Mt. Washington

Mt. Washington

Part 1: Growing the Seed


I first saw you long ago and I was fascinated that I could see you from here on a clear day. How big must you be for me to see you that far away? Back then, even as a boy, you were a mystery to me. Were you calling to me even then? Or were you just a figure standing tall on the horizon? I know that I looked for you each time I was on the Western Promenade. I wondered about what you were like and how very cold it must be on your slopes to be able to still see snow on you like a white blanket while the ground around me was just beginning the transformation from the off green colors after the snow has gone to the vibrant greens that signal the return of warmth. Eventually you would lose you blanket too but I wondered if it ever really became warm there on the summit. I remember the forecasters telling us how terrible the weather was on top of “The Rock Pile” compared to what we enjoyed here on any given day. So the hype was built early and often about your weather and the seed was planted. I must tell you that I never thought of climbing you as a boy or even into my adulthood. I never thought I could do such a thing and if I could then what would the point be of it anyway. So why subject myself to conditions that never sounded pleasant in the first place to me? I never did stop seeing you though from my perch on the Western Promenade and thus you never really went away. Still there day in and day out, just waiting for the seed to grow inside of me and waiting for me to feel you pulling me towards my destiny.

Over the years I had taken a few drives through places such as North Conway or the Kangamangus Highway in New Hampshire. Sometimes there would be glimpses of you and you were just so damn beautiful. So big and breath taking to anyone who was able to see you. I was always amazed to see you. I was never disappointed with what you had to offer but yet I still did not desire to climb you. The seed was growing though as I began to wonder more and more what it was like on the top. What views did you hold in your summit for me? How could I get there? A little research quickly unveiled the Cog Railroad with its steep slow sooty coal ride to the top and also a long twisting auto road that also found its way to the summit. I knew now that I would visit your summit. I was going to see what you offered every day and finally know I stood on top of what I had admired from so very far for so many years. The seed had begun to grow.