"Trent Moorehead" wrote in message
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"WRE" (remove nospam) wrote in message
...
Actually, the highest point in the east is Mount Mitchell in western
North
Carolina at an elevation of 6684 msl

"BTIZ" wrote in message
newsuOsd.176865$bk1.148755@fed1read05...
really... that's going to be news to everyone in New England.. LOL

What makes Mt. Washington really unique is that it has the most extreme
weather conditions. I believe the highest recorded wind velocity was
experienced the 231 mph! Also, unlike the North Carolina mountains,
where trees exist at the peak, Mt. Washington rises above the treeline.
This
makes the ascent the top very dramatic and it just feels higher than it
really is.

The most amazing mountains I've ever seen were on the Kenai peninsula in
Alaska. The peaks were only 6000-7000' but they were rising almost straight
up from sea level. The base of Mt. Washington is around 1500' so you have a
pretty impressive vertical rise, despite the relatively low peak. Around
here the treeline is also often pretty low. Mt. Monadnock is only 3200' but
it's pretty much just rock and moss by the time you reach the peak.

In terms of lethality, a hike to the peak in anything other than the middle
of the Summer has to be treated as a potential survival situation. Storms
can dump a foot or more of snow with little warning in early Fall, and by
Thanksgiving the temperatures at night can head into arctic territory, with
wind chills below -100F. If the mountain were less accessible I suspect it
would claim a lot more lives than it does. Every season at least a few
groups of hikers dial 911 on their cell phones.

-cwk.