Summiting Mt Washington 24 Days in a Row (+ Counting)

Vermonter's Bikepacking Tour Divide // Trail Race Live Streams

Author

Ricky McLain
June 14, 2023

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2 Super Impressive Trail and Gravel Active Streaks!

Andrew Drummond, the founder and driving force behind the brands Ski the Whites and Run the Whites, New Hampshire area running and skiing events, and even some coffee, is in the midst of a Mt. Washington summiting streak that has kept me really fascinated!

For those who aren’t familiar, Mt. Washington is the tallest peak in the northeast US, standing at 6288 ft. For its elevation it experiences unusually crazy weather. on the mountain in 2023 alone, it has boasted the coldest windchill in US history at -108 F (Feb 3-4) and the highest June snowfall in 91 years.

Ok, back to Andrew. Over the past 24 days, he has been hiking up Mt Washington, taking a variety of trails and seeing a variety of weather and animals along the way (I believe there have been at least 2 or 3 moose sightings in his Strava photos posted). Perhaps the most interesting was just a few hours ago at the time of this newsletter going out. Yesterday (June 13) I had to drive to Boston for work. As I was passing through Franconia notch at about 5am, the weather was terrible - heavy rain and wind - and I was wondering if he would keep up the streak. Well, he did, but de waited until late in the day. He actually started last night at 9 pm, summited via the Tuckerman Ravine Trail, went over and down to the Marshfield Base Station on the West side of the summit, then back up and over for a double summit. All told it checked off days 23 and 24. According to the Strava log, he started at 9 pm and had a total elapsed time of 7 hours, meaning he finished at around 4 am. 14.8 miles with 7,800 ft of elevation gain, all in the dark (and snow up high). Based on my math, in the 24 day streak, he has accumulated 199.5 miles with 105,900 ft of elevation gain! Pretty impressive!

Me on Mt Washington, circa 2019

The second streak which I’ve been fascinated to watch is Ted King’s Tour Divide. Ted is a former pro rider, a current gravel professional, extremely successful is sport, a co-founder of the sport nutrition company Untapped, and currently resides in Richmond, Vermont. The Tour Divide is a 2,750 mile route that runs from Banff, Alberta to Antelope Wells, New Mexico. As Miles at bickepacking.com puts is: 

There’s something about the Tour Divide that brings the bikepacking community together. Maybe it’s because so many people participate, traveling from all over the world to ride the iconic route between Alberta and New Mexico. Or maybe it’s because of the mix of racers, riders, and tourers all enjoying the 2,750-mile route in their own way. There’s certainly a shared sense of accomplishment among those who show up for the grand depart, and we’re excited to follow along each year.

You can follow along to the entire event here, and follow Ted’s tracker here. Ted’s most recent posting on Strava was his 4th day on the tour, which was 136 miles and over 11,400 ft of elevation gain, on what appeared to be some beautiful and desolate areas of Western Montana.

Trail Race Live Coverage - What’s Coming Up?

June might be the busiest month in the calendar for trail racing. Some of the most notable (or at least notable to me) trail running races that I’ll be watching, thanks to live race coverage, are:

Broken Arrow Sky Races, California, June 16-18, 2023

Race the Cog, Mt. Washington, NH, June 24, 2023

Western States Endurance Runs, 100 miles, California, June 24, 2023

Final Thoughts

We’re excited about some things we’re working on, to serve the trail running and gravel biking communities better - stay tuned!

Until next time, enjoy the trails, enjoy the gravel and enjoy this beautiful summer!

Cheers,

Ricky

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