(Photos by Barb Romick) The Mount Washington Resort in Bretton Woods, N.H., built in 1902, sits at the base of the famous New Hampshire mountain.

MOUNT WASHINGTON, N.H. — It’s the mountain that experienced wind gusts up to 231 mph in April 1934, which remains a world record. It’s had wind chills down to minus 120 degrees Fahrenheit, with an average annual temperature of only 26.5 degrees. The average annual snowfall is 256 inches (more than 21 feet) with a seasonal maximum of 566 inches (over 47 feet). Mount Washington, N.H., the highest peak in the Northeastern United States, truly has earned the title “Home of the World’s Worst Weather.”


Fortunately, I visited Mount Washington on a much calmer day in early October.


We had planned to just drive past Mount Washington so that I could get a picture of the mountain on our way through New Hampshire. Well, one thing led to another as it usually does on our “road trips,” and my husband, John, suggested we drive to the top. I don’t know who was more surprised when I agreed with his suggestion. We paid our $27 ($20 for car and driver plus $7 for each adult passenger), popped the audio tour CD (which is yours to keep) in the player, and up the privately owned Mount Washington Auto Road we went.


Listening to the CD as we drove, we heard reminders about mountain-driving etiquette and some historical information about the mountain and the auto road.