Mt. Madison (and maybe Mt. Adams too)

Leaders
Bjorn Poonen (B coC), Florian Pagnoux (C coI coS)
Program
Winter School
Type
Hiking
Terrain level
C
Trip date
Saturday, January 25th, 2025
Difficulty rating
Difficult/Advanced (L4-L5)
Prerequisites
Winter hiking experience, including at minimum a winter trip of at least 8 miles, and a hike in some season with at least 4000' gain. Solid with layering technique. Physical condition for a hike of this length and elevation gain.

Join us on a challenging hike Saturday to Mt. Madison in the Presidential Range, which has impressive 360-degree views of Mt. Washington, Mt. Adams, and the Great Gulf! If there is time and interest, we may also summit Mt. Adams.

The final climb to the summit of Mt. Madison is above treeline (1/2 mi each way, and much more if including Adams), so full skin covering (balaclava and goggles) will be required, as well as crampons and ice axe. Mt. Madison can be subject to extreme winds and cold, so there is a significant chance that the weather will force us to modify or cancel the trip. Participants lacking the prerequisites should expect to be dropped from the trip.

Route: 8.6 mi, 4050 ft gain. If including Adams: 10.4 mi, 5050 ft. Map.

We will leave Cambridge very early so that we can hike at a comfortable pace. We'll stop for a quick breakfast along the way. Some participants may instead choose to stay at Intervale overnight.

Mandatory in-person pre-trip meeting Thursday, January 23, 6:00pm in the Student Center. Participants will be expected to show their full face covering and to adjust their crampons to their boot length there.

Expected cost per person: $5 fee, $15 gear rental, $30-$50 drive. If you can drive your own car or are willing to drive a rental car, please edit the lottery preferences on your MITOC profile to show this.

Signup

Algorithm
first-come, first-serve
Maximum participants
8
Signups opened at
Jan. 22, 2025, noon
Signups closed at
Jan. 23, 2025, 11:59 p.m.
Notes
  1. Describe a winter hike you have done before (location, length, elevation gain, and how long ago, if you remember them).
  2. Have you hiked above treeline in winter before (not required)? Where?
  3. Have you used crampons before (not required)?
  4. If this is an option, would you like to stay at a Cabin on Friday night?
Signups for this trip are closed.