Video: Richard Hammond Visits the Windiest Place on Earth

Windiest Place on Earth

Last week I had the privilege of traveling to Maine and New Hampshire here in the U.S. to test some new gear on Mt. Washington, which is unofficially known as the windiest place on Earth. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the chance to go to the summit for logistical reasons, so I had to settle for this video of television personality Richard Hammond going to the summit of that mountain instead.

There, he gets to experience the notorious winds of Mt. Washington first hand as they hit gusts of over 80 mph (128 km/h). In the lead up, he also shows just how devastating the wind can be at various speeds along the way. This helps to put in perspective the wind speeds that some of the climbers, explorers, and skiers encounter on their expeditions. Pretty frightening stuff when you see it conveyed like this. Maybe now, I’m glad we didn’t reach the summit!

Kraig Becker