The mega-classic New Hampshire peak challenge and one of the most popular peak challenges in the world. Includes all New Hampshire peaks over 4,000 ft high with at least 200 ft of prominence. All peaks lie in the White Mountains of northern New Hampshire, a 2-3 hour drive from Boston, MA and Portland, ME. Started in 1957 by the AMC based on the Adirondack 46er challenge. More on the history here: http://www.amc4000footer.org/history.html
Highest peak
Mount Washington
6,288 ft / 1,916 m
Most prominent peak
Mount Washington
6,148 ft / 1,873 m prom
Most summited peak
Mount Washington
1,124 summits
Most difficult peak
Mount Washington
Class 1
Difficulty breakdown
Class 1/2 5 peaks
Highlights
- One of the most popular Peak Challenges in the world. First created in 1957 and modeled after the Adirondack 46er Peak Challenge.
- All peaks have official trails (except infamous Owls Head, often saved for last, which has an unofficial route to the summit that isn't really different than some of the other official trails).
- Emerge from the forest to explore the incredible alpine environments of the White Mountains. Treeline here is about 4,400 ft so this challenge will bring you to all the above-treeline spots in the range.
- Traverse the dramatic alpine landscape of the Presidential Range and climb the highest and most famous mountain in the northeast, Mount Washington.
- Hike deep into the heart of the Pemigewasset Wilderness and summit the remote, above-treeline Bonds.
- Embrace the notoriously steep, rugged trails of the White Mountains. Some of the steepest are the Flume Slide Trail, Tripyramid Trail (north slide path), Hancock Loop (south face of Mt Hancock), Willey Range Trail (east face of Willey), Wildcat Ridge Trail, and the Desolation Trail off the back of Carrigain. There are many more.
Latest summits
"A hike up Moosiluake for Molly's grid. We walked halfway up the road and then went up Gorge Brook Tr to the summit. We barebooted going up and microspikes coming down. The snow was getting soft today. Beautiful day on the summit but also quite windy, making the wind chill a bit much!" — newenglandwarrior • Apr 14, 2024
"One week after a big snow storms, still tons of snow in the Whites and a lot of the main trails are broken out. Greeley Ponds trail to the Osceola trail was broken out but tons of uneven terrain. Great weather but an exhausting hike." — Alohabuffy • Mar 31, 2024
"One week after a big snow storm, still tons of snow in the Whites and a lot of the main trails are broken out. Greeley Ponds trail to the Osceola trail were broken out but tons of uneven terrain. Great weather but an exhausting hike. Snowshoes door to door. Keep those post holes to a minimum." — Alohabuffy • Mar 31, 2024
"A hike for a Calendar Day and a Grid gain for Denise. We parked near the end of the Zealand Rd and hiked up the road, then up the trail to the summit of Hale. The road had been plowed, so that made the road walk incredibly easy. Denise attempted Hale last Sunday after a snowstorm had dumped 2 feet of snow on the Saturday. Today, maybe ankle deep snow at low elevations. The difference from what she was describing and today was amazing. Windy day in the mountains. " — newenglandwarrior • Mar 30, 2024
"We started at 8 am, a couple cars beat us. Cloudy skies and in the 30s-40s at the base. The first mile was gradual with patches of snow. Snowshoes were needed for the rest of the ascent. The next 2 miles were basically straight up until a junction. We decided to skip South peak, as it wasn't broken out. The mile to Moosilauke peak was a flat alpine zone then a bare climb. Some peaking views through the clouds but overall was in the cold and windy haze at the summit." — gregoryskiba • Mar 16, 2024