Boston

Mt. Webster

• Elevation: 3,911 feet
• Route: Green Chasm (5.6 NEI 3, 2,500 feet)
• Drive: 2 hours, 30 minutes

This mountaineering adventure presents one of the longest technical routes in the region: 2,500 vertical feet of varied winter climbing— snow, ice, rock, and mixed. With summit views from the southern Presidential Range to Crawford Notch and Mt. Willey, this is a New England mountain classic.

CLIMB IT: Snow climbing up the Central Couloir leads to NEI 2-3 climbing and the base of the upper headwall. Traverse right 100 yards to Green Chasm. A mixed pitch leads up and over a chockstone, followed by a crux ice pitch of NEI 3, then several easier pitches to the summit. Plan on a long day, especially if the approach and the descent by the Webster Cliff Trail are not packed out.

BACKPACKER RECOMMENDS: Bag two Presidential summits and see one of New Hampshire’s tallest waterfalls on a 6.9-mile summer/ fall loop hike over Mt. Webster and neighboring Mt. Jackson. The Webster Cliff Trail also makes for a challenging winter hike.

GET THERE: From Boston, follow I-93 north 140 miles to the US-3 exit. Take US-3 10.5 miles to Twin Mountain, and turn right onto US-302 south. Park as close to the start of Central Couloir as possible, about 10.8 miles from Twin Mountain. Bushwhack straight up the mountain to the base of the couloir.

BETA: An Ice Climber’s Guide to Northern New England, by S. Peter Lewis and Rick Wilcox; mountainproject.com