Drive Up Mount Washington....I Don't Think So
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
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We've been planning our road trip to New England since October, but only really sat down this weekend to properly plan the itinerary. All the hotels were booked before Christmas but we only had a vague idea of what we wanted to do in each place. One of the things we were pretty certain we'd be doing was driving up Mount Washington. Let's just say I'm glad I did some research, because it's an insane idea!
Much as driving almost 8 miles up a 150 year old road on the side of a mountain, climbing more than 4500 feet sounds quite exciting, and I'm sure the view from the summit of the highest peak in the north-east is pretty spectacular, I'd quite like not to have to risk my life to see it.
I'm no stranger to driving on mountain roads, but I'm talking little mountains in Derbyshire, with walls or at least guardrails at the side of the road, not a 6000+ foot mountain with sheer drops and nothing to stop you slipping over the edge. The warning bells first started ringing when the answer to the question of how long it took to drive the auto road said "depending on traffic, weather conditions and whether or not you need to stop to cool your brakes" - cool my brakes? What? How do I know if my brakes need cooling? What happens if I don't cool them when I should? Do they just stop working? It's not even my car!
The second statement that concerned me somewhat was "The Mount Washington Auto Road is closed to individual ATVs. Due to the aggressive nature of the tires on these vehicles the gravel portions of the Auto Road..." - gravel portions? So, I'm 6000 feet up, there's no guardrails, its a narrow, winding road with hairpin bends, and now you're telling me there's gravel portions?!
It was at this point I decided to depart the official site and see what other visitors had said. Choice quotes included "not for the faint hearted", "I was petrified", "I turned around half way up as I feared for the safety of my family" and "I cried all the way down". None of this was making me feel any better.
With so much to see and do on our trip around New England, I'm afraid the drive up the Mount Washington Auto Road has had to be scrapped. We just haven't got time to do everything, and the Ben and Jerry's factory is much cheaper and far less dangerous.
Hey there,
I know this entry is somewhat old, but I have to say I'm glad you skipped the auto road! I was born/raised in Maine and when I was 13 my parents thought it'd be a great idea to attempt the climb. Our car, at the time, was far from new but surprisingly survived. We all did, intact, but I had nightmares for weeks and I'm not the type who scares easily! It was absolutely horrifying - those sheer cliffs are real, and there were several times on the descent when our brakes started smoking that I thought they'd give out and we'd careen right off one of those hairpin cliffs!