Winter Direct

Overview

The Winter Direct route on Mount Washington is standard way to the summit of Washington in the winter or spring. The route is mostly low angle snow, except for the last 200 feet which is steep snow and rock.

Getting There

Follow the directions on the main page. Continue past the standard summer trailhead until you come to a sign for the Jefferson Pass trail. Hike this through the woods for a couple miles until it ends at the base the East Ridge. Traverse up and to the left staying left of the ridge. This will bring you into the valley right of the Southeast Ridge and directly below the route.

Route Description

Hike up into the large bowl below the summit spires on low angle snow. Now look for the couloir trending up and to the left. Continue up the steeping snow passing over 2 moats until at the base of the summit block on your right. Rope up and belay one pitch of steep snow / ice with rock to the base of the summit pinnacle. Now scramble up the summit.

The easist descent is to rap and downclimb off the summit back to the top of the Southeast Ridge route at a notch in the ridgecrest. Once here, you have 2 choices. First, you can back down the Surprise Couloir (35 to 40 degrees) back into the basin west of the Southeast Ridge, then hike the path back to the road. Second, you can descend the route you came up.

Essential Gear

50 meter rope
A couple pins
Light Rack to 1"
A couple screws (condition depending, optional)

External Links

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Images

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