[Kingda Ka]

On the 16th, the winds peaked at 156mph and they were sustained in the 80's to low 100's all day.



At this rate, hiking season in New Hampshire isn't going to start until June.

[D-EJ915]

Geez yeah, it was crazy windy here last night, sheesh.

[Drew]

I love how they even bother with a wind chill - "Sure, if you were up here you'd probably get blown off the summit, but while you were getting blown off, it'd feel -5 degrees farenheight.

[Kingda Ka]

If you go to the summit there is a list of all who have perished on this mountain. Many of them are from falls, hypothermia, and avalanches, but the ones that I think are the most ominous are the ones who simply vanished after leaving the summit buildings.

One guy left the observatory for a walk on the upper part of the mountain and was never found. There are a handful of these, and the theory in hiking circles is that the wind tore them from the mountain, and miles away they fell from the sky to the wilderness below in areas that nobody would think to look. It is definitely believeable, since some of the buildings are chained down at the corners to prevent the wind from lifting them off the rocks.

I hiked a meduim sized peak in NH named Mount Chocorua once in high winds, and a 230 pound co-worker was picked up for about 5 seconds when he was trying to cross an exposed flat section just below the summit. It scared the living hell out of him, and the winds were only about 100mph. Washington has hit 231 so you could definitely be carried off if you ventured above treeline in a storm. Most of the time it isn't bad at all, but even in good weather the mountain's higher reaches have a very creepy vibe.

[heavyjeffd]

I tried to summit Mt. Washington with my sister in 2005 in late November. We didn't make it, the wind chill was way too high (not sure exactly, they were saying something like 30 below) but the wind got so heavy our guide had us bed down for the night. We turned back and hiked out the next day.

We'd already done Mt. Whitney (more than once) and Rainier (which we didn't summit either due to weather) and really wanted to complete Washington.

I'd love to do a climb again, but I just don't have the time/finances atm. ><

[The Dark Wolf]

Isn't that the windiest place in America? It's one of the coldest too, isn't it?

[ohio_eric]

Originally Posted by Kingda Ka

and the winds were only about 100mph

Jesus only a 100 mph?! You know it's windy where you live when a 100 mph doesn't get your attention.

[Kingda Ka]

100 is when the mountain is in a pleasant mood. Anything past that though is extremely dangerous. Most hiker guides state that if the winds hit 70mph you should turn back since they will probably get worse.

They post the conditions 24/7 at this site:
http://mountwashington.org/weather/cam/

The live camera shots are great, and in Jaunary you see some insane conditions. They can have 40 below with 140mph winds any day in mid winter, and in some places the snow stays year round.

The site has some sick pictures on it too.



It is known as the most severe combination of wind, cold, and precipitation on the planet, and while the temperatures do not get as bad as the polar regions, the winds and precipitation are much worse since the mountain sits at the intersection of several storm tracks. If you get a chance and the weather is good it is well worth a visit though, and the mountain can be ascended in about 4 hours on most trails since the average distance is 3.5-4 miles from base to summit.

[The Dark Wolf]

Whoa! That's the windiest place ON EARTH.

From Wiki -

holding the record for the highest wind gust directly measured at the Earth's surface, at 231 mph (372 km/h)

[Kingda Ka]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQEVcCv_xkQ

Check this out. This was last month. Boiling water turns to ice in about 1 second. The temp was 34 below zero on March 6.

This gives an idea of a day to stay OFF the mountain.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...ton+wind&hl=en

This one is a bit less severe, but humorous.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdCLBzJHy9E