

Great write up, great pics, thanks for sharing it with us.

 

[sandbender]

I really enjoyed that, thanks for posting.

 

[rik_uk3]

dear ross,

An amazing report, and such a short time frame, and as long as you had a nice time, who cares about the summit? Do you think that next time you'll leave larger time frame ?
Unlucky on the weather this year, probably the first time in 40 years it's been this bad going by abc news.
The food, I have thought nuts for a long time are a lot cheaper and lighter than buying a stove and using it once a day. 1kg of any nuts contains about 5500kcal , pop em in your jacket to walm em. Brazils are 65%fat 20%proetin and 15%carbohydrate, plus some of the nutrients and salts

Nice food content but not as nice as eating a kilo of hot food and drink now is it? Have a look through the chaps posts and blog, I suspect he gets out more than most of us and his local peaks beat most in the West Midlands such as http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lickey_Hills ,your local range perhaps?

 

[petrochemicals]

dunno rik, came across it searching for snow shoes.

have read from ross before and been advised, blog too! Little bit jealous.

This is my local nutritionist, lady called elen

if you email her you can make an appointment, about what foods are best to eat when, usually fat (nuts) in the evening.

www.sport.bham.ac.uk/page.aspx?sitesectionid=118&sitesectiontitle=Hi+Performance+Centre

a kilo of nuts have got to be better than a pint of vegetable oil, right ?

As for my local peaks, I've never been to Scotland or left the country on camping trips, so it's hard to call the giant market garden of england and wales the wilderness, but thats what you get with one of the highest population densitys on earth.

 

[rik_uk3]

I grew up in Edgbaston and Moseley, started weekending in Wales when my folks bought a place there plus School climbing trips, moved full time in 1988 and would not move now; no wilderness in the true sense but a lot more space than brum. You can live on nuts et al but would you want to when a stove or fire can provide a means of good hot food?

 

[petrochemicals]

I'll agree hot food is the best, morning noon and night ! And not the freeze dried things, a nice can of steak and kidney.

Only thing is that with a high calorie intake diet for cold weather, high activity (5000+ calories) is the sheer volume of food. I have sat and ate 12 dry pitta breads in an hour, some of the nicest things I have ever eaten, but pretty soon you end up stuffed. You have to go for high energy content foods, with a hot meal inbetween.

Cheese (200g a day max)
nuts
atora beef suet in the steak and kidney