, 1876-10-06
Ascending Mount Washington.

On August 81, 1921, a party of three
ladies and three gentlemen from Ports
mouth, N. H, attempted the ascent of
Mount Washington from the house Of
Ethan Allen Crawford. They had
made careful arrangements, and were
successful IN reaching the summit, and
returned to Mr.. Crawford's after being
out five days and three nights. These
were the first ladies, so far as is on
record, who ever reached the top of
Mount Washington. On August 28,
1926, a party from Boston, including
three ladies, started with a guide from
the "Notch House" about two o'clock in
the afternoon. They rode as far as was
possible, and then walked through the
woods to the "frst camp" where they
spent the night A violent rain came
on about midnight, but as the morning
gave promise of clear weather, they
commenced the ascent about 7 o'clock.
Each lady had an assistant, but the task
was excessively laborious. When within
three-quarters of mile of the summit,
two of the ladies became so much ex-
hausted that they remained in a cleft
between the rocks, while the others
went on. One lady, assisted by two
gentlemen, succeeded in gaining the
summit about half past ten o'clock, but
remained there only few moments.
The party, after great fatigue, returned
to the Notch House" after an absence
of twenty-eight hours. One of the gen.
tlemen, who recorded the details of the
trip in the ''Visitors' Album. concludes
the account with this advice: Gentle
men, there is nothing in the ascent Of
Mount Washington that you need dread.
Ladies, give up all thoughts Of it; but
if you are resolved, let the season be
mild, consult Mr.. Crawford as to the
prospects of the weather, and, with
every precaution, you will still find it,
for you, tremendous undertaking."
Fifty years have wrought marvellous
changes. The wild scenery of the
White Mountain Notch is now viewed
with perfect ease from the open sob
servation cars" although the finest de-
tails must be studied by short excur-
sions in the vicinity of Crawford's. At
Fabyan's, or at Mount Pleasant House,
one can best decide upon q favorable
day for ascending Mount Washington.
The latter hotel, only recently opened,
commands full and magnificent view
Of Mount Washington and adjacent
peaks, being about half a mile nearer
the mountain than Fabyan's on the
Mount Washington Branch Railroad.
Since the completion of the railway
there is no occasion to advise ladies not
to ascend. At this season scores Of
them go up every fine day. A ride of
about half an hour from Fabyan's, up
the Ammonoosuc Valley, brings us to
Marshheld, the station of the Mount
Washington Railway, where we take the
mountain cars. Each car has its own
engine, which slowly but vigorously
pushes its burden up the steep ascent.
There are nine curves on the line, the
track is sometimes thirty feet above the
rocks, and the steepest grade is 1850
feet to the mile. The Retrospective views
while going up are magnificent; yet one
may feel q strange dizziness OF the
downward glance, revealing what seems
a most perilous position. An hour and
half brings us to the summit, when
the prospect grows so vast and grand
that the mind fails to graspit at once,
and no brief description can give any
adequate conception of its bewildering
extent and beautiful grandeur. The
descent from the mountain is generally
regarded as more fatiguing than the as
cent. The present arrangement of
trains is such that, taking a single day
for the trip, one has but little more than
two hours on the summit-by no means
sufficient time to eat dinner e very i'm
portant matter) and see the view. 1t is
well worth while to take the morning
train and spend the night at Mount
Washington Summit House. Then one
has the midday view, the sunset, the
moonlight (if at the right season. and
the sunrise-each glorious, and glori-
ously different.-Hnper's Bazaar.