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Re: [at-l] Article on Mt. Washington



That article sure brought back a flood of memories. I checked my Data Book
and it was a year ago today that I was at Pinkham Notch.  I had a mail drop
and while I was hanging around the counter waiting for someone to recover it
from storage an elderly lady walked up to the counter and spoke to the young
man on duty.

EL  "Young man, this is Mt Washington isn't it?"
YM "Well, actually we are at Pinkham Notch but Mt. Washington is right up
there." Pointing with his hand.
EL "I thought we were. I was telling Ethel that Mt Washington is the highest
mountain in the US and some man said I was wrong. It is the highest mountain
in the US isn't it?"
YM "Well actually it isn't"
EL "Are you sure? Then it must be almost the highest"
YM "Yes madam I am sure, some of the mountains out west are more than twice
as high as Mount Washington."
EL "Really? That much? And you are sure about this."
YM "Yes I am sure."
EL (now looking like her canary was just eaten by the family cat) "Well why
do all my friends in Boston always talk about Mount Washington?"
YM "Mount Washington is about the biggest thing around here. And then there
is the weather."
EL "The weather" She perks up a bit.
YM "Mount Washington recorded the highest wind ever recorded" Telling it
more or less correctly.
EL "Really? How strong was it?"
YM "Over 234 miles per hour."
EL "Great, I must run tell Ethel about that"

And she is off. Saved at last from the agony of defeat. The young man
noticed that I had been listening, smiled and said, "Damn, I though I would
never get out of that."

For those who will correct my comment about the 234 MPH, the correct way to
say it is the highest straight-line winds. Tornadoes, especially those
spawned by hurricanes have exceeded this wind speed several times. The exact
figure is not know because the little measuring thingie keeps getting blown
away.

Fortunately for me, Mount Washington took pity on us the day we hit the
summit. The temperature was 68 degrees, the skies only slightly hazy and the
wind was calm. Absolutely beautiful. The only disappointment was that in
spite of what is written there isn't a snack bar. (By 1999 sobo definition a
snack bar must have a grill.)

Two hours after we left the summit the mountain reverted to its usual self
and the temperature plunged, the hail came and the wind blew like the devil
at Lake of the Clouds, I can only imagine what the summit must have been
like.

southwalker99@alltel.net
ME-GA '99
In hiking there is no special recognition given for speed, style or
finesse. There are only those that do the hike and those that don't.


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From: <ATnavi@aol.com>