Brrrrr! We've seen colder but the wind whipping through the Notch has things pretty chilly this morning. It put any thoughts of an above-treeline traverse of Franconia Ridge out of the question. The winds were between 50-75 mph this morning on Mt. Washington. (The AMC's White Mountain Guide reports that the average conditions on Washington in the winter are 5 degrees and 45 mph.) When considering Franconia Ridge you can subtract some of that wind but not all of it. Today we are hiking something simple...Tecumseh. Then get ready for tomorrow, when the Higher Summits Forecast predicts a much better forecast:
"In the clear under increasingly cloudy skies. Wind chills 10 below early, around 0 late. Highs: upper teens°F. Wind: NW shifting W at 15-30 mph."
If these are indeed the conditions, we'll be heading to Franconia Ridge tomorrow. If weather allows we'll be hiking Flume, the fourth 4,000-footer of the day, for Beiju, pictured above.