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Climb Mount Washington (6288ft): Winter Edition

United States
2 nights
Tough

Clip on your crampons as you climb the highest peak in the Northeast: Mount Washington, and learn winter mountaineering skills as you go

What's Included?

Small Like-minded Groups

Solo-friendly by design, join our small n’ sociable groups of up to 9 like-minded, active and outdoorsy people
From

…

excluding flights
From

…

excluding flights

What's it like?

Learn beginner mountaineering skills from expert guides as you hike to the summit using crampons and ice axes

Hunker down next to the fire and fuel up on home-cooked meals at your rustic lodge nestled in the heart of the White Mountain National Forest

Take your pick of the seasons! Marvel at the mountain in the icy spectacular Winter weather, or tackle our Summer version to soak up New Hampshire with the sun on your face.

Key Information

Day 1

Head to the White Mountains and learn winter skills ahead of summit day

Hiking

1 hour · 1 mile · 321ft up · 321ft down

You'll depart at 07:00, stopping at North Conway for lunch, before arriving at your destination for the weekend: Pinkham Notch located in the heart of the White Mountains. Get into your gear at the Joe Dodge Lodge and set off on a short hike of Square Ledge. This is a chance to test out your mountaineering boots and crampons and check that everything is adjusted properly for our summit attempt the next day. Your expert guide will teach you the basics of crampon and ice axe techniques that you will be using throughout your climb the next day. You will also be testing your clothing and making adjustments as needed. You'll learn about layering, moisture management, and how to stay warm and dry in winter conditions. After the hike, enjoy a delicious dinner at the Lodge, go through individual gear checks, pack your backpack for the next day, and get a good night's sleep.

Day 2

The Big One: Summit Mount Washington

Hiking

10 hours · 8 miles · 4169ft up · 4169ft down

Fuel up with a big breakfast at the Lodge before you put on your mountaineering boots and crampons ready to start your summit attempt of Mount Washington. The winter terrain will get the blood pumping right away. As you make your way up the winter Lion's Head route: put your winter skills to the test to navigate the steep, snowy terrain. Once above tree line, you may encounter high winds and low visibility, but your guides will make sure you are ready every step of the way. In milder weather, you will be treated to winter wonderland views of the White Mountains. There is a quick stop for lunch at the summit if the weather allows, then head back down. Once back at the Lodge: unwind, relax, and have a delicious dinner to celebrate the day's adventures.

Day 3

Time to head home

After a well-deserved lie-in, grab a hearty breakfast and relax for the leisurely drive back to New York City, stopping for lunch along the way.

The Area

map

Logistics

Starts

Central Manhattan

0645 on Day 1

Ends

Central Manhattan

Around 18:00 on Day 3 (depending on traffic)

Transfers

On Day 1 you'll meet your host at the corner of Broadway and W 73rd street, northwest corner in front of The North Face store. The drive to the mountains takes around 5-6 hours, with a relaxing stop for lunch. Alternatively - you are welcome to make your own way directly to the first night of accommodation if you wish.

On Day 3 you'll typically arrive back roughly between 1600-1800, however, it is entirely dependent on traffic coming into New York City, which is very unpredictable. We strongly recommend you don't make any plans for the evening or book flights departing until after 2200 - in case of delays.

Travel options

If you are flying in - there are direct flights to New York via JFK, LaGuardia and Newark airports from across the US and Europe. From there you can easily make your way into central Manhatten.

Day 1

Lodge · Mixed dorm

Breakfast

Lunch

Dinner

Day 2

Lodge · Mixed dorm

Breakfast

Lunch

Dinner

Day 3

Departure day

Breakfast

Lunch

Dinner

What is the food like?

The Joe Dodge Lodge will provide a delicious breakfast and dinner buffet. The breakfast buffet includes pancakes, eggs, oatmeal, fruit, and many other choices. The dinner buffet includes meat and non-meat based options and grain or pasta dishes, as well as soups and tasty desserts. Vegetarian, vegan and most dietary requirements can be accommodated on this trip.

What is the accommodation like?

Joe Dodge Lodge

You'll be staying in a 4-person bunk-room at Joe Dodge Lodge in the heart of Pinkham Notch surrounded by White Mountain National Forest.

This trip is brand new

We’re still waiting to collect any reviews from other travellers on this trip. However, all our hosts go through an extensive vetting process to ensure that your adventure is awesome.

Guides

Expert, certified guides with wilderness first responder training

Accommodation

Two nights at a Lodge in the heart of the White Mountains

Meals

All meals except lunch on the drive to/from the New York

Transfers

All transfers to/from Central Manhattan

Permits

All entry fees and permits

Our trips are hassle-free by design. We include all the activities and equipment, as well as many of the meals, so you can simply rock up with your rucksack and share the adventure with your new pals.

Personal Expenses

You know your own spending habits best, so please budget an appropriate amount for things like optional meals and drinks, shopping, optional activities, and laundry.

Enjoy 12.5% Off Outdoor Gear

In need of a few more items? All bookings receive a 12.5% discount to use at Cotswold Outdoor, Snow + Rock and Runner's Need.

What is available to hire (see Optional Extras for details)

  • Mountaineering boots
  • Crampons
  • Ice axe

What do I need to bring?

Bags

  • Waterproof Rain cover for your backpack
  • 30+L backpack

Clothes

  • Moisture-wicking, non-cotton base layers (top and bottom)
  • Fleece
  • Insulating top layer (puffy)
  • Insulating bottom layer (such as fleece pants)
  • Fully waterproof top and bottom layers that can be worn over all other layers, except summit puffy
  • Summit puffy that's rated at least 850+ down fill or synthetic equivalent. The puffy must be able to be worn over all other layers.
  • Top and bottoms for sleeping
  • Warm winter hat
  • Neck buff
  • Balaclava (you must be able to cover your entire face, so there is no exposed skin)
  • Mountaineering goggles
  • Liner gloves
  • Insulated, waterproof mountaineering mitts
  • At least 3 pairs of wool socks
  • Liner socks (optional)
  • Sun hat

Other

  • Personal toiletries
  • Sunglasses
  • Bug spray
  • Sunscreen
  • Water bottles or bladder (must have 3L capacity in total)
  • Head torch
  • Trekking poles
  • Light and comfortable lodge/car shoes
  • Ear plugs
*Requests for optional extras can be made after booking on your “My Bookings” page

Winter Kit Hire: mountaineering boots, crampons and ice axe

Payable Before Departure

Winter Kit Hire: mountaineering boots, crampons and ice axe

… Per Person

We partner with the World Land Trust to ensure this trip achieves Net-Zero emissions. We also support their Buy an Acre programme, helping local communities to buy and protect natural habitats in perpetuity.

What's the number?
It works out on average at 137kg of CO2 emissions per person, including all local transport, accommodation, food, activities, guides, staff and office operations.

The only thing it doesn’t include right now is flights and travel to the destination. We do make an overall estimate across all our customers separately, but as we don’t book flights, have customers from all corners of the world, and no way of reliably knowing their travel plans, we simply can’t include an individual number in the figure on display here. We’ve got a goal to fix that, so that when you book, there is a way to measure and mitigate the carbon emitted by your flight too.

But what does the number mean?
Yep, hard to picture eh? To give you an idea:

  • Driving 1000miles/1609km would be approx. 281kg of CO2 in an average car (or 140.5kg per person if there was 2 of you in it).
  • A return economy class flight London - New York would be approx. 1,619kg (1.66 tonnes) per person.
  • 10 trees in a temperate forest are estimated to remove approx. 250kg of CO2 from the air in a period of 5-10 years.

What are we doing about it?
Our trips are relatively low-carbon by design, and we're working with all our hosts to develop long term carbon reduction plans. We partner with the World Land Trust to ensure this trip achieves Net-Zero emissions. We also support their Buy an Acre programme, helping local communities to buy and protect natural habitats in perpetuity, ensuring the protection of the reserve and its wildlife.

Want to know more?
Amazingly, no international travel company has ever publicly published their carbon measurements before, as far as we know. We believe that must change, quickly. So we’re openly sharing the method we used in the hope that other companies will be able to more easily follow suit and build on what we've done so far. You'll find it all here.

Tips are not included in the trip cost. The amount to tip is entirely at your discretion but there is an expectation to tip in the USA; your guides will rely on tips for a considerable portion of their income.

We suggest to budget for 10%-20% of the trip cost as a guideline.

Of course, you are free to tip more or less, and the amount should be reflective of your perception of service and quality - a tip is not compulsory and should only be given when you receive excellent service.

Drinking water is available at the lodge and you'll carry all the water you need for the hike.

Room is limited in the van, so participants should only bring their backpack and one small extra item, such as a duffel bag, for any extras.

Sure can! Over 70% of our travellers travel solo, it’s a great way to meet like-minded people.

Our team of Adventure Hunters co-create exclusive adventures which are run by highly vetted, specialist hosts. The trip is run by our trusted host partner in the destination. We only work with independent, local, in-destination experts who know the very best places to explore and how to stay safe. Read more information about the local teams we partner with. You’ll be introduced to the host straight after making a booking via the Much Better Adventures platform.

Much Better Adventures refer to the UK Government’s official travel advice when designing trips and monitoring trip operations. We recommend that all customers are familiar with the practical information provided on the Government’s FCDO website, where current travel advice can be found by searching for the applicable destination(s).

For customers joining this trip from other international destinations – please also read the official travel advice applicable to your country of residence/origin, as this may differ.

We recommend checking out the country-specific information and also talking to a travel nurse.

We automatically convert prices from the local currency that a host receives to your chosen currency. We update our exchange rates on a daily basis so this does mean that prices displayed on the site are subject to currency fluctuations, which is why you may see them change over time.

If you wish to change the currency you pay in, head to the bottom of the page.

All of our group adventures are specially designed for adults to enjoy (18+) as we want these adventures to bring together outdoorsy people who are truly like-minded. Children can be accommodated on some private departures.

You're always in good company on one of our adventures.

Our trips are typically made up of a mixture of solo travellers and small groups of 2 or 3 friends, with most in their 30s-50s.

Our sociable adventures are solo-friendly by design and naturally attract outdoorsy people with a shared mindset; a love for adventure, a desire to push themselves and meet awesome, like-minded people along the way.

It’s this camaraderie that has so often turned a great adventure into a life-changing one.

Don't just take our word for it:

  • 95% of people rate the group dynamics on our trips 5/5
  • 90% of people recommend joining a trip to make new friends
  • 75% of people have met people on our trips that they would now consider friends

See here for more info about the Much Better Adventures tribe.

Interested in a more exclusive experience? Opt for a 'Private Group' through the dates and prices tab to book this adventure for just you and your chosen companions.

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