March “lion” slams east coast

by Tom Johansmeyer on

From New Hampshire to the Carolinas, March came in, as the saying goes, like a lion. Snow, sleet and wind gusts reaching 30 mph have lead to for motor vehicle deaths, school closings and chaos at airports.

More than 900 flights have been canceled at New York area airports (JFK, Newark and LaGuardia). Hundreds more at Logan International Airport in Boston never left the ground, where the airport closed for more than half an hour to clear a runway. In Philadelphia, more than 40 people were stranded overnight.

Even the bus operators got into the delay and cancellation game. Greyhound and Peter Pan scrapped trips into and out of New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and New Jersey.

So, get comfortable. It’s going to take a while to sort this mess out.

Find love on the NH slopes

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Are you a die-hard skier who has always wanted to meet the love of your life on the slopes? Good, go to New Hampshire. For the price of a lift ticket at Black Mountain in the Mt. Washington Valley, you could experience a life-changing eight-minute ride in a chairlift.

Back for a third year, the Black Mountain Chairlift Speed Dating event has been upgraded to include “love potions” from the bar and a menu sure to set your heart racing. The best pick-up line will score you a free night at Whitneys Inn, two tickets to Black Mountain, a dozen roses and a bottle of champagne. If the line really is a winner, though, none of this will compare to the real prize!

Winter Climbing on Mt. Washington

by Kraig Becker on

Mt. Washington in New Hampshire is a popular destination in the summer months when thousands of hikers take to its slopes and climb to the summit. During the winter it’s not nearly as crowded, as the mountain’s infamous weather makes for a much more daunting challenge for the hardy, adventurous climbers who seek to reach the top.

The travel section of the New York Times has an excellent article today on climbing Mt Washington during the winter months, when the temperature plummets to well below zero and the winds buffet its slopes. But the allure of facing those conditions is drawing more and more winter hikers to the mountain each year, where they square off with the elements with the hope of being rewarded with an amazing view from the summit.

The official Mt. Washington website boasts that the mountain has the “world’s worst weather” and it’s hard to argue with that when you read the statistics. The weather station that sits atop the mountain records an average snowfall of more than 200 inches a year, and the wind speed tops 100 mph on a weekly basis. Back in 1934, the wind was clocked at 231 mph on the summit, making it the fastest ever record on Earth.

Beginning hikers are strongly encouraged to take a guided climb to the top, such as the ones offered by Eastern Mountain Sports Climbing School. They charge $140 per person, which includes gear such as mountaineering boots, ice axes, crampons, and so on. They’ll also train you in how to use the equipment before setting out and make sure you get up and down the mountain in one piece.

New state laws that affect travelers in 2009

by Jamie Rhein on

There are slew of new state laws that have gone into effect with the change to 2009. Here are some of the ones that I’ve culled from this CBS News/AP article that could impact travelers depending upon which state you head to for a vacation this year.

In California, do not read-or-write text messages while you drive. It’s now illegal. Heavens! Can you imagine someone texting on a freeway in L.A.?

If you are in Illinois and are having a heart attack at an outdoor fitness facility, look for a defibrillator. All such facilities are now required to have one.

Don’t even think about urinating or defecating in public in New Hampshire. If you decide to let go, it could cost you a $1,000 fine. Did people in New Hampshire have a problem holding it until they found a toilet? That was my initial thinking. Turns out, the law is to prevent people who pee in public from being labeled as sex offenders.

For smokers in Oklahoma, only fire-safe cigarettes are being sold. If you’re a smoker in Oregon, don’t light up in a bar. Smoking is now banned in bars. Trans-fat is also banned in Oregon. From the finest restaurants to fast food, not a speck of trans fat is to be used.

Top 10 stupidest laws you could encounter abroad


Blogger Kent Wien

by Kent Wien on

Introducing the newest member of the Gadling team… Kent Wien

Since air travel is such a significant part of most of our lives, we’re bringing on Kent to share his experiences as a commercial pilot with Gadling. Kent will be writing about each of his trips, giving you an idea of what life is like at the pointy end of an airliner. Keep an eye out for his “Cockpit Chronicles” feature, and follow along with him in the air and on the ground.

1. Where was your photo taken: 38,000 feet, on the way back from San Juan to Boston in a Boeing 757.

2. Where do you live now: Exeter, New Hampshire

3. Scariest airline flown: I was once a flight engineer (3rd pilot who sits sideways) on a 727 for a small charter/freight company that operated out of Dallas. We were contracted to fly within Alaska for a summer to haul fish and cargo throughout the state. Due to what was later blamed on improper maintenance, we landed in Kotzebue with all main tires locked up. The tires never moved while we skidded down the runway. That got my attention. I left shortly after and a few weeks after my departure the FAA shut the airline down for a month due to maintenance violations.

4. Favorite city/country/place: I suppose most people have a soft spot in their heart for their hometown. I was lucky enough to grow up in Anchorage, Alaska.

5. Most remote corner of the globe visited: A Soviet ice camp 160 miles north of Barrow, Alaska. We brought two Norwegian scientists to this huge floating complex complete with temporary buildings that had telephones between them, a cafeteria and dozens of Russians who traded with us relentlessly. I suppose I’ll have to post a feature on that experience — just in case anyone else happens to find themselves floating on a Russian ice camp.

6. Favorite guidebook series: Since I occasionally get called out at the last minute on a trip somewhere that I’ve never visited, I like to load up the Wikitravel.org page of that city on my laptop or iPhone and take it with me. I’ve found that Wikitravel cuts right to the important points of a city and it’s a good start when looking for something to do.

7. Worst hotel experience: During training in Texas I once found nearly 20 cockroaches in a florescent light fixture above my bed. I took the light apart and dumped them into the toilet. The next day there were 20 more. I did this ritual every day for the entire month I was there. We stay in some pretty nice hotels while on trips, but for some reason our training hotels rate at the bottom of the scale.

8. Leeches or mosquitoes: Mosquitoes have a new talent. They’re killing people. Even when I was living on a lake as a kid, I would’ve preferred leaches over mosquitos any day.

9. Worst place to catch a stomach bug: In the cockpit on a flight from Las Vegas to Dallas with the above mentioned charter airline. It was my one and only experience with food poisoning. I doubt it was fun for the other two pilots.

10. How did you get started traveling? I was fortunate enough to have a dad who was also an airline pilot when I was growing up. One day he got a call to deliver a 737 from Seattle to London. My sister and I convinced him to take the trip, since we knew it was our opportunity to fly in an empty jet and even get a chance to ride in the cockpit. We spent a few days in London, saw some plays and really enjoyed our first taste of international travel. I later went to France for summer exchange student program and it was these two experiences that inspired me to fly internationally for a living.