Driving In the Clouds

Yes, that's exactly what we did as part of our week-long anniversary celebration and 
Grenville drove to the summit of Mt. Washington. At 6,288 feet, it's the highest peak in the Northeastern U.S. and the most prominent mountain east of the Mississippi River and it's here in NH. 

Mt. Washington is in the Presidential Range of the White Mountains and the White Mountain National Forest. Over 60 acres surrounding and including the summit are occupied by Mount Washington State Park. 

The best view is always at the top and that's where we headed on the Mt. Washington Auto Road. Vehicles average 30 minutes to travel the nearly 8 mile ascent and from 30 to 45 minutes to descend depending on traffic, weather conditions. The downward trip is in the lowest gear. It's recommended that motorists stop to cool car brakes, as necessary. 

Update to answer questions in a couple of comments: The Auto Road is regularly patrolled to check for any breakdowns. Grenville descended in the lowest gear on his Jeep and also stopped a couple of times to ensure that the car brakes didn't overheat and all was OK.

The Auto Road is a steep, narrow mountain road without guardrails. The average grade is 12%. A sign at the base of the road reads: If you have a fear of heights, you may not appreciate this driving experience. When it starts out, the road follows the tree line.


But within a few miles, the clouds roll in. In many spots it's like driving through thick fog and this was on a good weather day.

Driving up can be anxiety-producing and I was a passenger. Did I mention there are no guardrails? Also, the road is not paved the entire way, but is partial gravel for the last couple of miles. Grenville is a cautious and safe driver, so no worries there.

Forgot to mention, there's more than a few curves along the route, but what spectacular views, each one better than the one before. Advantages to driving your car include being able to stop on numerous turn-outs for the views with no time limit on the summit. 

A bit of history: The Auto Road bills itself as "America's oldest man-made attraction." The road was started in the 1850s when a group of businessmen figured that a toll road to take people to the summit could be profitable. Construction was no small undertaking as this was before dynamite and road-building equipment; supplies were brought in by horse, oxen or man-power. Holes were hand-drilled in the rocks, then packed with gun powder to clear a route. Workers labored 10-12 hours a day living in shanties or tents. The cost of road building was figured at $8,000/mile. In 1856, halfway to the top, the business group ran out of money. Work stopped when they couldn't interest investors to fund continuing the project.

In 1859, a new group of investors formed the Mount Washington Summit Road Company (which still owns the road) and resumed work. The completed road opened on Aug. 8, 1861. Special wagons carried tourists up the mountain, each pulled by 6 horses with up to 12 passengers. The trip took four hours and cost $2.50 ($60 in today’s money). Horses rested overnight in a huge barn chained to the ground to keep it from blowing away. Winds were often high enough to make travel a concern. The passengers and driver would collect rocks to put on the floor of the stage adding ballast against possible overturns.

The Auto Road’s usage has grown since those early years. In 1935, over 3,000 private cars went up. In 1961, the Auto Road’s 100th anniversary year, there were 12,800. We learned that an estimated 130,000 to 140,000 people travel the Auto Road annually, either self-driving or by guided van tours. Officials are specific about vehicles that can travel the road. The regulations are detailed on the Auto Road’s website. 

Because of vehicle traffic on the narrow Auto Road, riding bicycles is not allowed (no shoulders and no guardrails). The only time bikes can use the road is during an August fund raiser, the same weekend of our drive. (Luckily, the race was a day before our drive; our weather was better for us too.) The road closes for bad weather (high winds, wet conditions) or unsafe road conditions. In winter, it closes to all private vehicles, except the Snow Coach tour that runs December to March. No winter hiking of any type is allowed. 

Once we reached the end of the auto road at the parking area, we were immediately immersed in the clouds and the surrounding 750,000-acre White Mountain National Forest. We read that on a clear day, views extend up to 130 miles to Massachusetts, Vermont, Maine, New York, Quebec, sometimes even the Atlantic Ocean.

At the summit, dressing warmly is always a must. (We took a trip on the Cog Railway 2 years ago, so we knew this.) When we drove up this year, the temperature at the base was in the 80s, and it was in the mid-60s at the summit, we definitely needed our jackets. The Mt. Washington summit reaches nearly 6,300 feet into the clouds, so we experienced one of the weather extremes which it's well known for — wind. 

While part of our anniversary road trip, reaching the summit was so that Grenville could meet several other Nashua, NH, ham radio members to conduct mountain-top activations, called "summits on the air." Ham operators set up equipment and try to contact other operators worldwide. Grenville made contacts in San Francisco, CA and Missouri. Those very large towers seen in the background below are communications towers on the summit not part of his set-up (but he wishes). 

There's other ways to get to the summit besides driving. You can hike the entire way up or just explore some of the summit trails. One of Grenville's ham radio group hiked up with his son and dog, then hitched a ride down because he said the dog was exhausted.

There's other ways to reach the top — by motorcycle or by a guided tour in an auto road van. The cost of these alternatives are listed here. (Auto Road shuttles are still called stages. Before cars (and vans) drove up the summit, visitors to the Carriage Road, the Auto Road’s former name, traveled in horse drawn stages and a summit trip took hours.)

In 1869, the Cog Railway was completed and travelers soon preferred this shorter trip in enclosed cars vs. all-day travel in open mountain wagons. Today, the Cog Railway is the most popular Mt. Washington attraction. It's a 3-hour narrated trip to the summit and back. The train ascends the western slope of Mt. Washington; the Auto Road climbs to the summit from the East. 

For years the Cog Railway carried many more passengers than the Auto Road. The first motorized ascent was in 1899 by F. O. Stanley, of Stanley Steamer fame, and his wife. More steam-powered ascents followed and in 1902, the first two gas-powered cars reached the summit. 

Travelers ride in several colorful biodiesel locomotives that run several times a day or the popular steam engine, which only runs twice daily. No matter which one is selected, it's not an inexpensive ride as shown here. (Our 2017 ride was $10 less.) 

No matter how you get to the summit, once there, it's time to explore. An observation deck provides panoramic views. 

In more than 150 years that the Auto Road has been traveled, there’s only been three fatalities. In 1880, a stage overturned on a curve and a passenger was killed (it's believe that the driver was drunk). In 1984, a vehicle experienced brake failure about a mile up the road, it crashed and a woman died. In 2009, a motorcyclist went over the edge.

Now, we can show that Grenville's 2004 Jeep is among the countless autos that have safety been up and back. The bumper sticker is included in the Auto Road fee. 

While Grenville was busy with ham radio activations, I explored the summit. Even up so high, there's the usual gift shops associated with tourist attractions. One small gift shop at the Summit Stage Office is in a building that's been chained down to the ground. This sign on the building side explains it's where the highest measured world record wind speed of 231 mph was recorded on April 12, 1934. 

There's also the Tip-Top House, a historic former hotel. It was built in 1853 for $7,000 by Samuel F. Spaulding to compete with the Summit House, another hotel that opened in 1852. 

The Tip-Top House is considered the oldest mountain-top hostelry in the world, even though it no longer functions as one. The rectangular structure is 1-1/2 stories high with walls of rough-cut granite blasted from the mountain. Years ago, a telescope was placed on its flat roof to create an observatory on clear days. 


From 1877-1884, the building was a printing office for Among the Clouds, the mountain's newspaper and housed the paper's entire operation, including typesetting desks, editing tables and a hand-turned press. When the newspaper relocated off the mountain, the Tip-Top House was abandoned and fell into disrepair. It was completely restored in 1987, and the interior was recreated to show how it looked as a lodging facility. Now open from early May to early October, it was well worth a visit.

We enjoyed our road trip to the Mt. Washington summit. It's quite a unique experience. 

Cheers — we celebrate all year🍷

This was a (very) long narrative to describe our Mt. Washington drive in one post. I will catch up on your recent posts this week. Also, many thanks from both Grenville and myself on your Happy Anniversary wishes — all were much appreciated !