Hiking Mt. Washington in November?

Submitted by TitusTesla117 t3_yp0d7o in newhampshire

Was planning to hike Mt. Washington either this weekend or next. Haven’t hiked in snow before and have most of the gear for it. Just wanted to know what I should expect if there is snow when I go. As well as if it’s still safe to hike in November.

Edit: Thanks for the responses! I might just try to drive up the mountain (as long as the road conditions are safe on the day). I did Mt. Mansfield a week ago. I’ve driven up higher elevations before like Pike’s Peak, which was 15k last year in late October. I’ll look into that Jackson place y’all mentioned too :)

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The_Road_is_Calling t1_ivh7zug wrote

Do not make Mt. Washington your first winter hike. A snapshot of the weather condition that are common this time of year:

Summit Forecast for daytime Tuesday, November 8th 2022:

Precipitation: chance of snow showers early, accumulation of a trace to 1 inch.

High: Upper teens

Wind Chill: Rising to 5-10° below zero

Winds: NW at 60-70 MPH with gusts up to 100 MPH early, decreasing to 50-69 MPH with gusts up to 75 MPH.

Source: www.mountwashington.org/experience-the-weather/higher-summit-forecast.aspx

I repeat: DO NOT MAKE MT. WASHINGTON YOUR FIRST WINTER HIKE.

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DigTheDoug t1_ivh39j2 wrote

A man died just this June from exposure to the colds and winds hiking it. I second the other people here saying if you're asking, you probably shouldn't. The weather up there changes drastically, very quickly. Please don't, stay safe.

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BlackJesus420 t1_ivgti3l wrote

Honestly, if you have to ask this, you probably aren’t suited to doing this hike right now.

There could be feet of snow, there could be no snow. It could be deadly cold or relatively mild. It could be all of these things in one afternoon. If you’re new to winter hiking, Washington is not the place to start.

If you want to go up that way and give winter hiking a try, I’d recommend Mount Jackson. It’s got great views and is in the Presidentials, but tree line (aka safety and shelter) is easily within reach. For what it’s worth, there is no snow anywhere in the Whites right now.

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beagletronic61 t1_ivh2p8s wrote

You should be good…maybe use the more rugged Crocs and bring at least a large bag of skittles for a snack…don’t bother registering either; big waste of time.

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Airedale603 t1_ivhsw1u wrote

Good idea. I’ll be taking my thin gauge Dollar Tree kayak from Portsmouth to the Isles of Shoals. I hope everything works out!

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Apostiarch t1_ivhil3q wrote

Stop making my taxes go up with the cost of rescuing you folk.

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Low-Head-1493 t1_ivhkmzt wrote

Regardless of month, anything above tree line has the potential to be unsafe when the temperature lowers. You can become hypothermic even when it’s above 40 degrees if sweating/wet/chilled.

You should be checking the Mt Washington observatory website rather than asking us about snow. 🙂 They do a daily summit condition report and a higher summits weather forecast. I briefly skimmed & it sounds as if any light dusting of snow happening in the mountains early this week will melt Wednesday. Regardless of which summit, before you go check the forecast, ground conditions, wind speed and wind chill. Don’t rely on what you saw earlier in the week & monitor conditions closely.

It is safe to hike higher summits in November when you have a thorough understanding of how to regulate body temperature in the cold (avoid sweating/getting clothing wet, layer and de-layer as needed, pack/eat enough calories, have a solid warm clothing layering system plus spare mittens & socks) and an understanding of what the forecasted conditions are actually like to experience. Meaning, if you haven’t hiked in colder temps a lot yet, try that first in lower elevations. If you haven’t experienced high wind speeds yet, do so in an area where you can easily bail rather than overcommit in a more exposed location. Fingers can stop working very quickly in cold weather. It is definitely safer to gain an understanding of your limits by expanding your experience gradually rather than diving right in.

I can’t tell from your post if you are planning on eventually hiking in the snow/winter more often and are working towards that goal & acquiring more gear, or if you think that you’ve got enough stuff to be safe and are hoping to just tick off this specific adventure once.

If this is a one-off event for you, I hope you’ve tested out your layering system and that you know your limits regarding the cold/wind speed & wind chill. Pack microspikes even though at this time of year traction is often overkill.

The other commenter who suggested doing Jackson gave very sound advice & if I were you, I’d switch my game plan to that.

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Spoonblade t1_ivhnuxk wrote

I’d suggest something under 6k and probably under 5k for your first winter hike. Mt. Washington isn’t a great idea

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RelationshipJust9556 t1_ivjmemt wrote

Wait you mean I shouldn’t try to hike the most difficult to prepare for mountain where it can go from tshirt weather to frostbite weather in 20 minutes. For my first hike in snow?

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Imaskeet t1_ivgq1lv wrote

I'm not that knowledgeable on it but I would suggest posting to r/wmnf too.

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Successful-Cabinet65 t1_ivh0ekl wrote

It’s not the snow I’d be worried about (although this weather looks bad for hiking this weekend up there) but exposure to temps and winds. The feel temp could be in the negatives this weekend easily combined with rain/snow and you’re in a deadly situation extremely quickly

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kearsargeII t1_ivk8lhe wrote

Regarding your edit. You cannot drive up this time of year, as the road closed a few weeks ago. Also for what it is worth, hiking Mansfield in freakishly warm November weather is very different from hiking Washington in weather that might be nowhere near as warm. Washington is far more exposed for far longer, and temperatures can get much colder/windier than anything Mansfield can get.

I also did some hiking last week, it was basically summer temperatures up in the mountains. Now that the weather is changed it could be a whole different hike, and could be pretty serious.

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Beneficial-Hand4310 t1_ivjeotl wrote

Friggin send it kid! Give ah the suppah!

Seriously tho...you should be fine if you wear zip off pants/shorts, bring your $500 trekking poles, and make sure to have those sweet eyeglass shields that go on the sides of your sunglasses so you can really get in there and mountaineer! Oh! And please be sure to leave a small amount of garbage at hojo's when you stop to eat your PowerBarGelCarbProtienBoosterSnack®

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Emeleigh_Rose t1_ivo8hwk wrote

Goggle all the fatalities and perhaps rethink your plan for hiking Mt. Washington especially this time of year.

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ElisabetSobeckPhD t1_ivoajxt wrote

the weather at pikes peak is completely different.

the auto road is closed for the season, several weeks ago.

there's a reason they say mount Washington has the worst weather on earth. I was above tree line last weekend in the Whites, the wind was absolutely insane and I had to bail out of my hike. and it was a pretty average day for this time of year.

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