Mount Washington, New Hampshire

Description:

Mount Washington is the highest peak in the northeastern quadrant of mainland North America--only on islands like Greenland do peaks rise higher than New Hampshire's high point north of Tennessee and east of the high plains. Still, it's elevation of 6288'/1917m is low by many mountain standards, especailly that of the American west, where the cities of Jackson, WY, Colorado Springs, CO and Santa Fe, NM are all above 6000 feet. Having a passenger auto road and a cog railway to the summit doesn't help Mount Washington win any respect from serious mountaineers or wilderness enthusiasts, either. At least five or six major hiking paths allow anyone in reasonable shape to hike to the summit, which in summer is a zoo of tourists and offers facilities like a cafeteria and a summit museum.

What makes Mount Washington far more formidable than its low height and plentiful amenities would indicate is its brutal weather. It can get awfully cold (down to -40 F in January, with a average high of 52 F in summer), awfully windy (over 200 mph; over 100 mph in every month), awfully foggy (socked-in over 200 days a year), and awfully wet (up to 200" of snow a winter, with a chance for some every month). Almost every year people die on the mountain: ice climbers falling during a blizzard; skiers getting caught in an avalanche; summer day hikers without warm clothes contracting hypothermia; and tourists wandering up trails with no idea of how quickly the weather can turn deadly. The total number of fatalities on Mount Washington and the adjacent Presidential Range peaks is over 110 since 1849, putting the peak in the top three deadliest mountains in the U.S. (along with Denali and Mount Rainier).