The White Mountains 4000 Footer Grid, referred to as The Grid, requires climbing all 48 of the mountains on the White Mountains 4000 footer checklist, as soon as every calendar month. That equates to 48 x 12 or 576 climbs, though you’ll be able to climb a number of peaks on the identical hike and have them depend. This requires about 3000 miles of climbing with 1,000,000 ft of elevation acquire.
To this point, 127 folks have completed one spherical of The Grid with the primary recorded completion in 1989. Of these, a number of have completed a couple of spherical, together with Ed Hawkins, often called Hiker Ed, who’s completed it eight occasions and continues to be climbing 4000 footers in his 70’s. A number of different folks have accomplished a number of rounds and a well-known path canine (a mini schnauzer) named Pepper has even accomplished one.
The Grid Spreadsheet
The Grid is named The Grid as a result of hikers should fill in a spreadsheet resembling a grid to document their hikes. You may obtain a replica of your individual Grid Spreadsheet right here.
Right here’s an instance of my present grid tally, embellished with some private formatting. I’m getting fairly near ending, however I can inform you firsthand that this isn’t a simple checklist to finish. You’re virtually higher off climbing different smaller lists first, just like the 4000 footers in winter, or the 4-season Grid, earlier than you resolve to sort out the whole Grid head-on so it’s much less of a psychological slog to finish your entire Grid in a single concerted push.
Every cell within the spreadsheet, information the day of the month and the yr of the climb (as in day, yr). You may solely depend a summit as soon as for every grid cell, even should you’ve climbed the summit a number of occasions through the calendar month or in the identical month over a number of years.
The Guidelines of the Sport
The principles for climbing The Grid observe the usual peakbagging guidelines utilized by most different peakbagging lists within the Whites.
- All journey have to be on foot and self-powered, by strolling, operating, or snowboarding.
- A peak solely counts as soon as on a hike from the start trailhead to the end trailhead even when it’s important to move over it twice in the midst of the hike. Except the hiker goes all the best way all the way down to a authorized automobile trailhead, and turns round, and goes again. Or, goes again, through one other authorized automobile trailhead and path.
- The date the summit is touched, on the preliminary move over, is the official summit date.
What Makes the Grid So Robust?
There are lots of elements that make the grid tough to complete they usually range broadly from individual to individual.
First off, it takes lots of time to climb 576 summits, even should you dwell close to the White Mountains and don’t have far to drive. Between work, household, college, and sleep, it may be a problem to seek out sufficient free time to make speedy progress, even should you handle to hike a number of adjoining peaks directly.
The second main impediment is the climate, which might make it tough if not downright harmful to climb the very best above-treeline peaks. Chilly temperatures, excessive winds, deep snow, and excessive water crossings can power you to cancel many hikes, particularly through the winter months and shoulder season months, which final from November into Could.
Fortunately, winter climbing is standard within the Whites, so essentially the most frequented winter trails to the 4000 footers are typically damaged out by snowshoers and hikers. Nonetheless, you may want to attend for a number of days after a storm for path situations to enhance except you’ll be able to cajole 10 associates to interrupt out a path with you otherwise you’re a superman/superwoman and keen to sort out it alone.
Grid Methods
Most individuals full The Grid over a number of years. This nonetheless takes lots of perseverance however should you can keep personally motivated, you can also make it by means of the checklist over an extended time span. Climbing with a small group of mutually supportive companions may help preserve that dedication whereas rising your security margin when climbing the peaks.
One other frequent technique is to climb teams of peaks collectively on the identical hike. For instance, most individuals climb Mts Whiteface and Passaconaway, Adams and Madison, Liberty and Flume, and so on., on the identical day as a result of they’re related by a typical ridge. That may considerably cut back the variety of days required to achieve the 576 summits.
The Grid Web site
Ed Hawkins and a number of other different volunteers oversee the not-for-profit web site the place The Grid and different native peak and path awards are acknowledged by the local people. They print up certificates of recognition and distribute backpack patches to acknowledge individuals who obtain a serious milestone. It’s a beneficiant factor to do for folks and it attracts the native climbing group collectively.
Listed below are the achievements acknowledged on that web site, together with a listing of finishers.
- The White Mountains 4000 Footer Grid (48 x 12)
- New England 4000 Footer Grid (67 x 12)
- The Northeast 4000 Footer Grid (115 x 12)
- The New England 100 Highest Grid (100 x 12)
- Climbing the White Mountain Information, aka “White Mountains Tracing” (650 trails)
- 4K Each Day (366)
- New Hampshire Hearth Towers
- New Hampshire 200 Highest
- New Hampshire 300 Highest
- New Hampshire 500 Highest
- New Hampshire 2000 Footers
- New England 3000 Footers
- 48 Over 70
If you happen to look by means of the lists of finishers for these peak and path lists, you’ll see most of the similar names again and again. Regardless of their spectacular achievements, a lot of the checklist finishers are extremely modest and supportive in the case of serving to and mentoring newcomers who need to undertake one in all these difficult lists. It’s one of many nice issues concerning the climbing group right here.
Whereas the White Mountains 4000 Footer Grid (48 x 12) might be the best-known peakbagging checklist within the Whites and New Hampshire after the common White Mountains 4000 Footer checklist (48 x 1), it’s simply the tip of the iceberg in the case of climbing insanity, and a wonderful sort of insanity it’s.
Up to date Dec 2023.