My $250 Saturn climbed Mt Washington

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
Jun 15, 2003
Messages
40,337
Location
ME
Car has a new clutch, pads, and rotors. I modded the rad fan to run the whole time. Stayed at thermostat temp. 192k miles. I got 42 MPG on the tank that included the climb!

FWIW the automatic version of the s-series is banned from the road because it only goes down to manual 2nd gear. I had a stick shift. I spent 70% of my uphill time in 2nd, 30% in 1st. Downhill was the opposite; 70% in 1st.



There are also tons of videos on youtube that are pretty accurate if you don't want to pay the $29.
wink.gif


These aren't optical illusions.... the road really is this steep!




And yeah there aren't guardrails, so you can look out your passenger window and see down, down, down.
crazy2.gif






All right, we're here!



Chain me up!



Let's be tourists for a bit.



I brought a 500mm (750 effective) telephoto lens but the haze was too much for it to be of much use:




The snow proof door looks like something out of a ship or something...



Maybe if the buildings are round the wind won't slam 'em as hard...



These tanks held kerosene for WMTW-TV's transmitter generators. They make all electricity on site. WMTW (get the call letters?) broadcast from the mountain from the 1950's until they moved tower opererations in the early 2000's and the tanks are abandoned AFAIK.



Let's start the drive down. Oooh, clouds!





I got in behind some jerks who were going down too slow, about 10 MPH, and my compression braking wasn't enough at that low speed. So I pulled off and let them go on ahead. I resumed my descent, hitting 4300 RPM in 1st gear! Started using the brakes then so I wouldn't throw a rod. My rims were cool to the touch at the bottom-- I checked.
laugh.gif
Incidentally engine braking on a FWD car leads to understeer. Prepare for it on the dirt part.



The literature warned us of this delicate tundra brush stuff and to not pick any flowers as it takes 20 years to get plants mature enough for that point.



PS the bottom mile or two of the road just goes through some woods... kinda goes against your preconceptions.
 
Very impressive! Great post and great pics - thanks so much for sharing this. I've always wanted to make that trip. It's truly breathtaking at the top!
 
Those SL/SW TWOS are freaking awesome. The SL Ones....not so much.

That's awesome! Almost considering buying one just to put the miles on instead of my Saleen Mustang or my 36K Mile '05 Corolla XRS.
 
Congrats on making it, impressive feat for the Saturn. Went up the Mt as a kid many many moons ago. I remember the stark landscape above the timber line. And it was cool and breezy up there too.

Never realized they banned specific model vehicles, but guess it makes sense.

Looks like you had a nice day for it.

Nice pics. I won't ask you what camera you used.
48.gif
 
Last time I drove this, I manage to swing the use of someone else's car for the trip.

I much rather drive it with a CRX HF, than an 84 Impala....

Looks like a great day for that trip...
 
Many thanks from me too!

I never saw Mt. Washington but my Dad, Mom and one sister made the trip in "Hing", our 1971 Mercury Monterey (400 2V).

Someday.
 
Wow, how cool is that? Something to add to the bucket list. Thank you sir! What brand and weight engine oil are you running?
 
Last edited:
I the 60s and 70s I lived in Bath, Me, and you can see Mt W from Which Spring Hill on very clear days. In 1993 we drove up Pikes Peak 14,110 ft. in my 1990 Ford Tempo 4 cyl. 9% grade. What is grade of Mt. Wash?
 
Last edited:
You can also take the cog railway up there. You missed the road race that they have up there every year in June. People run up that road, 7.6 mile. Their motto is "Only one hill".
 
That is awesome! I need to do this... And I need to get another S series too! haha.. Only MT of course.
Nice pics and looks like a great experience!!!
 
Originally Posted By: SatinSilver
Wow, how cool is that? Something to add to the bucket list. Thank you sir! What brand and weight engine oil are you running?


It's a mongrel mix of kendall titanium 10w30, pennzoil synblend 5w30 and peak 10w40. The filter was $1.12 from rockauto-- labelled wix but looks a lot like a tearolator.
laugh.gif


The literature reads a 12% grade.
 
I am impressed with the amount of wind they are supposed to get up there. Looked like a beautiful drive that you took.

I was thinking of biking up and down Hurricane Ridge in Washington state sometime. Don't know if I can do it though. My daughter and I drove up it about 3 years ago. The views from the tops of mountains are glorious, and pretty hard to top. Lookie I just made a pun.......

Mt Washington

The mountain is notorious for its erratic weather. On the afternoon of April 12, 1934, the Mount Washington Observatory recorded a windspeed of 231 miles per hour (372 km/h) at the summit, the world record for most of the 20th century, and still a record for measured wind speeds not involved with a tropical cyclone.[4][a]

Hurricane Ridge

At an elevation of 5,242 feet (1,598 m), Hurricane Ridge is a year-round destination. In summer, visitors come for views of the Olympic Mountains, as well as for superb hiking. During the winter months the small, family oriented Hurricane Ridge Ski and Snowboard Area offers lift-serviced downhill skiing and snowboarding.
 
Last edited:
That's good you had fresh oil and a filter in there. Do they close the road to the public during the winter time? Not to be gruesome but I wonder how many have died up there. Hmmmmm.
 
They run vans on tracks in the winter when the weather's all right. I stuck their promotional video on.

My mom hiked Tuckerman's Ravine to ski; she hiked all day then got one run in. There's a huge avalanche danger if you don't know what you're doing.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top