This gripping article recounts two of the most daring dog-sled ascents ever attempted on Mount Washington, beginning with Arthur T. Walden and the legendary lead dog Chinook’s perilous climb in 1926, and culminating in Florence Murray Clark’s extraordinary solo ascent in 1932. Set against hurricane-force winds, sheer ice slopes, and life-or-death decisions, the story captures both the physical danger of winter travel on New England’s highest peak and the remarkable resolve of those who dared to challenge it—especially Clark, who became the first woman to drive a dog team to the summit without assistance. Together, these intertwined accounts illuminate a little-known chapter of White Mountains history where endurance, courage, and human–animal partnership were tested at the very edge of possibility.

Little is known about the first attempt to beard the Old Man of the Mountain because there are no known photographs or newspaper reports to document the event and the principal players included the celebrated son of the other “Old Man”—Joe Dodge—who would not have taken kindly to knowing that son Brookie “Hirum” went AWOL from Lakes of the Clouds to pull off the daring stunt. It’s interesting that the secret was so well kept that, years later, a second bearding party knew that Hirum and an accomplice had attempted to attach a tree to the Old Man’s chin, but were probably unsuccessful. After all, if a tree falls in a forest with nobody around to hear it, does it actually make a sound?