PINKHAM NOTCH — While the rules were simple, the goal Andrew Drummond set for himself this summer was somewhat audacious.
The 42-year-old owner of Ski The Whites in Jackson planned to climb up and down Mount Washington at least once a day, for 100 consecutive calendar days, knowing full well that the highest peak in the northeast is prone to some of the most extreme weather in the world.
His journey started with a climb and a brief backcountry ski on May 22, and this Tuesday, Drummond hiked up the Tuckerman Ravine Trail amidst a beautiful layer of clouds wisping up from the valleys, before tapping the summit sign of the 6,288-foot peak for the 100th straight day.
“It seemed like a goal that would hold me accountable,” said Drummond. “I’m lucky to live about 10 minutes from the base of this mountain and I wanted to go up there on both the good days, and the bad weather days, to put myself in situations I might normally avoid.”
As it happened, Drummond picked the wettest summer on record, with the Mount Washington Observatory reporting precipitation on 46 of 61 days in June and July, and tallying 43 inches of rain by Aug 21.
He battled twisted ankles, blisters, and sore knees. He traveled before dawn, after sunset, and wore his way through eight pairs of trail shoes. He took plenty of tumbles on the wet, slippery rocks, at one point suffering a gash on his hand that required 22 stitches.
To maintain his streak, Drummond could take a number of trails up the peak, all of which require about 4,000 feet of ascent and descent on challenging terrain. Yet he rarely took the most minimal route, often tacking on interesting trails or side trips over nearby peaks to spice up his adventure.
Despite averaging more than 30,000 feet of elevation gain over a 14-week period, he still found time to run a 50-kilometer trail race, pace friends for over 30 miles on their ultra-marathon efforts, and organize bike and run events through his community-based organization.
“Most of it is mental,” said Drummond, an accomplished skier who is originally from Conway. “If you tell your body you’re going to be coming back the next day, or going to do more [activity] that day, you’re going to be less tired.”
![“Most of it is mental,” Andrew Drummond said. “If you tell your body you’re going to be coming back the next day, or going to do more [activity] that day, you’re going to be less tired.”](https://bostonglobe-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/7NOSBXS3DJUYFOEETMM7HBCMGA.JPEG?auth=f1adcd6a49d5c7865352f24d44047a9746b515651043470733a76839d1cd33be&width=1440)
The first two weeks were the most difficult, Drummond admitted. And it took nearly 70 days before he said he felt stronger from the repetition, as opposed to craving some rest for his legs. But friends helped keep him accountable.
Matt Hart, a freelance writer from North Conway, joined him on over a dozen romps up the mountain, including seven straight days at one point.
“That put it in perspective,” Hart said. “My feet and toes got pretty bashed up from running down, and it doesn’t heal that quickly, so I can’t imagine going for 100 straight days.”
For Drummond, this objective also served as a training program to compete this September in the Ultra Tour Monte Rosa, a 100-mile race in the European Alps.
Along the way, he became even more familiar with a mountain that he has grown to learn more and more about since he moved back to the Mount Washington Valley in 2014.
“I’ve done these trails so many times now that I know where every rock is,” Drummond said. “I know where every step is. I’ve watched the vegetation change. I’ve seen a bobcat, a fox, and countless moose. You really get to see every facet of the mountain and you feel like you’re on the pulse of the White Mountains when you spend all this time up here.”
Nate Weitzer can be reached at nweitzer7@gmail.com. Follow him on X @nweitzer7.