In exchange, the Cog would agree to not to pursue further expansion on the summit.Ī spokesperson for the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Presby said the latest proposal, which includes plans to pipe sewage down the mountain and fiber-optic upgrades, has the support of the state. That project came under widespread criticism from environmentalists and hikers, who argued the 25,000-square-foot hotel would damage the fragile alpine ecology and destroy the scenic views. The project, presented earlier this month to the Mount Washington Commission, comes several years after Presby scrapped a plan to build a 35-room hotel on the mountain. “They want better facilities than what are being offered up there by the state of New Hampshire and everybody else.” People want to stay up on the mountain,” Presby said of the project that will require state and county permits and take up to seven years to complete. Nine sleeper cars would accommodate up to 70 guests who would pay similar rates to those charged on other sleepers.
Mount Washington Cog Railway owner Wayne Presby said the nearly $14 million project would station 18 rail cars at an elevation around 5,800 feet from mid May through mid-October. The owner of a historic railway that runs up Mount Washington is proposing to build upscale accommodations and a restaurant near the summit of New Hampshire’s highest peak.