AMC Huts Blog

End of the Season

noreply@blogger.com (Eric Pedersen) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 20:11:00 +0000

A lot has happened over the last couple months in the huts. Summer crews came and went, fall crews took over, hot meals were served, BFD's were performed, Junior Naturalists graduated, fall foliage crept in and is now quickly leaving, injured hikers were assisted, evening programs were given, walls and floors were scrubbed, Mountain Watch data was collected, friendships were made, the latchstring was always out and now the 2009 full-service season has come to an end. Below are some images that will help capture the latest happenings in the huts.

Guests eating dinner and enjoying the view at Lakes of the Clouds

Berry pies being prepared for the evenings dessert

AMC's Search and Rescue Team carries an injured hiker out with Twin Mt. Fire Dept.

A Lakes crew member scrubs the hard to reach areas before closing

A Construction Crew member makes room for the next propane cylinder to be flown up

Mizpah crew members serve hot soup to hungry guests

First snow of the year. Huntington Ravine from Pinkham Notch

A full moon rises over Mizpah

The last pack out

Madison Carry Out

noreply@blogger.com (Eric Pedersen) — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 02:14:00 +0000

Hut crews have a number of responsibilities, one of them is to participate in search and rescues for lost and injured hikers in New Hampshire's White Mountains. Last week the Madison crew had to carry a thru-hiker who injured his knees, 3.9 miles down the Valley Way Trail, it was a long day.

It started on Monday with the crew getting a report that a thru-hiker, Doug, was moving very slowly towards the hut and needed assistance to get there before dark. It took two crew members no more than 20 minutes to reach Doug on the Gulfside trail but, after hiking from Georgia to the Northern Presidentials, his knees could no longer carry him and it took 2.5 hours for them to return to the hut. Doug spent three nights at the hut resting his legs, icing and trying to recover so that he could make the trip down and go to the hospital under his own power. On the third day, Doug and the crew realized he wasn't going to be able to walk out and that he would need to be carried.

Jesse, the Huts Field Supervisor, and I started coordinating the carry out from Pinkham and then hiked up a litter to the hut on Wednesday in preparation to start carrying after breakfast the next morning. While we were up there, we had the chance to visit with the crew, eat a delicious ham dinner, watch a spectacular sunset and meet some great guests which included a group of firefighters from New York City who were hiking to Lakes the next day. We got to bed early knowing that it would take all of our energy to carry
Doug's 185 pound frame down the trail.

With just 9 people, we started at 8:30am on Thursday morning. Ideally you have 12-18 people on any litter carry but we knew we had many AMC volunteers and NH Fish and Game officers coming up the trail to meet us and we wanted to get a good head start. The trail was wet, steep and very narrow at the top making it slow going. We switched out carriers every 5 minutes as arms and backs got tired quickly but, we made it down the steepest section, "the thousand yards," in a little over an hour to meet our first relief team.

As the trail widened and more helpers met us, the pace picked up and things were moving like clock work. Spirits were high as the rain had cleared for the first day in over a week, we had plenty of help and Doug was as patient as he could be, despite the bumpy ride. We arrived at the trail head after 4.5 hours of backbreaking work, which is pretty good time for the Valley Way. Unlike the other volunteers who took the rest of the day off, the Madison crew did not have much time to relax as they had to be back to the hut by 5:00pm for dinner. With no surprise to many, they made it back up in about an hour and a half.

Moving In

noreply@blogger.com (Eric Pedersen) — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 17:31:00 +0000

Below are some photos of the Lakes of the Clouds crew hiking to the hut for their first time. When they arrived at the hut on Sunday afternoon, a volunteer crew had done a great job at starting the opening process but, the crew had three days to prepare the entire hut for the summer season which meant long days of scrubbing all surfaces, counting food and kitchen items, organizing displays and the library, and getting mentally prepared to host and serve a different group of 90 guests every day for the rest of the summer. Happily, I can say that Lakes and the other seven huts are now open for the summer and so far we are off to a great start.

Leaving Mt. Washington Summit in high winds and cold temps.

Crew members getting used to their packboards

Lingering ice on the lake

Front coming in from the west

The crew enjoying a short break from opening on one of the last snow fields

Hut Crew Training

noreply@blogger.com (Eric Pedersen) — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 13:57:00 +0000

The 2009 full-service season is here and we had another great kick off to the summer. Below are some photos of our first week of training up at Mizpah.

Crew members making their way up the Crawford Path

Preparing a meal using fresh baked bread

Alex DeLucia teaching crews about rock stair construction

The Carter crew making their first food requisition

Sharpening musical skills for morning wake up

Ream Team '09

noreply@blogger.com (Eric Pedersen) — Wed, 13 May 2009 22:47:00 +0000

Every year during the first week of May, an elite group of experienced hut men and women ventures out to Mizpah, Greenleaf and Galehead to scrub, bleach, wash, sweep and "ream," the huts to prepare them for the summer season. This year, the crew of seven consisted of Gates Sanford, Taylor Burt, Amelia Harman, Dominique Dodge, Dave Weston, Jesse Billingham and myself. We have all worked in the huts for years and know what a well functioning, clean hut should look like. This experience and knowledge is important because upon our arrival to these huts, they looked far from how they should. For seven days, we were tasked with turning these cold and empty buildings into the classic AMC huts that we know and love.

A typical two day reaming of a hut starts with us arriving in the early afternoon, hungry and tired after a technical walk through high streams and deep snow, posting holes every other step for the last mile of trail. We walk into the hut to see a mountain of unorganized, labeled boxes covering the dinning room tables from the airlift the week before and feel slightly overwhelmed knowing the amount of work ahead of us. The AMC's Construction Crew is there taking the shutters off the windows, hooking up the water and making sure that all systems are in working condition. After finding a bunk for the next two nights and a snack of peanut M&M's and Ruby Red Grapefruit juice, we tackle the attic and kitchen simultaneously.

Half of the crew starts moving the dishes, pots, pans, cooking essentials, library books, guest logs, cleaning supplies and miscellaneous boxes out of the attic where everything is double bagged in trash bags to stay clean and dry over the winter. The attic is then scrubbed, floor to ceiling so that all of the food currently on the dinning room tables can be organized and stored for the summer. While this is happening, the crew in the empty kitchen is scrubbing and preparing to receive and organize all of the supplies that are sitting in limbo somewhere between the attic and kitchen. What comes next is, scrubbing and organizing of the bunk rooms, dining room, library, bathroom, crew room and basement. Posters and displays are hung, pillows are fluffed and blankets folded, retail items are inventoried and stored behind the desk and then the caretaker is left to finish the remaining work as the Ream Team moves on to the next hut.

As could be expected in early May, the weather did not cooperate this year but, spirits were high as we all knew that the summer season was just around the corner. Stay tuned for new posts on summer training and opening week.

Winter in the huts

noreply@blogger.com (Eric Pedersen) — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 15:13:00 +0000

A winter hiker crosses Lonesome Lake with Cannon Mtn. in the background

Lonesome caretaker Erica Marcus doing some daily snow removal

Winter wonderland at Hermit Lake Shelter in Tuckerman Ravine

Zealand Valley, Whitewall and Carrigain Notch

Carter caretaker Dan Cawley enjoying his evening by the fire

Residents of bunk room 3 at Lonesome Lake sign their names in frost

A Mountain Classroom

noreply@blogger.com (Eric Pedersen) — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 16:31:00 +0000

Staying in a fall hut is a different experience than visiting in the summer. The cool, dry weather and brilliant foliage provides some of the best hiking conditions of the year. The huts start to get slower and there are times where it may just be you and a few other people enjoying the whole hut to yourselves. But, the weekends are still busy with full houses and hikers out enjoying the trails one last time before the winter weather hits the peaks. Another special part about the fall is that you may notice many groups of school aged kids, teachers and AMC instructors in the huts who are participating in a program called A Mountain Classroom.

A Mountain Classroom is an AMC program that brings students from Northeast schools into the outdoors to give them a deeper understanding of the natural world. Once the school season starts in the fall, there are many groups in the huts and I was able to spend last night with one group from St. Johnsbury, Vermont.

The hut was filled to capacity and the weather couldn't have been nicer. In groups of 10, the students, AMC instructors and teachers hiked up the Crawford path to Mizpah while learning about forest ecology, geology and Leave No Trace ethics. They arrived just before dinner, feeling happy about hiking the 2.7 miles which for many was the longest hike they've been on. Dinner was hot and plentiful and well received by all. After finishing dessert and clearing tables, the groups listened to stories about the constellations, looked for them through the partly cloudy sky and then wrote and shared their own stories of how the constellations were made. In the morning, they took a tour of the hut and observed our green technology and practices at work, then made the hike back down to Crawford Notch to go "back to school."

Although this was not your average school setting, there were lessons learned in the woods that could not have been replicated in the classroom. To see 50 young people learning about the outdoors and themselves, helping each other, looking up to their instructors and hut crew, and to see them enjoying this unique opportunity is a rewarding feeling. I am happy that the AMC is able to provide this opportunity for over 4,000 students every year and it was great to be part of it last night.

Beginning of the End

noreply@blogger.com (Eric Pedersen) — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 00:05:00 +0000

This week marked the beginning of the end of the 2008 full service season with the closing of Lakes and Madison and the return of Carter to self service for the winter. The fall season was short for these huts, only 3 weeks, which was just enough time for the crews to move in, get comfortable and then endure the difficult task of closing the huts for the winter.

The process of closing a hut actually starts about three weeks before the last night it's open. Extra food is used up, boxes are collected and saved, and walls are scrubbed. This is all a build up to the last day they are open and then all hands are on deck for three straight days of floor to ceiling cleaning and emptying out the hut. Everything from mattresses, to walls, floors, refrigerators, pots, pans, sinks, and bathrooms are scrubbed by hand to ensure a clean hut is left for the opening crews in the spring. Some years this is done when it is 35 degrees and raining while other years like this one, the weather is warm and sunny with just enough breeze to dry everything out. Once all of the kitchen supplies are dry, they are bagged and stored in the attic and everything else (food, blankets, recycling) is stacked in a pile by the door to be airlifted out.

While the hut crew is busy cleaning, the construction crew takes down weather instruments and wind generators, completes last minute projects, disconnects pipes, and finally boards up all the windows and doors. It's a real team effort for those few days and when it is all over with, the hut is empty and ready for a long cold winter.

Although the high huts are closed until 2009, Mizpah, Zealand, Galehead, Greenleaf and Lonesome will be open for full service until October 18th. There should be plenty of cool weather hiking and foliage viewing before the snow comes so get out there and enjoy the fall.

Past and Present

noreply@blogger.com (Eric Pedersen) — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 20:03:00 +0000

If you have visited Greenleaf, Galehead, Zealand, Mizpah and now Lakes of the Clouds, you have probably seen photos of hut crews packing Garland ovens, donkey's on the Old Bridle Path, "Ma and the boys" at Galehead and numerous photos of young people with smiles on their faces loving their jobs. Recently I visited Lakes of the Clouds with Doug Hotchkiss, an active member in the OH Association to install picture frames from the most recent OHA photo project.

The OHA is a club that has been in existence for more than 75 years with a membership of old hutmen and women who have worked in the AMC's hut system. The club owns a cabin in the White Mountains, holds annual dinners and gatherings and helps contribute to AMC capital campaigns. One way that the OHA has contributed to the huts is by collecting old crew photos, framing them and donating them to the huts to be hung on the walls for all to see.

Doug and I spent one morning installing 16 picture frames that were generously prepared by another OH, Sally Baldwin. The photos that now hang in the hallway of Lakes date back to the early 1930's and go all the way up to our current crews. Although some are more than 70 years old, the photos of the past and present look remarkably the same. We still have a tradition of taking crew photos every year and though clothing and styles have changed, the hut crews of yesterday and the ones of today both embrace the hard work, hospitality, tradition and spirit of the huts. To be able to see a 20 year old crew member and a 60 year old OH share the same stories of epic raids, back breaking pack days and some of the best experiences of their lives proves the greatness of hut work, the people inside them and the never changing majesty of the huts. With our summer season now over, another generation leaves the huts to be writers, environmentalists, doctors, teachers and to become OH. Just as we remember the Hutch's, Cog's and Ev's of the '30's, we will remember the Big Wrig's, Lavey's and LT's of this generation, whose photos will someday be hung in the halls of our huts and whose hard work, commitment and spirits will be remembered forever.

Summer Views

noreply@blogger.com (Eric Pedersen) — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 22:54:00 +0000

It's been a while since I have made a post but don't worry, I haven't abandoned the blog. Actually, it has been quite the opposite as I have been getting out to as many huts as possible visiting Hut Crews, meeting hikers, eating some incredible food and enjoying the summer all so that I could report back here with some good material. Although this time, instead of writing about it, I posted these pictures to tell the story of what's been going on in the huts and I'll get back next week with some more.

	A group of hikers at Galehead playing music after dinner.
	Greenleaf Hutmaster, Hillary Gerardi, preparing heart shaped, raspberry jam filled, shortbread cookies.
	Graduation ceremony for Lonesome Lakes' newest Junior Naturalists.
	Galehead crew warming up for their morning wakeup call.
	A family enjoying hut ghost stories at Mizpah.
	A moose who wanted to join me in fishing at Lonesome Lake.

Summer Training

noreply@blogger.com (Eric Pedersen) — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 17:03:00 +0000

The last few weeks have been busy to say the least as the 2008 full-service season is finally here. This is certainly a milestone as we have been planning and preparing for this since mid-November when we chose our Hutmasters and assigned huts for the summer. After spending the winter planning every detail, the hut crews are out there, the huts are open and the summer season is under way.

We kicked the season off with a week of training for all 49 crew members who are working at the eight huts this summer. Everyone took a Wilderness First Aid course if they weren't certified in it already, we learned about the AMC, White Mountain National Forest, and spent three days at Mizpah covering everything from cooking to guest service, search and rescue, interpretive resources, education, green technology, trail maintenance and of course how to successfully perform a Blanket Folding Demonstration.

For some, this was their first Gala (as we call it) and for others this was their third, fourth or fifth. For the hut crews working this summer and for the many who have worked in the past, life in a hut is more than just a summer job, much like staying in a hut is more than going to a motel on the side of a mountain. The community created in the huts by the people inside them is something which draws both crews and visitors back year after year. The huts are great facilities located in some of the most beautiful areas in the Northeast but, the spark, energy, humor and hospitality of the staff inside them makes the house a home. I saw the spark last week during training and I hope that you get the chance to see it this summer too.

Below are the 2008 Summer Hut Crews (missing Galehead which is coming soon)

Carter
Madison
Lakes
Mizpah
Zealand
Greenleaf
Lonesome

Lonesome Lake Renovation

noreply@blogger.com (Eric Pedersen) — Fri, 02 May 2008 12:59:00 +0000

For the past three weeks the AMC's Construction Crew has been hard at work renovating and updating the bunkhouses and main hut at Lonesome Lake. The bunkhouses were built over 40 years ago and were due for some serious rehab. This project is two-phased: first, bigger windows, new doors and metal roofs were installed this spring and in the fall new pine paneling will be added inside the rooms as well as cedar shingles for the exterior.

These renovations have been more than just repairing a few old hinges and window sills. Each room has been outfitted with new windows and doors installed specifically to increase the amount of light in each room. "More light in bunkrooms" has been a common request from guests but we have had to balance this with the unique energy concerns of the huts. Instead of simply putting in more light bulbs, we've opted to install much larger windows, plus doors with window panes. We've also put in translucent fiberglass sheeting above the porch to further increase light flow into the area around the bunkrooms. Hopefully, guests will appreciate the additional light and the significant energy savings of these efforts.

The people responsible for this work are the AMC's Construction Crew. Based in Pinkham Notch, they do most of their work in New Hampshire and Maine but recently have done jobs as far away as AMC's Mohican Outdoor Center in New Jersey. Their duties run the gamut from fixing leaky faucets to running major construction projects. They are active in the frontcountry and backcountry, often spending long days to keep the club's facilities running well and in good shape.

Their efforts often go unnoticed; quietly adjusting a solar panel or monitoring the Clivus composting toilets are not particularly glamorous affairs but, without their hard work, the Huts simply would not exist as they do today. Last year, for example, the Construction Crew spent many weeks digging near Carter Notch Hut, installing a new septic system. No backhoe or heavy-duty excavating equipment - instead they moved massive boulders and an incredible amount of dirt by hand.

Of course, not all their work is of the backbreaking (and mind-numbing) variety. Many of the senior staff are highly skilled welders, architects, plumbers, carpenters, and electricians who have worked for the AMC for decades. The quality of their craftsmanship is the best testimony to the caliber of their skills and although that craftsmanship is often understated, hopefully you'll remember it when sitting down on Galehead's porch or climbing into your bunk that they built on site, often without the aid of equipment we take for granted in the valley.

Spring Skiing

noreply@blogger.com (Eric Pedersen) — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 23:20:00 +0000

With all of the snow that we have, the natural thing to do is enjoy it while it's here. For those that like to do this on skis or snowboards, the past two weeks have been perfect. Since my last entry, the weather has been warm and sunny, drawing thousands of spring skiers to Mt. Washington and Tuckerman Ravine to earn their turns and enjoy some of the best terrain in the east.

On one of those warm, blue bird days, a group of us decided to take advantage of the weather and go for a ski. We hiked up the Gulf of Slides Ski Trail to the main gully where Zealand Falls Caretaker, Anthony Brezzo, is pictured contemplating the ski down. The hike up was steep but the ski was fast and rewarding. Looking to get over to Tucks, we hiked up the Boot Spur Gully and then skied down Hillman's Highway where Jesse Billingham is pictured. We got some water and a snack at Hermit Lake and met up with the caretakers Chris Fithian and Luke Ingram (shown hiking into the bowl). We finished the great day off by skiing down Right Gully and the Sherburne Ski trail to Pinkham Notch to show off our sunburns and rest our sore legs.

There have been many people of all abilities enjoying this great spring ski season and making trips like our own. If sliding down steep snow with boards on your feet while avoiding rocks and crevasses is not your idea of fun, there are plenty who simply sit on the rocks, do some people watching and soak in the sun. This past weekend saw over 4,200 visitors at Hermit Lake for the first 70 degree Saturday we've had and for the Tuckerman Inferno which is a run, kayak, bike, hike and ski race. Chris, an accomplished telemark skier finished with a first place time on the ski leg of the Inferno at just over 17 minutes up and down Left Gully while Luke, the USFS Snow Rangers, the Mt. Washington Volunteer Ski Patrol and many other volunteers were busy with crowd control, answering questions and pointing out hazards.

Looking out my office window at the snow covered Tuckerman Ravine Trail, the 4,000 plus crowds are gone but there are still many determined people with skis on their backs to get out and enjoy the snow. Check out tuckerman.org for the latest conditions and warnings and outdoors.org to get info on staying at the Hermit Lake Shelters. Although you may not have seen snow since February and you might now be more interested in playing golf or tennis, we still have plenty of snow and great skiing so come on up and enjoy it while you can.

Return of Spring, and the Blog

noreply@blogger.com (Eric Pedersen) — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 15:48:00 +0000

Spring is a time of change, new beginnings and the time to get ready for a busy summer in the huts. As the new Huts Manager, I will be continuing what Mike started with the Huts Blog, making posts as regularly as possible to keep all updated, informed and entertained.

On most days, it still feels like winter here in the North Country but, there are small signs of the coming summer. On my most recent visit to Lonesome Lake Hut, I arrived on a warm spring night with temperatures in the mid 40's and alpenglow on Franconia Ridge. When I left in the morning it was in the 20's, snowing, and summer couldn't have felt further away.

For those of you who haven't been to the Whites this winter or haven't heard, we've had quite a bit of snow. So far, this has been the second snowiest winter on record in Concord, NH and more accurately one that parents and grandparents will tell you is at the top of their list too. The huts have seen their share of snow requiring an addition to our Lonesome snow stake (pictured at 74 inches), burying trail signs and making snowbanks higher than the roofs. Our caretakers at Lonesome Lake, Zealand Falls and Carter Notch Huts have all been busy shoveling roofs and walkways, clearing solar panels and building Hulk-like back and arm muscles.

Lonesome Lake Caretaker, Avery Miller, who has 7 seasons in the huts under her belt is shown performing some delicate snow removal from the solar panels which allow us to run our lights, fire system, radio, pumps and refrigerators while being completely off the grid. Jesse Billingham, Huts Field Supervisor, is pictured shoveling off the bunkhouse roof and digging out the windows in preparation for the Lonesome renovations this April which will include new metal roofs, bigger bunkhouse windows and a new fir floor for the kitchen and dining room.

Although I love winter in the Whites, I am ready for warm weather, leaves on the trees and fresh baked hut bread. Jesse and I are busy preparing for the summer season and Greenleaf, Galehead and Mizpah will be open for self-service in less than a month. For more information on the huts and to make reservations go to outdoors.org. Look for more posts to come and we'll see you out there.

Tropical November

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Quist Kautz) — Wed, 29 Nov 2006 21:27:00 +0000

The snow conditions have changed a lot in the Whites since I last wrote. On the Sunday after Thanksgiving it was warm enough to hike in a t-shirt. In the afternoon I headed up the snowless Tucks Trail to the Hermit Lake Cabin. The last few holiday hikers were headed for the parking lot and long drives home.

Just before sunset I hiked into the Ravine. I was alone in the giant cirque. In late November the floor of the bowl is generally well on its way to filling with snow. This year it is instead filled with the roar of meltwater and acres of black rock.

A warm snowless November is no proof of global warming. But it does make you wonder what the Whites might look like in a warmer world. The Union of Concerned Scientists has a very interesting graphic showing the equivalent latitude NH may be at by late in the century if world carbon emissions continue to grow. Take a look.

The existence of global warming is no longer debated. That humans are causing it is also no longer debated by any legitimate scientists. Those of us who love the mountains contribute our share of carbon to the atmosphere. From the energy required to manufacture our outdoor gear to the gas fueling the drive to the trailhead there are impacts from our recreation. However, most people who love the outdoors seem to be ready to make an effort to protect it. There are many small actions that we all can take to help reduce greenhouse gases. The UCS site has a good list of modest changes that can make a big difference in your carbon footprint.

As I fell asleep I listened to ice crashing down the cliffs in the Ravine, and the meltwater roaring in the Cutler River. It sounded like spring. In November I would rather hear the sound of snow against a north window.

Each Step

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Quist Kautz) — Mon, 13 Nov 2006 21:05:00 +0000

“Do nothing in haste, look well to each step, and from the beginning think what may be the end."

Edward Whymper, Scrambles Among the Alps in the Years 1860-1869

This time of year it gets dark early on the eastern side of Mt. Washington. The sun slides behind the walls of Tuckerman Ravine early in the afternoon. By 3:30 pm the entire cirque is in shadow, and it gets cold. It was just about this time last Saturday that Doug Millen broke his leg high on the mountain.

It is still unclear whether he fell and began sliding, or whether he was deliberately glissading. The result was the same: flying down the steep snow slope toward exposed cliffs his crampon caught in the snow. “I heard an incredibly loud snap, and I watched my leg bend backwards and my toe come up almost to my knee.”

Doug was climbing alone, but another hiker saw his fall, and descended to Hermit Lake to get help. It was Dave Kelly’s first day on the job as the new Assistant Caretaker. He quickly loaded a rescue pack and radioed down to Pinkham. As it grew dark he climbed through the Ravine.

The cold weather in late October brought a lot of snow to the higher summits, and the summer hiking trail through the Ravine was a technical snow slope. The 40-degree slope ended in sharp rocks sticking out of the snow like shark's teeth. A fall by any rescuer here would result in another patient.

Up above, Doug had dragged himself a few hundred feet before the painkilling effects of adrenaline wore off. He stopped just above a tightrope traverse across a cliff and very steep gullies. Fortunately, he was well-prepared, with a sleeping bag, sleeping pad, and a thick belay jacket. He managed to put on a thick jacket, and hunkered down against the wind. He watched as Dave made steady progress through the Ravine, and disappeared into the cliffs below. Fifteen minutes later Dave radioed to say that he had reached his patient, and that a rescue would require rope work.

While Dave improvised a splint for Doug’s leg, phones began ringing down in the valley. Stephanie Ritchie was on duty at the Pinkham Front Desk. As soon as Dave radioed from the Ravine she phoned NH State Police dispatch. They in turn dispatched Lt. Doug Gralenski from NH Fish and Game. He in turn called members of the Mountain Rescue Service (MRS) in North Conway. Stephanie rounded up AMC volunteers at Pinkham and on the phone. Most of us were thinking about dinner when the phone rang. I had just hiked out from Zealand Hut. I had to dig deep into my closet to find my winter gear.

By 5:30 the Pinkham parking lot was busy with people stuffing gear into their packs in the blue glow of their headlamps. Eric Pedersen and I headed up the Tuck’s trail along with a few Fish and Game officers. The moon was very bright, and we could see Lion’s Head and Raymond Cataract looming through the bare branches.

By 6:30 we were climbing the snow slope past Lunch Rocks. At Pinkham it was calm and in the mid-20’s. In the Ravine it was blustery and in the low teens. The wind chill was below zero. Chris Fithian, the Head Caretaker, had hiked back up from Pinkham and worked with Ben Schott of the AMC to drag a litter up to Doug and Dave. Tim Martell from MRS arrived soon afterward with rope and technical gear. He set an anchor and began planning the lower.

Though the weather was cold, it was clear and bright with moonlight. From where the litter was anchored you could look over your crampon points to the floor of the Ravine, 300 feet below. You could watch the headlamps of rescuers moving uphill in twos and threes through the dark boulders far below.

Alain Comeau soon arrived with Travis Piper and a number of other MRS volunteers. Alain is an accomplished climber and guide. He is an expert on high-angle technical rescues, and teaches these techniques to guides, EMS professionals, and military special forces. The MRS members scamper around on steep ground as if it is level. Within 30 minutes they set up a traverse line for the litter, and began moving Doug down the mountain. With several lives depending on their rope work, the MRS members have no room for error. Working in the dark they triple check their work, and back up each connection to the ropes. They must strike a balance between being extremely safe, but also moving quickly in the cold. Within an hour and half they had moved Doug off the dangerous terrain, and below treeline.

We stopped briefly at Hermit Lake to warm the foot on Doug’s injured leg. Then it was back out into the cold to sled the litter down the Sherburne Trail. The snow here made the work a lot easier, and we all talked about what great skiing it would make. Taking turns pulling the litter on flats and rises, and restraining it on the downhills we made it down to the snowline. Only a few hundred yards from parking lot Lt. Gralenski met us with a Forest Service 6-wheel ATV. This carried Doug the final feet to the Pinkham pack-up room. As we carried him through the door I looked at my watch, it was 12:30am.

Edward Whymper’s often-quoted warning to climbers can’t be quoted enough as winter arrives. The margin for error in the mountains is never great, and in the winter it closes almost completely. Doug took a chance by climbing alone, but he had considered “what might be the end” by bringing a sleeping bag and extra clothes. The end of his mis-step was a nine-hour night rescue and orthopedic surgery to insert a rod and pins. Over 30 people from 6 groups were involved in the rescue. Though Doug will not be able to climb Washington again this winter (he runs the NE Ice website – neice.com) he will recover to climb next winter. Given the fall on the Matterhorn that inspired Whymper’s warning, he was lucky.

The Snow Report

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Quist Kautz) — Sun, 29 Oct 2006 23:45:00 +0000

The season for hiking in sneakers and shorts with a water bottle and a candy bar in your pack is over. On Thursday I hiked up to Hermit Lake to check in with the new winter caretaker. In Jackson the sun was coming through my kitchen window. But, looking north I could see a thick cloud bank sitting on Mt. Washington. As I hiked up the Tuckerman Ravine Trail it turned from mud, to slush to knee-deep powder snow. At Hermit Lake the wind was piling up snow in 4-foot drifts. The caretaker Chris Fithian reported that he hadn't seen the the Ravine wall in 4 days due to the clouds of blowing snow. It was in the mid-20's with a windchill near 0.

It was not long before an older gentleman arrived at the caretaker's cabin in jeans, a cotton sweatshirt and wet sneakers, inquiring how far it was to the summit. Chris did his best to introduce the topics of clothing, trip planning, and the wisdom of altering plans to fit the weather. He described the messy, miserable, viewless hike with all its post-holing (some into streams) and floundering. However, the gentleman seemed to be looking for a Shakelton-type adventure, and he headed out into the wind. Soon after two well-equipped hikers from Quebec came into the cabin. They had spent the night at Hermit Lake, and tried for the summit early in the morning. They spent an hour and a half just getting to the base of the headwall. The snow was very deep, and even with goggles it was impossible to see through the spindrift.

Today I headed up to Mizpah Springs Hut. On Saturday Mt. Washington recieved 4.5 inches of rain, and over 10" of snow. The trail was knee-deep mud in some places, and crusty snow in others. The crew was closing the hut, and cleaning up after a flood. All the rainfall and melting snow on Saturday created a flash flood in the hut. Water had come rushing in under the front door of the hut and soaked the first floor. During the night, however, everything froze up again. Today it was in the 30's in the hut, and the crew worked fast to stay warm.

I had to leave early to make it to Crawford Notch before dark. The wind had picked up, and there were new blowdowns across my footprints from the morning. They were the only ones on the Mizpah Cut-Off. Heading down with my hood up I could hear the gusts coming over the ridges to the west before they hit. It's a cold sound, the hollow roar of wind through a forest without leaves.

In the Notch it was snowing, the flakes melting on the pavement, and reflecting in the headlights of passing cars. A few miles down the road and down in elevation it was raining. Late fall in the mountains...

Talking About the Weather

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Quist Kautz) — Wed, 25 Oct 2006 19:07:00 +0000

The weather is turning up here. After a warm and sunny September and early October it has grown cold. On Friday night the summit of Mt. Washington had wind gusts over 130 mph. Down in the valley 50 mph winds snapped large trees off at the base of their trunks, and took down power lines. One line fell on a car causing it to explode and light up two others like a summer movie special effect.

These photos are from my Monday morning commute to Pinkham. People who don’t live in the Northcountry sometimes find it quaint or simple that small talk here revolves around the weather. But as winter comes on the weather becomes worthy of discussion. By June when it stops snowing (see May posts for proof) we’ll have the Red Sox to ease us into conversation.

Masting

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Quist Kautz) — Wed, 25 Oct 2006 18:45:00 +0000

It has been snowing up high in the Whites. As the snow comes the full-service huts shut down. This past Sunday the cooks at Greenleaf, Galehead and Lonesome flipped their last pancakes of the season. It was cold and spitting snow as I headed up to Galehead. I stopped to watch the flakes fall on a stand of mountain ash and down into the river. The ash is falsely named because it is actually a member of the rose family. It is a shrub, albeit a big one. Birds love its berries. They stay on the tree through the winter giving wintering birds an important food source. Almost as if they were waiting to make ice wine most bird species will wait until after the first frost to eat the berries. By then the starches will have turned to sugar.

The mountain ash are rioting this year. Or, as biologists call it, masting. In the photo you can see that the trees along the riverbanks are red with clusters of berries. In a normal year each tree would have less than half as many berries. Oaks do the same thing, periodically producing huge crops of acorns, and thus many fat squirrels, and thus many sleek and fat foxes.

Humans invented the computer, but we have not yet been able to understand how or why trees mast. We don’t know what triggers the ash by the front porch at Pinkham to sag with berries in the same year as these trees along the Gale River. Scientists have observed synchronous masting in individuals of identical species on different continents. An oak in southern Sweden will produce the same unusually large crop of acorns in the same year as one in New Jersey. How that can happen is as little understood as black holes in space. Humans are clever, but insight is a different quality.

Up the mountain past the ash the trail was covered with snow. The Garfield Ridge Trail runs along the northwest side of Galehead Mountain. Already the sun is low enough in the sky to keep things frozen.

At the hut, though, the crew was staying warm cleaning. As part of closing the hut all the walls and ceilings in the hut are wiped down with bleach diluted in water. Christina, Ben, Maia and Eliza were in the dining room with their rainshells on and a water balloon slingshot in their hands. The ceiling of the Galehead dining room is too high to reach by hand, so they were firing balloons of bleach solution.

Closing a hut is a bit like selling your house then needing to clean it and move out in two days time. After the last guests leave the crew ties the 200 wool blankets into bales of 5. They will airlift these out to be washed over the winter. They vacuum out each bunk and scrub the bunkboxes and mattresses. All the remaining food from the attic is moved downstairs to be handy for the airlift out. Every surface in the kitchen is scrubbed. This year’s crews were lucky with the weather. All the kitchen utensils need to be perfectly dry before they are bagged and stored in the attic. The warm afternoon sun made the work easier. Last fall we instead had sleet, freezing rain, and 70 mph winds during the days of closing. However, at night it got cold. Inside the hut it was in the 30's and the crew took turns sitting (or lying, like Maia Pinsky, photo) in front of the ovens after dinner.

For Maia the season was ending where it began. Almost six months earlier she was here cleaning Galehead for the opening of the season and hanging the “Welcome” sign. After the hut closed she had a ticket to Costa Rica and a month of traveling. After that, she didn’t know. Maybe ski out west, maybe find a “real” job.

Most of the fall crews are in the same situation. Just out of college they have a lot of uncertainty before them. Many are facing it for the first time in their life. The structure and schedule of school is gone. Figuring out why Mountain Ash mast can seem as likely as figuring out how and where to live their lives. Though not a “real” job by most mothers’ definitions, hut work requires skills that are in demand everywhere. Creativity, self-motivation, and a sense of humor can be applied with equal success to investment banking, evolutionary biology or ski bummery. I wish them all luck.

People With Three Names who Climb Rainier

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Quist Kautz) — Fri, 20 Oct 2006 19:19:00 +0000

Long ago, early in the summer I wrote a post about Hillary Marlena Gerardi, the Vermonter who fell while packing. Here is an update. With a kneeful of stitches she crutched up the Lonesome Lake Trail. She limped around with a knee immobilizer on her cookdays. A few weeks after her injury Hillary summited Mt. Rainier with a group of fellow Middlebury students. Here is a photo she sent of her group on the summit:

I have also included a picture of someone with a name equal to Hillary’s: Lieutenant August Valentine Kautz. Lt. Kautz was a military man, born in Germany and buried in Arlington National Cemetery. If you Google him you will find that he fought Indian tribes around Puget Sound in the 1850’s. He was then sent east to fight in the Civil War. By the end of the war he was leading a regiment of black soldiers. After the war he spent more time fighting Indians on the New Mexico frontier, and died in Seattle in 1895.

His would not be an unusual American life for the frontier days, were it not for his climb on Mt. Rainier. In 1857, during a lull in skirmishes with the Puget Sound tribes, Lt. Kautz and a few of his men set out to climb Mt. Rainier. They spent 7 days approaching the mountain through thick rain forest. As they reached the foot of one of the mountain’s many glaciers they ran out of food. They began climbing anyway. On July 15th, they climbed most of what is now considered a technical route. By late afternoon Kautz’s companions had turned back due to exhaustion. August continued on to within a few hundred vertical feet of the summit. By then it was after 5pm, and the weather was deteriorating. Anyone who has ever been alone on a mountain of any size late in the day under dark clouds can imagine how Kautz felt. What is harder to imagine is climbing a crevassed glacier and 40-degree snow slopes in soaked wool clothes and leather-soled U.S. Cavalry boots.

The glacier August Valentine ascended is now named for him. It is a good moderate mountaineering route, and most parties climb it with ropes, crampons, ice axes and modern clothing.

It was 1870 before two more Civil War veterans, also with excellent names, summited Rainier. Hazard Stevens and Philemon Van Trump climbed the mountain via the Gibraltar Route. August, Hazard, Philemon, and this season from the huts, Hillary Marlena.

*special note: Andy Hale, a fall Hutman at Greenleaf was a guide on this trip, and is pictured on the right in the summit shot (behind the camera strap blowing in the wind)

Emergencies

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Quist Kautz) — Fri, 06 Oct 2006 17:45:00 +0000

EMERGENCIES

Last week I took some vacation time after a busy summer. I left Eric Petersen, the new Huts Field Supervisor alone at the helm of the Huts Dept. He had a stormy week.

On Tuesday evening Benny Taylor, the Greenleaf Hutmaster, called him at 11pm to report that Luke Ingram, her Assistant Hutmaster, was having a seizure. Luke had no history of seizures, or any other medical problems. After the seizure stopped he was groggy, and could not remember anything after dinner that night. His crew stayed awake with him through the night while Eric talked with doctors at the ER in North Conway, and NH Fish and Game Officers. In the early morning Luke had another seizure. The original plan was to carry Luke out. But at 6’2” and 190 pounds Luke is one of the largest crewmen in the huts, and would have been a very slow carry. After the second seizure Fish and Game officers called the NH National Guard to request an airlift by a Blackhawk helicopter.

However, a fog bank blanketed the west side of the Lafayette Ridge during the early morning. Members of the AMC Trail Crew, the Lonesome Lake crew, volunteers from the Pemi Valley Search and Rescue Team, and NH Fish and Game officers all ran up the Old Bridle Path to stand by in case Luke needed to be carried down.

However, around 9am the fog lifted just enough for the Blackhawk to hover near the hut. One soldier was lowered on a cable, and Luke was lifted up into the helicopter. The Blackhawk pilots and flight crews have flown hundreds of combat missions in Iraq. As Lt. Todd Bogardus of NH F&G told me “Those guys are good. They have flown in such tough situations that as long as no one is shooting at them they’re happy to fly anywhere.”

The Blackhawk flew Luke down to the Cannon ski area parking lot, where an ambulance waited to take him to the hospital in Littleton. After two days of every test available in modern medicine, and a consultation with a neurologist, Luke was given a clean bill of health. The doctors said that dehydration and a sodium imbalance could have caused the seizures.

The following Wednesday Eric had to rush to the Lonesome Lake Trail to help with another rescue. Dave Weston was cooking at Lonesome Lake that day. He had a few day hikers in the hut during lunch. He sold bowls of soup to a group of hikers who had ridden the tram to the top of Cannon and who were now hiking down. Half an hour later Dave got a report over the radio that one of them had suffered a heart attack less than a mile down the trail. Dave arrived within minutes and helped the man’s hiking partners with CPR. Eric ran up the trail along with a Lincoln Police officer carrying an AED. Unfortunately Arvindkumar Pancholi had suffered a massive heart attack and nothing could be done. Luke Ingram came over from Greenleaf to help carry Mr. Pancholi’s body down the trail with the same NH Fish and Game officers who had helped him a week earlier.

Medical emergencies are the most stressful situations the hut crews can be placed in. Broken ankles, head injuries, and other traumas are more obviously treated. All the hut crews have a minimum of Wilderness First Aid training, and many have Wilderness First Responder or WEMT certification. However, they are not doctors. The huts can feel very remote during a medical crisis when the ER is hours away by trail. The crews can only do their best, and then hope for the best.

Closing Time

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Quist Kautz) — Fri, 06 Oct 2006 17:38:00 +0000

Mt. Washington recorded a trace of snow this week, and just in time Lakes and Madison will be closing for the season. Winter comes to the alpine zone early. The dwarf birch are yellow, and the sedges are a the color of rust. The diapensia are turning back to the same purple and maroons that I wrote about back in May.

Eric Pedersen, the Huts Field Supervisor and I headed to Lakes and Madison early this week to help with the closings. After the last breakfast is served the crew starts bundling the wool blankets. At Lakes the 300+ blankets are tied into rolls of five and readied for the airlift. All the dishes, pots, pans, utensils and kitchen supplies are washed, dried, and stored in plastic bags. Every wood surface in the hut is scrubbed with bleach water to prevent mildew growth (leading to some innovative techniques: photo). All the mattresses are pulled from the bunks and scrubbed. All the remaining food is boxed, labeled, and stacked in piles for the airlift.

For three days the crews get up around 7am, and work from 8am until it gets dark at 8pm. This year brought perfect weather for closing. Bright sun and slight breezes helped dry the huts and their contents. As the crews headed down the trail CC arrived shut off the water and gas. Then the shutters are bolted over the windows and doors. The hut is left empty to the rime ice, snow and storms of the winter.

Moose in Love

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Quist Kautz) — Fri, 15 Sep 2006 20:31:00 +0000

Yesterday morning I woke up early with an appetite for pancakes and bacon. Before dawn I drove west on Route 302, through Crawford Notch, and up the Zealand Rd. It was cold and I used the heater in my truck for the first time since April. As I started up the trail to Zealand Falls I could see my breath.

The maples on the streambanks could feel the fall coming too. Many were already dropping red leaves into the cold water. As I made my way up the Zealand Valley the sky got brighter, and I stopped along the first pond to wait for the sun. What used to be large log yards for J.E. Henry’s timber have become marshes full of tamarack, beaver and moose.

I was almost to the hut, and thinking about pancakes and bacon again when I heard a large branch snap. I stopped on one foot and listened. From behind a screen of birch saplings on my left I heard a loud snort, and the suction sound of hooves coming out of mud. A moose. More snorts came, a few grunts, and it sounded as though he was moving off into the beaver bog. Suddenly the saplings 10 feet to my left parted as a giant bull moose came charging through them. He was grunting, snorting, and winking at me, puffs of steam coming from his huge cartilaginous snout. He was sassy and amorous. An artist’s rendering, drawn to scale, is included on the right.

Fortunately I have long experience with this sort of thing. As a 7th-grader who was slow to grow, I often faced similar situations at junior high dances when much larger girls came after me. I attribute much of my success as a middle-distance runner to those evasive sprints. Similarly, when I worked at Zealand 3 falls ago I faced an identical situation with an even larger moose.

I am not sure if my beard and lack of antlers gives the impression of a shapely female moose, or if these bulls think I am winking at their girlfriend across the bog. Either way, the result has been the same: me running full speed down the Zealand Trail with a grunting moose trotting behind.

In both cases the moose have given up the chase after a relatively short distance. Which is fortunate. If they wanted to catch me, they could. Moose can run up to 35 m.p.h., and I have seen it stated that moose kill more people in Alaska than bears, using their front legs and hooves like pile drivers. I have also read on Wikipedia that the Swedish Army tried to make a moose cavalry in the late 1600's. However, they discontinued the effort after realizing that if criminals stole these hot-rod moose they would be able to outrun police on horses. Which confirms my suspicion that online research may not be as reliable as the library variety.

Selena Humphreys, the naturalist at Zealand, has startling, but less outlandish information on moose. During her evening program at Zealand she described how moose gain 600 pounds in their first year of life. And she confirmed my observation that bull moose lose their senses during the fall rut. Years ago a bull moose charged head-on into the front of a locamotive in Crawford Notch, derailing the train. During the fall the bulls do not eat, and to attract females they scrape a hole in the ground, urinate in it, then roll around in the resulting mud. Moose in love are as irrational as any other lovestruck mammal.

Ultimately, the moose I encountered was more interested in that pursuit than fighting. I arrived at Zealand out of breath and full of adrenaline. The rutting season continues into October, so keep an eye out as you hike the lowland trails. It is hard to tell what might strike a moose's fancy this time of year.

Summer/Fall Hand-Off

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Quist Kautz) — Wed, 06 Sep 2006 17:19:00 +0000

The transition between the summer and fall hut crews is like the baton hand-off in an Olympic 4x100m relay race. The summer crews finish their lap worn out, and hand over huts that are still running full speed. The fall crews have full houses and hams to cook the instant they arrive. The last week in August is one of the busiest in the huts, both with overnight guests and day hikers.

Growing up in Maine, “Vacationland” as our license plates say, I have had a lot of time to observe vacationers. During the last weeks of the summer their actions always take on a slight edge of desperation. Minivans careen through traffic, cutting you off, the faces of their small backseat captives pressed against the windows. At the wheel is a father determined to get to one more sight, or beach, or event on the “summer fun” list.

Though minivans are left at the trailheads the crews still encounter some of this end-of-summer mindset up in the mountains. Many of the crews dealt with exhaustion, sprained ankles or sore knees brought on by over-ambitious “summer fun” lists. Too many 4,000-footers in one day, or a dayhike better done in two…

Fortunately, fall comes just at the right time. As August ended we had a week of cool, clear weather when a Northwest wind came down from Canada. Fall is a quieter season, perfect for sitting on a mountainside, listening to the leaves fall, eating an apple, absorbing what heat the sun has left.

Once the new hut crews learn to cook pancakes, bake lasagnas, answer the question “Which trail would you recommend we descend with a 6-year old if it rains tomorrow?” and the 500 other details of running their hut, they will have some time to relax. The next race, to clean and close the hut before the winter comes, will start soon enough.