Mt Washington Auto road

[xrover]

The Mt Washington auto road allows organized ATV rides under certain conditions as they recognize the damage the agressive tires do to the road. I think it would be very cool to drive an Argo up to the top! There is no off road runs allowed but we would need a minimum of 30 vehicles. A buddy and I were planning on coming out to the area on the May 24th weekend. Would there be enough interest (we need 30 AATV's) to organize a group ride and are there any members from the area? It would require warm weather gear as it is pretty cold up top. Here is a link about the road:

Mount Washington Auto Road

Thanks
Len

[m350]

Hey that would be a Great Ride,,I am in eastern CT,,so not to far away,,I have been up MT. Washington once,,in a truck though,,I would be interested in that one !,,,,,Mark

[George]

I'd be interested too but I'm not sure I'd be able to swing this May. I still have work to do to my machines.

Is there any other time of the year they open it up to special vehicles?

[micmac]

I've skied Mt Washington's tuckerman's ravine! I wonder how the non EFI machines would do.

[Roger S]

I don't think 6,000 ft would be too bad for a carb jetted for low altitude. On the rich side, but not too bad for today's already lean engines. Not any worse than driving through Denver.

[xrover]

Here is an email I got back from the coordinators at the Mt. The state licensing requirement may be a show stopper unless you can get a visitor license.

Hi Len,
Thank you for sending photos along with your inquiry. I would not have
known what an AATV was otherwise. May 24th is very early in our season
and there always is a chance that we may not be open yet. Last year we
did open on that weekend. However, the road is softer this time of year
and has not hardened yet to allow more aggressive tires that ATVs and
AATVs have.
To my knowledge, we have not hosted these vehicles before and I would
have to run this by our General Manager and Road Foreman. Our GM is
currently on vacation and not due back until the end of April.
Therefore, a May date would not be possible. There is the possibility
that with the OK of the GM a later date in the summer could happen.
That being said, our guidelines for ATV rides are that we need 35
machines or more to be considered a club/group and to book a date. The
clubs/groups are responsible for selling the tickets. We will get
tickets to you ahead of time. No cash will be accepted at the toll
house the day of a ride. Also clubs/groups are responsible for actions
of all ATV traffic on the road during the day of your scheduled ride.
All machines must be registered in the state of NH or VT, registrations
from other states will not be accepted. The operator must be a fully
licensed driver and machines cannot exceed a safe operating load for the
decent of the Auto Road (which is something we would have to look
into). Typically what happens is that operators unload their trailers
in our gravel lots on the Route 16 side of the bridge of the Auto Road
in the morning. They then pass through the toll house, show proof of
registration and a driver's license and then head up the road. We ask
for a deposit of 50% due ahead of time and the final amount due paid by
12:00pm, the day of the ride.
I have forwarded your email to our General Manager and will let you know
what the decision is. Thanks again for your inquiry. Please feel free
to contact me with further questions.
Best regards,

[hydromike]

This certainly looks like it would be a ton of fun, but I really think it would gain a large following if it became a "Pike's Peak of the East" run. I know, I know; that' a bit "aggressive", but still. The idea of 35 caged racers sprinting to the top of Mt. Washington gives me goosebumps all over... Can you imagine the 50mph 6 wheel drifts around the corners?

Yummy...
~m

[micmac]

I'm already registered in VT so I'd be good to go if I could get the time off.

[m350]

Wow ,,that would be a site to see, ,,Hmmm,, but me thinks there looking for something a little tamer,,lol,,

35 plus amphibs going up the Auto road would be a great site,,,Wow what a video that would make too,, could be a great time !!!

Wondering if there is a General store or a place we could get a temp Reg,,like snowmobiling, for the day,,or weekend,,just a thought ??

[xrover]

The road manager at Mt Washington apparantly feels we are not as damaging to the road as ATV's and I recieved this up today.

Hi Len,
Good news! After talking with the GM and Road Foreman, we would welcome
AATVs on the Auto Road. They said even as early as May 24th would be
ok. Your group would just need to meet the minimum requirements for all
terrain vehicles; 35 machines or more, NH or VT registration and fully
licensed operators. Also, the GM wants to make sure all operators
understand the need to pull over if traffic behind them is being held
up. The road is very narrow in places and there are designated pull
over sites along the road.
If you are still interested in the May 24th date, please let me or Mary
Power know. (I have cc'd this to Mary) I will be gone all next week
but she can help you if you have any questions. We can also look at
later dates if you would like. Just a little more info: the cost is $20
per AATV and operator and $7 for each additional passenger. The deposit
would be $350 due to confirm a date. We look forward to hearing from you.
Best regards,

So, before I put up $350 deposit, Mike is there a way to set up a event registration poll that people could log into and say if they are interested, how many people and prefered weekend if May 24 will not work.
Thank you
Len