We hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving. Can you believe the holiday season is upon us? It won’t be long before FreakOut is upon us! So much to do! But we’re still having fun, with visions of Fiats at Mt. Washington, dancing through our heads as we sleep. We can’t wait to see all the Fiats at the summit. A group photo of cars and friends will be in order.
They are closing the mountain for FreakOut 2023!
Enjoy the summit of Mt. Washington at Sunset!
The 7.6-mile Mt. Washington Auto Road to the sky, is America’s oldest man-made and continuously-operating tourist attraction. So of course, we had to add it to FreakOut 2023!
The Auto Road first opened to the public on August 8th, 1861 as a dirt and gravel road. On that day, you would have driven a horse and wagon to the summit. The first motorized ascent wasn’t until 1899 in a Stanley Steamer and the first gasoline-powered car wasn’t until 1902. Note, the first Fiat was built in 1899. As you’re motoring along the Auto Road imagine heading up in this Fiat.
It wasn’t until the 1970’s when the first sections of the Auto Road were paved. The last section wasn’t completed until May 27th of 2022.
This is a great opportunity for those of you who are not crazy about heights but would like to experience the views heading to and on top of the highest peak in the Northeast.
The Auto Road will be closed to everyone except FreakOut participants who’ve signed up at registration. Early Friday evening before sunset we will queue up at the base of Mt. Washington in Gorham. We will travel up and down in a group which means one way traffic, giving everyone more room to hug the inside curves when they like.
As a group we will maintain a safe driving speed of no more than 25 mph. No worries for those of you who like it fast the ride to the summit is an exhilarating experience at any speed.
The This Car Climbed Mt. Washington bumper sticker is famous and everyone will receive one commemorating their climb to the summit. We’re also taking a commemorative photo as you reach the summit. The plan is to have them printed and ready for you to pick up at the Awards Banquet.
Do you have any photos to share of past trips up the mountain? We of course have some of Little Red.
I captured a few notes from the Auto Road website: Mt-Washington.com
- Most vehicles take about 30 minutes to make the 7.6-mile ascent and from 30 to 45 minutes to come down depending on traffic, weather conditions and whether or not you need to stop to cool your brakes. The Auto Road is a steep, narrow mountain road without guardrails. The average grade is 12%. As the sign at the base of the Road states – “If you have a fear of heights, you may not appreciate this driving experience.” (One way traffic for us!)
- You’ll drive up in your normal gear (“D”), and down in your lowest gear (“1”, “L” or “L1”). Driving down in low gear will allow your engine to help with the braking of the vehicle. When using your brakes, don’t “ride” your brakes unnecessarily. A pumping action of the foot pedal allows the brakes to run cooler than does a steady pressure. If your brakes overheat, there will be many turnouts along the road to stop and cool them.
- The Mount Washington Observatory is the authority on weather on the mountain. You can also visit our Road Status and Weather page.
- They also have an App with a guided audio tour, current summit weather conditions, videos and more! Mt-Washington.com/download-the-app/
I’m including some links from the Mt. Washington Hillclimb. In 2017 the Hoonigan race team entered two Fiat 124 spiders. Kevin Wesley, driving in a Fiat Abarth 124 Rally Car, won the P2 class with a time of 06:41:68, setting the record by a whopping 14 seconds and winning the class by 25 seconds. I love watching the Spider race up the mountain! Be sure to check out the mountain views too. The clips are definitely worth more than one view. I also included Travis Pastrana breaking his own record in 2021 with a time of 5 minutes and 28 seconds to the summit. He’s not in a Fiat but he’s on the mountain and he’s always fun to watch..
