AMC Outdoors, January/February 2002

By Madeleine Eno and Katharine Wroth

Peakbaggers number in the thousands in these parts, but fewer than 10 percent complete their lists of four-thousand-footers in winter. Anne Gwynne, a veterinary technician and New Hampshire Chapter member, is one of them. She has seven climbs left to become a "111-er" (reaching all the Northeast's high peaks).

Q. What were your wintertime pursuits as a child?
A. Nothing! Sledding, maybe, that would be it. It was just my sister and me playing in the back yard.

Q. When did you start winter peakbagging? What makes it appealing?
A. At 38, I started running competitively, training year-round. Eight years later, I had to quit because of injuries, so I took up hiking [in 1986]. I had learned to love winter, living in New Hampshire, so I joined the AMC and tried winter hiking. I just fell in love with it. In two years, I finished my four-thousand-footers. I was out there every weekend. I was a compulsive runner, used to having a disciplined training schedule. I had to fill that niche and peakbagging did it. I love the beauty, the quiet, and the technical challenge.

Q. How do you stay warm?
A. Body heat management is extremely important. You have to eat to feed the furnace, drink to circulate that heat, and dress like an onion in layers so you can peel them off and put them on as the need arises. You lose a lot of heat from your head, so if you're getting hot you can take off your hat and vent, and if you're getting cold you can cover up your head and neck and prevent further heat loss. You've got to know your body.

Q. What kind of equipment do you use?
A. You need to be prepared to spend the night out there, with extra clothes, shelter, something to insulate the ground. You need snowshoes, crampons, and winter boots. You also need a map and compass, and plenty of food and drink.

Q. What are the dangers?
A. The biggest danger is not being prepared and not knowing how to use your map and compass. You're really hiking in the treetops out there, not on a trail. You need to be competent and know when to turn back. Weather can be dangerous, too, but usually the drive to the trailhead is worse than the hike!

Q. What's your favorite memory?
A. One of the most exciting experiences was going into Baxter State Park. It was like a mini-expedition; it was truly a challenge. We hiked the Brothers, and the weather was absolutely spectacular. I love those days when there's blue sky, lots of views, good conditions.

Q. And your worst?
A. There was a day on Mount Mansfield in Vermont: I was with a group, and we got on top into a whiteout. It's a huge, open summit, and there was dissension about how to get out. We'd left no tracks, and it was too windy to communicate well. It was hairy up there. It was a day we should not have been there. Luckily, everyone survived and learned from it.

Q. How do you convince someone to join you?
A. Well, it would have to be a well-seasoned, three-season hiker. Then I'd pick a spectacular day, an easy peak, something with great views. They'd probably be hooked after that.

 Winter Revels: Intro  |  Cross-country Skating  |  Dog Sledding  |  Ice Fishing  |  Winter Peakbagging

—Madeleine Eno is Publisher and Co-editor of AMC Outdoors; Katharine Wroth is Associate Editor of AMC Outdoors.