Sudden exposure for the unprepared tyro can be frightening. The sheer physical force of the wind is one which is often grossly underestimated. We might presume twice as strong, but here is where this invisible challenger packs a surprise. A wind ten times as fast as another is ten squared, or one hundred, times more forceful than the lesser wind. Thus a one hundred mile per hour wind is four times as forceful as a fifty mile per hour wind.
Progress is virtually impossible.
When one is planning a winter visit to Mount Washington, the actual experienced winds will differ from the observed winds. In all but exceptional circumstances these winds will be higher than any experienced elsewhere in the Presidential Range. Atop the 6,288 foot pinnacle of the Range, and away from most of the effects of surface friction, the winds will be very high. Lower on the mountain, and within five to seven feet of the ground, the winds will normally be significantly less. It is conceivable that a few areas above treeline could experience higher winds if the peculiarities of atmospheric air flow, the wind direction and local topographic features dictate.