In the fall of 2001 and winter of 2002, we attempted to drive to the summit of Mt. Washington, in New Hampshire Presidential Range, and document the adventure for a film series called Lost Roads. Lost Roads will revolve around the re-treading of ancient roads (i.e. Silk Road, Donner Pass, etc) in modern expedition vehicles led by OEX. The modern vehicle action will be the hub to which history, ecology, culture, etc. will work off.

Mt. Washington is known for the worst weather on the face of the globe; changing weather and high winds are its signature. The summit houses a television antenna and station house, and a meteorological observatory. The people move up and down the mountain in the winter months with Snow Cats. The machines are the only way to ascend the mountain predictably in the winter, and even then, they do not always make it. Snow Cats operate by staying on top of the snow and plowing/leveling the road in front of them.

For the Mt. Washington expedition, we used four vehicles (Land Rover Defender 90, Land Rover Discovery XD, Land Cruiser 80, and a 2002 Mercedes G-wagen). We attained the summit on a scouting trip in October in 3 feet of snow and 130mph winds. This first ascent was not filmed and involved Lars Vigen (OEX mechanic) and I. This first run was not a walk in the park by any means. It turned out to be the most dramatic of the ascents involved in this full ½ hour documentary. It was the only one where we made it to the summit, without a Snow Cat having run the road before us or the road being free of snow and ice.

The January attempt was just perfect for the filming of the action, work, scenery, and changing weather of Mt. Washington.

 However, this attempt was made after a huge snowfall and very high winds, in addition the night before the run we received another 1.5 feet of snow that continued to fall throughout the next two days. Temperatures were jumping from the upper 20s to below zero and the visibility from 1 mile to zero in white out. The drive was on a packed base of 3-7 feet with 2-3 feet of powder on top. This lasted to about the 3-mile mark (about a 1/3 of the way). After this, we began to encounter one drift after another. These snow drifts where usually 40-100 feet long and anywhere from 4 to 8 feet deep. We shoveled, Pull-paled, winched, chained, and dug our way through these to about the 5-mile mark. From the 5 mile mark to about the 7 mile mark the road was covered with one drift that measured 15-25 feet on the right side of the road to about 3-10 feet on the left.

While the road up to this point had shown signs of the Snow Cats progress a week before, the road ahead looked just like the 45 to 60 degree slope and the mountain---the road was basically gone. We had already been hacking at the mountain for six and one half hours, the next two miles would have taken over a day and a half. In addition, this portion of the road is the narrowest and exposed to the majority of drifting snow. The drifts were and would continue to form behind us as we progressed. It would have been foolish and life threatening to continue. I called off the ascent without reservation. Without a Snow Cat leveling out the road ahead of us the feat was impossible within a safe and realistic parameter.

While the last attempt was slightly disappointing,, the excitement and hard work involved was much more evident. In similar weather conditions to ours, a Unimog, equipped with a snow-blower, tried for two weeks to make it to the summit and failed. We did well to get as far as it did in less than 7 hours.

It must be clearly emphasized that a group of 4x4 drivers reached the summit in 1994. This group consisted of mostly Rovers North Employees in their Land Rovers. While the conditions varied between our attempt and theirs, I have to take my hat off to them. They attained the summit at about the same time we were at the half -way point! Well done!

Outside of it value as a very fun and educational film with adventure galore, the film is very well made and shows the conditions and harshness of the trip. It does stress that the summit of Mt Washington had not been reached before in these types of conditions and in these types of vehicles. This is NOT to detract from Rovers North’s success, but to instead emphasis our attempt at the summit without preparation by a Snow Cat. Even if a Snow Cat had run the mountain a day or two before us, I am not confident that we would have faired any better.

The attempt and film would never have happened if it were not for the expedition drivers. Lars Vigen OEX’s head mechanic and vehicle modification specialist; Chris Coleman a top notch driver and skilled vehicle engineer; John Aizarani, a Mercedes G-wagen fanatic and excellent driver. The crew was rounded out with the energy, muscle, and sheer will power of Adam Burke, Ed Navarro, and Robert Elfstrom. The vehicle performed flawlessly along with all the equipment supplied by our sponsors: G-Net Canada (computers for vehicles), The Dewey Group (clothing for entire crew), Hi-lift Jack Co (makers of the invaluable and never-failing Hi-lift jacks), Master Pull Recovery Equipment (best winch ropes made—a safe saving grace at –10F), Pull-Pal Co. (ground anchors that are worth their weight in gold), RUD Chains Inc. (easy-on strong chains for any use—best I have used), Superwinch Inc. (great winches that have yet to fail us), and Trek Outfitters Co. (makers of vehicle accessories for Land Rovers—rock sliders, etc.)

Overland Experts and Essex Television Group plan to continue the Lost Roads series throughout the world. Our next stops may include Namibia, Iceland, Rockies, Arctic Circle, and………. If anyone has any ideas of a great "Lost Road," drop a note to us at Overland Experts.