Extreme NH: The Granite State is No Stranger to Extreme Sports

New Hampshire is no stranger to extreme sports. Find out about the state's history with derring-do, along with upcoming extreme sport events

May 13, 2025

Brion O’Connor,

2016mwarbh 1540 — The granddaddy of hill-climb cycling events, the Mt. Washington Auto Road Bicycle Hillclimb is held the third Saturday in August. Photo by Joe Viger

Forgive New Hampshire historians if they scoff at the notion that “extreme sports” is somehow a recent phenomenon. Sure, Madison Avenue marketing types claimed the “extreme” moniker over the past few decades or so. But those who know the Granite State
best only need to point to mighty Mount Washington — the Northeast’s tallest peak — for ample proof that tales of derring-do preceded the Mountain Dew generation by a century.

During the 1860s, Cog Railway workers were known for their Devil’s Shingle exploits. Photo: wikicommons

As soon as the Mt. Washington Auto Road — the country’s oldest man-made attraction — was completed, enterprising daredevils started devising ways to race up the Rockpile. In 1903, L.J. Phelps set the official “mark” of 1 hour, 45 minutes. The inaugural Climb to the Clouds race was held the next year, seven years before the first running of the Indianapolis 500. Harry Harkness shattered Phelps’ record, powering his Mercedes to the summit in a time of 24 minutes and 37.6 seconds.

Race times continue to plummet over the next century, and in 2021, Red Bull racer and celebrity daredevil Travis Pastrana set a new record for the triennial race of under 5½ minutes. “We had more fun with this run than I’ve ever had in a car,” Pastrana said.

Even more hair-raising were the exploits of Cog Railway workers on the mountain’s western slopes, and their infamous Devil’s Shingle races. Work began on the Cog Railroad in 1866, and visionary Sylvester Marsh hired a number of returning Civil War veterans. With long workdays — sometimes nearly 17 hours — many Cog workers were eager to get home as quickly as possible each evening. So, they created slideboards — soon dubbed Devil’s Shingles — to descend the tracks.

Big Day Brewing 24 Hours of Great Glen is an around-the-clock suffer-fest. Photo by Joe Viger

Little more than a narrow plank of wood that rode on the center rack track, each homemade slideboard was fitted with a seat, footrests and rudimentary hand brakes. The average trip from summit to base station took about 15 minutes. But soon the competitive urge overtook the workers. The record time was a mind-bending 2 minutes, 45 seconds, at an average speed of roughly 60 mph. The competitions became so dangerous that the state outlawed the Devil’s Shingle in the early 1920s.

Yet perhaps the single most breathtaking “extreme” episode on Mount Washington
was Toni Matt’s insane schuss over the headwall of Tuckerman Ravine during the American Inferno race in 1939. Inspired by the Dartmouth and Harvard outing clubs, Ski Club Hochgebirge members created the American Inferno — a 4.2-mile race down the northern flank of Mount Washington — in 1933. Six years later, Matt, a fearless 19-year-old Austrian ski instructor, went flying over the headwall at 45 miles per hour, eventually hitting 90 mph. Matt finished just under 6½ minutes, lopping 3 minutes off the race record.

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Loon Mountain Bike Park in Lincoln boasts fantastic machine-built downhill flow trails and lift services daily. Photo Courtesy: Loon Mountain

“Going over the lip is a terrifying experience, especially for the first time,” Matt told Skiing magazine in 1964. “When I got to the top of the headwall, I was moving much faster than I had expected. I knew the lip was fast and treacherous, and if I made a false move, I would take a terrible fall. On the spur of the moment, I decided to go all out — to schuss the headwall.”

Hundreds still make the annual pilgrimage to “Tuck’s” every spring, pitting their backcountry skills against Mother Nature. It remains a rite of passage for skiers and snowboarders, a true badge of courage.

“Most extreme skiers find themselves in Matt’s boots eventually, just to a smaller degree,” said Peter Tamposi, a New Hampshire lawyer and longtime Tuckerman addict. “Word is Matt didn’t exactly plan his epic run, but he brilliantly improvised on the fly and let them ride. That’s the hallmark of extreme skiing — try to make it look like you planned it that way, and keep smiling.”

You can get your thrills hang gliding and paragliding at Kitty Hawk Kites at Morningside Flight Park. Photo by Daniel Smithe

The good news for adrenaline junkies of all stripes is that New Hampshire offers a bevy of audacious activities during all four seasons, proving that “extreme” is as fashionable as ever. The following are some of our top choices. (Editor’s note: Our new Run NH magazine features “extreme” running events, including trail races, ultra-marathons and charity events.) Many events require pre-registration, so plan accordingly:

Two-wheeled treks

Held in the shadow of Mount Washington, the Big Day Brewing 24 Hours of Great Glen is an around-the-clock suffer-fest with solo and team categories. Each August, the race brings together competitors in the shared experiences of exhaustion, perseverance and “finally a euphoric sense of accomplishment,” said Che Elwell, of the co-ed team, Mary and the Swinging Cranks.

SIX03 Endurance’s Loon Mountain Race is a tough climb to North Peak. Make it to the top and you get bragging rights for running the Upper Walking Boss trail’s 400/0 grade. Photo by Joe Viger

“These events create a community of people who enjoy having fun and suffering,” Elwell said. “They’re full of people who like to challenge themselves and know that your team and competitors make you stronger and able to accomplish more.”

The granddaddy of hill-climb cycling events, the Mt. Washington Auto Road Bicycle Hillclimb is held the third Saturday of every August and benefits the Tin Mountain Center. For something not quite as steep, but no less challenging, the Crank the Kanc ride in May, hosted by the Mount Washington Valley Bicycling Club, is a 21.3-mile time trial held on the picturesque Kancamagus Highway.

In September, the Seacoast Century, hosted by the Granite State Wheelers, is one of New England’s best 100-mile rides, dipping into both Massachusetts and Maine along its route. The Trans-NH Bike Ride in June is a three-day supported ride from the Canadian border to Portsmouth, benefitting NH firefighters and Muscular Dystrophy Association.

If gravel is more your jam, the Granite State offers a number of epic off-pavement events, including the Raid Rockingham in Newmarket, the Kearsarge Klassic in Warner, Pavement Ends in Henniker, Dirty Roads Gravel Grinder in Winchester, Round Monadnock in Keene and the Rose Mountain Rumble in Lyndeborough.

The M.W. Otto Rhode Ski Race in January is the one time skiers can climb the entire Mt. Washington Auto Road. Photo by Joe Viger

The Highland Mountain Bike Park in Tilton, as well as similar-but-smaller parks at Loon Mountain in Lincoln and Cranmore Mountain Resort in North Conway, boast fantastic machine-built downhill flow trails and lift service daily. Highland also hosts a one-day fat bike event in February called the Winter Wooly.

Enduro race aficionados can push their limits at the MAXXIS ESC Stan’s Enduro Series at the Arrowhead Recreational Area in Claremont and at Monteau, NH. Cross-country racers should check out Race Day XC in June at Pats Peak Ski Area in Henniker, part of a nine-race series.

Gravity games

The multidiscipline Ski, Shoe & Fatbike to the Clouds is billed as “North America’s Toughest 10K.” Photo by Joe Viger

Nothing will get hearts pumping faster than soaring hundreds and hundreds of feet above terra firma before pulling your rip cord. Based along the state’s southern border, Skydive Pepperill is a parachuting dream. Nearby, Sky Venture New Hampshire in Nashua provides an indoor version.

Hang gliding and paragliding more your style? Consider the high-altitude thrills at Kitty Hawk Kites at Morningside Flight Park in Charleston, along the Vermont border. Of course, you don’t need to jump out of an airplane or slip into a hang glider to get your rush. Vertical Ventures Aviation helicopter tours out of Whitefield give passengers a true bird’s eye view of New Hampshire’s stunning North Country — a truly breathtaking treat during foliage season.

Motorized mayhem

The internal-combustion crowd will love the Team O’Neil Rally School in Dalton. The 563-acre location also hosts the North Atlantic Audi Club’s Winter Driving School. Both schools, predictably, start with classroom sessions that cover all aspects of white-knuckle driving, said longtime instructor Josh Anthony.

“You then get to put the theory into practice on a variety of slippery surfaces — ice, packed snow, loose snow — in a safe and controlled environment, practicing several different drills and exercises,” Anthony said. “At the end of the course, you get to put all the individual exercises together in a final, autocross-style course.”

For another way to channel your favorite character from “The Fast and the Furious,”
New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon is home to several high-octane auto racing camps, such as Xtreme Xperience and the NASCAR Racing Experience, run on a world-class track with performance rigs that most of us can only dream about piloting. (Check out this issue’s “What Do You Know” on page 42 for more information.)

The Gerry Pomerleau Memorial Ride, also known as NH ATV Day, gives four-wheelers exclusive access to rule the Mt. Washington Auto Road in late June (the event benefits the NH ATV Club). When the temperatures drop, Northern Extremes snowmobiling tours in Bretton Woods keep thrill-seekers on the move.

Athlete On A Snowmobile Moving In The Mountains At Sunset.

Northern Extremes snowmobiling tours in Bretton Woods delivers high-speed fun. Photo by Meow Creations

Frigid fun

Speaking of winter, the M.W. Otto Rhode Ski Race in January, a joint effort of the Granite Backcountry Alliance and Great Glen Trails Outdoor Center, is the one time skiers can climb the entire Mt. Washington Auto Road. Similarly, the multidiscipline Ski, Shoe & Fatbike to the Clouds course encompasses 4 kilometers of the Great Glen Trails system and 6 kilometers on the Auto Road. With 2,200 feet of elevation gain, it is billed as “North America’s Toughest 10K.”

The Tuckerman Inferno Pentathlon is an ode to the original Inferno races, an extended ski race from the top of the mountain to the valley floor below, while adding an intriguing multi-sport relay format. The event incorporates ski mountaineering, Nordic skiing, fat biking, snowshoeing and mountain running.

And finally, the annual Skijor Galore at Waterville Valley features horses pulling skiers through a course packed with obstacles and jumps. Wild, right? Like most extreme events, the race is guaranteed to spike your heart rate but isn’t recommended for the faint of heart.