Mount Washington (New Hampshire)

Name	Mount Washington
Photo	Mt. Washington from Bretton Woods.JPG
Photo caption	Mount Washington, from Bretton Woods.The cog railway track is visible, on the spur to the left of the summit.
Elevation ft	6288
Elevation ref
Prominence ft	6138
Prominence ref
Map	USA New Hampshire
Map size	170
Label position	left
Listing	Ultra prominent peak;White Mountain 4000-footers;#1 New England Fifty Finest;U.S. state high point
Location	Sargent's Purchase, Coos County, New Hampshire, USA
Range	Presidential Range
Lat d	44.2702778
Long d	-71.3033333
Coordinates
Coordinates ref
Topo	USGS Mount Washington It was known as Agiocochook, or "Home of the Great Spirit", before European settlers arrived.
Units	imperial
Float	left
Clear	both
Source	NOAA }}

The summit station of Mount Washington has an alpine climate (Köppen ET), though warming to a subarctic climate (Köppen Dfc) with lower elevation, although it receives an extremely high amount of precipitation, atypical for most regions with such cold weather.

The weather of Mount Washington is notoriously erratic. This is partly due to the convergence of several storm tracks, mainly from the South Atlantic, Gulf region and Pacific Northwest. The vertical rise of the Presidential Range, combined with its north-south orientation, makes it a significant barrier to westerly winds. Low-pressure systems are more favorable to develop along the coastline in the winter months due to the relative temperature differences between the Northeast and the Atlantic Ocean. With these factors combined, winds exceeding hurricane force occur an average of 110 days per year. From November to April, these strong winds are likely to occur during two-thirds of the days.

Mount Washington once held the world record (still the Northern Hemisphere and Western Hemisphere record) for directly measured surface wind speed, at , recorded on the afternoon of April 12, 1934. Although this record was surpassed in Cyclone Olivia in 1996, this wasn't reported as official until 2010. It can still be argued that Mount Washington holds the record for the highest surface wind speed recorded 'by man'; the new Australian record was measured by an automated station while no human was present, while the Mount Washington wind gust was actually measured by a human being. Phenomena measured via satellite or radar, such as tornadoes, hurricanes, and air currents in the upper atmosphere, are not directly measured at the Earth's surface and do not compete with either of these records.

The first regular meteorological observations on Mount Washington were conducted by the U.S. Signal Service, a precursor of the National Weather Service, from 1870 to 1892. The Mount Washington station was the first of its kind in the world, setting an example followed in many other countries. For many years, the record low temperature was thought to be occurring on January 29, 1934, but upon the first in-depth examination of the data from the 19th century at NOAA's National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, North Carolina, a new record low was discovered. Mount Washington's official record low of was recorded on January 22, 1885. However, there is also hand-written evidence to suggest that an unofficial low of occurred on January 5, 1871.

On January 16, 2004, the summit weather observation registered a temperature of and sustained winds of , resulting in a wind chill value of at the mountain. During a 71-hour stretch from around 3 p.m. on January 13 to around 2 p.m. on January 16, 2004, the wind chill on the summit never went above .

Precipitation

Due to its high altitude, Mount Washington receives an extremely large quantity of precipitation, averaging an equivalent of around of rain per year, with a record high of in 1969 and low of in 1979. Large amounts of precipitation often fall in a short period of time. In October 1996, a record of precipitation fell during a single 24-hour period. A substantial amount of the precipitation falls as snow, with a yearly average of around of snow, and a record of during the 1968-69 snow season. The record amount of snowfall in a 24-hour period, , occurred in February 1969. |source 2 = extremes 1933−present |date=August 2010 }}

Geographical features

Although the western slope that the Cog Railway ascends is straightforward from base to summit, the mountain's other sides are more complex. On the north side, Great Gulf—the mountain's largest glacial cirque—forms an amphitheater surrounded by the Northern Presidentials: Mounts Clay, Jefferson, Adams and Madison. These connected peaks reach well into the treeless alpine zone. Massive Chandler Ridge extends northeast from the summit of Washington to form the amphitheater's southern wall and is the incline ascended by the automobile road. cache]]

East of the summit, a plateau known as the Alpine Gardens extends south from Chandler Ridge at about elevation. It is notable for plant species either endemic to alpine meadows in the White Mountains or outliers of larger populations in arctic regions far to the north. Alpine Gardens drops off precipitously into two prominent glacial cirques. Craggy Huntington Ravine offers rock and ice climbing in an alpine setting. More rounded Tuckerman Ravine is New England's premier venue for spring back-country skiing as late as June and then a scenic hiking route. It rises about 500 meters above alpine tree line.

South of the summit lies a second and larger alpine plateau, Bigelow Lawn, at to elevation. Satellite summit Boott Spur and then the Montalban Ridge including Mount Isolation and Mount Davis extend south from it, while the higher Southern Presidentials—Mounts Monroe, Franklin, Eisenhower, Pierce, Jackson and Webster—extend southwest to Crawford Notch. Oakes Gulf separates the two high ridges.

Uses

, showing skiers above the lip]] The mountain is part of a popular hiking area, with the Appalachian Trail crossing the summit and one of the Appalachian Mountain Club's eight mountain huts, the Lakes of the Clouds Hut, located on one of the mountain's shoulders. Winter recreation includes Tuckerman Ravine, famous for its Memorial Day skiing and its 45-degree slopes. The ravine is notorious for its avalanches, of which about 100 are recorded every year, and which have killed six people since 1849. Scores of hikers have died on the mountain in all seasons, due to harsh and rapidly changing conditions, as well as inadequate equipment, failing to plan for the wide variety of conditions which can occur above tree line, and poor decisions once the weather began to turn dangerous.

The weather at Mount Washington has made it a popular site for glider flying. In 2005, it was recognized as the 14th National Landmark of Soaring.

Hiking

The most popular hiking trail approach to the summit is via the Tuckerman Ravine Trail. It starts at the Pinkham Notch camp area and gains , leading straight up the bowl of Tuckerman Ravine via a series of steep rock steps which afford spectacular views of the ravine and across the notch to Wildcat Mountain. Fatalities have occurred on the trail, both from ski accidents and hypothermia. Water bottles may be refilled at the base of the bowl up the trail at a well pump near a small hiker's store which offers snacks, toilets and shelter. At the summit is a center with a museum, gift shop, observation area, and cafeteria. Descent can be made by shuttle bus back to the Pinkham Notch camp for a fee. Other routes up the mountain include the Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail and the Jewell Trail.

Cog Railway

Since 1869, the Mount Washington Cog Railway has provided tourists with a train journey to the summit of Mount Washington. It uses a Marsh rack system and was the first successful rack railway in the US.

Races

Every year in June, the mountain is host to the Mount Washington Road Race, an event which attracts hundreds of runners. In July the mountain is the site of Newton's Revenge and in August the Mount Washington Auto Road Bicycle Hillclimb, both of which are bicycle races that run the same route as the road race. The hillclimb's most notable victor to date has been former Tour de France contender Tyler Hamilton.

Another event, although not a race, is the annual MINIs On Top event. The drive to the summit began with 73 MINI Cooper and Cooper S vehicles and now exceeds 200 cars. MINIs On Top (or MOT) is held the Saturday of Father's Day weekend every June. The Mt. Washington Auto Road has also hosted the Mt. Washington Alternative Energy Days, a two-day gathering of alternative energy alternative vehicles.

On August 7, 1932, Raymond E. Welch, Sr., became the first one-legged man to climb Mount Washington. An official race was held and open only to one-legged people. Mr. Welch climbed the "Jacob's Ladder" route and descended via the carriage road. Raymond Welch had lost his leg due to a sledding injury as a seven-year-old child. At the time of his climb, Mr. Welch was the station agent for the Boston & Maine Railroad in Northumberland, New Hampshire.

In September 2010, Travis Pastrana set a new record for ascent of Mt. Washington in a car, using his Subaru WRX STi.

Transmitting stations

Edwin H. Armstrong installed an FM-broadcasting station on the top of Mount Washington in 1937. The station stopped operating in 1948, due to excessive maintenance costs. In 1954 a TV tower and transmitters were installed for WMTW, Channel 8, licensed to Poland Spring, Maine. The station continuously broadcast from the top of the mountain, including local forecasts by (now retired) WMTW transmitter engineer Marty Engstrom. WMTW continually broadcast from the mountaintop until 2002.

Mount Washington continued FM broadcasting in 1958 with the construction of WMTW-FM 94.9, which became WHOM in 1976. WHOM and WMTW-TV shared a transmitter building, which also housed the generators to supply power to the mountain. On February 9, 2003, a fire destroyed the transmitter building and the generators (where it started), which at the time still had WHOM's transmitters inside it. WHOM subsequently built a new transmitter building on the site of the old power building, and also constructed a new standby antenna on the Armstrong tower. (For the first time since 1948, the Armstrong tower was used for broadcasts.)

In 1987, WHOM and WMTW were joined on the peak of the mountain by WMOU-FM (renamed WZPK and now WPKQ) on a separate tower. Steve Powell, owner and president of New England Broadcasting, had the tower for WZPK (known as "The Peak") built higher than the other structures on the summit; it became the highest point east of the Mississippi and north of the Carolinas. The WPKQ transmitters are located in the back of the Yankee Building. Due to the extreme weather on Mount Washington, both WHOM and WPKQ use specially designed FM antennas which are housed in special cylindrical radomes, manufactured by Shively Labs of nearby Bridgton, Maine.

In June 2008, the possibility of television returning to Mount Washington came to light, with the filing by New Hampshire Public Television to move WLED-TV from its current location near Littleton to the old WMTW mast on top.

Artistic tributes

Mount Washington has been the subject of several famous paintings, part of a New England school of art known as White Mountain art. Inspired by the Hudson River School of landscape painting, a number of artists during the Victorian era ventured into the White Mountains in search of natural subjects. Conway became their base, first arriving by coach and boarding at farmhouses, then in the 1870s by train to newly opened inns and hotels. They created a flood of paintings that found their way around the world, most notably to Hampton Court. The interest their works generated attracted others to visit Mount Washington and the region, initiating the tourism business that remains vital today.

Musical tributes have also been made, such as Symphony no. 64, Op. 422 ("Agiochook"), composed around 1990 by the American composer Alan Hovhaness (1911–2000), dedicated to Mount Washington, which the composer climbed during his youth.

See also

List of U.S. states by elevation

Mountain peaks of North America

Mountain peaks of the United States

Pinkham Notch

The Mount Washington Hotel

MS Mount Washington

Notes

External links

Mount Washington Observatory

Mount Washington Cog Railway

Mount Washington Auto Road

19th-century paintings of Mount Washington

Mount Washington weather facts

Computer generated summit panoramas North South West to Adirondack Group Index

National Geographic: Mount Washington - Backyard Arctic

PeakBagger.com entry

Category:Mountains of New Hampshire Category:New England Four-thousand footers Category:Climbs in cycle racing Category:Mountains on the Appalachian Trail Category:Landforms of Coos County, New Hampshire Category:Visitor attractions in Coos County, New Hampshire