Mount Washington, New Hampshire the Killer Mountain

     

     Mount Washington, called Agiocochook by some Native American tribes, is the highest peak in the Northeastern United States at 6,288.2 feet and the most topographically prominent mountain east of the Mississippi River. 
     It’s also a killer. Since 1849, nearly 150 people have died on it. It’s so treacherous that author Nicholas Howe has detailed many of the fatalities in his book Not Without Peril published in 2000 and updated in 2009. They have died in all seasons due to the harsh and rapidly changing conditions, inadequate equipment, and failure to plan for the wide variety of conditions which can occur above tree line. 
     The mountain is notorious for its erratic weather. At 6,288 feet, Mount Washington is only one-third the size of Mount McKinley, North America’s highest peak. But Mount Washington sticks up like a big toe at a point where storms from the north, south and west collide. As a result, it can see snow and ice even in the summer. 
     On the afternoon of April 12, 1934, the Mount Washington Observatory recorded a wind speed of 231 miles per hour at the summit, the world record from 1934 until 1996. New Hampshire's Mount Washington lost its distinction as the site of the fastest wind gust ever recorded on Earth when a 253 mph gust on Australia's Barrow Island occurred during Cyclone Olivia in 1996. In 1969, Hurricane Camille had the highest wind speed at landfall at an estimated 190 miles per hour when it struck the Mississippi coast. This wind speed at landfall is the highest ever recorded worldwide. Satellite and radar measurements, e.g. of tornadoes, hurricanes, and air currents in the upper atmosphere, do not officially compete with records for surface measurements. 
     The mountain is located in the Presidential Range of the White Mountains, in the township of Sargent's Purchase, New Hampshire. While nearly the whole mountain is in the White Mountain National Forest, an area of 60.3 acres surrounding and including the summit is occupied by Mount Washington State Park. 
     The Mount Washington Cog Railway ascends the western slope of the mountain, and the Mount Washington Auto Road climbs to the summit from the east. The mountain is visited by hikers, and the Appalachian Trail crosses the summit. Other common activities include glider flying, back country skiing, and annual cycle and running races such as the Auto Road Bicycle Hillclimb and Road Race. 
     Viewing it from the Atlantic Ocean in 1524, Giovanni da Verrazzano described what he saw as high interior mountains. The Abenaki people inhabiting the region at the time of European contact believed that the tops of mountains were the dwelling place of the gods, and so among other reasons did not climb them out of religious deference to their sanctity. 
     Darby Field claimed to have made the first ascent of Mt. Washington in 1642. Field again summited Agiocochook in October 1642 on an early surveying expedition that created maps of land as far as Maine. 
     Little occurred on the summit itself until the mid-19th century, when it was developed into one of the first tourist destinations in the nation, with construction of more bridle paths and two hotels. The Summit House opened in 1852, a 64-foot-long stone hotel anchored by four heavy chains over its roof. In 1853, the Tip-Top House was erected to compete. Rebuilt of wood with 91 rooms in 1872–1873, the Summit House burned in 1908, then was replaced in granite in 1915. The Tip-Top House alone survived the fire; today it is a state historic site. Other Victorian era tourist attractions include a coach road (1861)—now the Mount Washington Auto Road—and the Mount Washington Cog Railway (1869), both of which are still in operation. 
     The summit Mount Washington has an alpine climate or tundra climate although it receives an extremely high amount of precipitation, atypical for most regions with such cold weather. Lower elevations have a subarctic climate. 
     The erratic weather is partly due to the convergence of several storm tracks, mainly from the Atlantic to the south, the Gulf region and the Pacific Northwest. The vertical rise of the Presidential Range, combined with its north-south orientation, makes it a significant barrier to westerly winds. Low-pressure areas develop along the coastline in the winter due to the relative temperature differences between the Northeastern United States and the Atlantic Ocean.
     With these factors combined, hurricane-force wind gusts are observed from the summit of the mountain on average of 110 days per year. For many years, the record low temperature was thought to be −47 degrees F. occurring on January 29, 1934, but upon the first in-depth examination of the data from the 19th century at NOAA's National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, North Carolina, a new record low was discovered. Mount Washington's official record low of −50 degrees F. was recorded on January 22, 1885. However, there is also hand-written evidence to suggest that an unofficial low of −59 degrees F. occurred on January 5, 1871. The official record cold daily maximum is −28 degrees F. From December to March, temperatures rise above freezing on only 15 days.
     On January 16, 2004, the summit weather observation registered a temperature of −43.6 degrees and sustained winds of 87.5 mph resulting in a wind chill value of −102.59 degrees. 
     Due in part to its high prominence, to its situation at the confluence of two major storm tracks, and to the north-south orientation of the Presidential Range ridgeline which it crowns, Mount Washington receives very high levels of precipitation, averaging an equivalent of 96.9 inches of rain per year. Compare this to Concord, New Hampshire’s 44 inches of rain, on average, per year.
     On August 7, 1932, Raymond E. Welch became the first one-legged man to climb Mount Washington. An official race was held and open only to one-legged people. At the time of his climb, he was the station agent for the Boston and Maine Railroad in Northumberland, New Hampshire. 
     The mountain is also the host to one of the oldest car races in the country, the Mount Washington Hillclimb Auto Race, which has been held on and off since 1904. In car racing, Travis Pastrana set a new record of 5 minutes, 44.72 seconds, driving a Subaru Rally Team USA Subaru WRX STI in June 2017.
     Edwin H. Armstrong installed an FM-broadcasting station on the top of Mount Washington in 1937 and in1954 a TV tower and transmitters were installed for WMTW, Channel 8. The station continuously broadcast until 2002 from the top of the mountain, including local forecasts. 
    Mount Washington has been the subject of several famous paintings, part of a New England school of art known as White Mountain art.