The Vanished Old Man of the Mountain

[@angela_paolantonio-baldwin]

I still can't believe he's gone. We went here all the time as a kid in the 80's and 90's on our way to Story land and Santa's Village and it was so fascinating and exciting to see. It's just not the same driving through there now. Thank you for your videos! Love them- you always capture things so well 😊

[@crackerbarrel6965]

I was fortunate enough to see this waaaay back when I was a kid. I’ve got the original slides my dad took of it still. Rest in pieces Old Man.

[@JOHN27398]

When I was a kid I live in Franconia nh i use to ride by there alot . I remember when they put the interstate through there and all the grown ups were worried that the blasting from the interstate would affect the old man. It's July 4th 2023 and I really appreciate you making this video so that I could see a little bit of home.

[@UZEETM]

The guy who came up the idea of the recreation deserves a promotion

[@M.TTT.]

💯 💯 💯

[@scottrider641]

You narrated such a fascinating story along with beautiful videography. Great job. Thanks, Chris

[@MobileInstinct2]

Thanks Scott

[@TheCoronerGirl]

Really enjoy the little gems you always show us!! Another great one. 😊

[@SaltyNationalist]

Thanks for sharing this gem of history Chris.. I lived in Maine when that happened.. And it was a huge story everywhere..

[@kwgm8578]

My grandmother lived on the east side of Blue Mountain in South Ryegate, Vt. in the 1960s. On clear days, through a spotting scope that sat atop the tripod looking out the big picture window in her living room, we could see The Old Man in profile, and at night, a bright white light that marked the Mt. Washington Weather Station above Franconia Notch. On a visit to that same viewing site in New Hampshire, I bought a green and white Franconia Notch pennant that I tacked to the wall of my room, so that I could view that famous profile of The Old Man of the Mountain, year-round. Even though it has been over 50 years since I've seen that famous granite outcrop, or the boy's pennant, I mourn this priceless geological loss with New Hampshire natives everywhere. Once the geology bug bites, you're caught for life, whether its this NH granite, or Roxky Moun

[@michaelmcenery7515]

one of the reasons i luv your videos, Chris you put such great research in to them! Glad the moose didnt hit your car safe travels & im going to continue with you on these amazing journeys you take

[@RadSalacan]

I hope you were able to go up Cannon Mountain right next to the old man. There is a cable car that goes to the top. I also believe that it has the steepest ski trail on the east coast on it.

[@timfaust7748]

I might have missed you mentioning it, but I believe it was so foggy the day/night it fell that noone knew it had disappeared until the following day.

[@madratter]

I was fortunate enough to see the old man a half dozen times in my life. When my mother first drove us to it at 5 or 6 years old it instantly became my favorite trip which I continued to enjoy several times up until it fell. Sad day for sure

[@sneaks01]

I was there the day before it fell. Was sad to lose him!

[@adventuresintvland]

We stopped at this site in 2018. I remember hearing about the Old Man falling. Thought the tribute memorial was well done. Thank you for sharing!

[@sallykohorst8803]

I never heard of that before so thanks for sharing. 14 thousand years wow! Its too bad it fell. Now to see it for yourself how cool thanks.

[@debbeb4499]

Nice job as always, Chris. When you get to Maine if you have a chance you might find Matinicus Island an interesting stop. There is a dramatic story of a 15-year old girl, Abbie Burgess, who in 1856 kept the Matinicus Rock lighthouse burning during a wild winter storm, and for a few weeks thereafter, while her father was off the Rock getting supplies. He was unable to get back to the lighthouse sooner due to the severe weather. You'd also be in the puffin sightseeing area.

[@monsterglo]

Great job telling the history, sad he is gone, I remember hearing about him, thanks for going to these places, it's like a vacation for me 😊

[@bobgaysummerland]

It was a family trip through Franconia Notch every summer and the Old Man was the star of the ride.

[@sycamoreandsalt]

Recently moved to New Hampshire and keep discovering new jaw-dropping views... it is a very grand little state. Thanks for sharing!

[@RandySchartiger]

thank you for sharing this very cool and interesting find!

[@HM2SGT]

Niels Nielsen was a friend of my father's. I remember him fondly, & I wish I'd paid more attention to his work - but I was just a kid.

[@stepps511]

Thanks, Chris! Fascinating story. Nature will have its way.

[@williammcgeehan3424]

It looked like Rock 'em Sock 'em robots in profile.

[@JohnShinn1960]

😆 Yes.

[@djmossssomjd8496]

I'm in England so never heard of the old man. Shame hes gone. Hope your well Chris, you look a little tired.

[@brendakrieger7000]

Thanks for sharing, ashame it's gone now💔🙀

[@Joe-oi6eh]

As a life long NH resident it really does hurt drivein thru the notch and the old man not watching over

[@valariebedard2164]

That was cool! Interesting veiw. First time I saw. Thanks for sharing it...😊

[@shirala1972]

I’m from Massachusetts and when I was a kid my family drove up there to see it, it was really cool. I was sad to see that it fell 😊

[@Chris_at_Home]

I have a black and white picture of the Old Man I took with an old 110 film camera around 1963. My Dad had a friend with a cabin in Franconia Notch and we would go there in the summer.

[@raymondhoagland4976]

Was there many years ago and got to see the Old Man of the Mountain , unfortunately over time mother nature catches up ☔❄ !

[@Liz-cmc313]

I never went there but it was an an icon. Sad its gone, especially being there for thousands and thousands of years.

[@ernestj3081]

Mother Nature makes it, and she taketh away 🙏🏻 😮😢 Great piece of amazing history Chris 💙🙏🏻💙

[@thomasmiller3941]

You know you’re from NH when you get excited about seeing your small state anywhere.

[@Metalkitty33]

My home state . Still very sad that he is gone .

[@rumrunner1756]

Man oh man. I just replied to you about this yesterday. You must have read my mind. 😂 Thanks Chris. Love my home state. Now I feel a need to get back there!

[@MobileInstinct2]

Haha

[@railroad9000]

I'm from Rhode Island and remember going to Hew Hampshire to see this iconic rock. Shame it is no longer!

[@R32R38]

No one saw the collapse, which happened during the middle of the night, and the exact time is unknown.

[@MobileInstinct2]

Yes I remember reading that

[@briandonahue3663]

I got him Tattooed in 2003 after he fell! And The Old lady is a sight to see as well.

[@HM2SGT]

😺👍 I think you and I might be about the only people that know about the old lady

[@rangerider51]

I was stationed at Fort Devens, Massachusetts in 1979 and a buddy and I went to see it then. Pretty cool but I thought it crumbled because they let climbers climb on it. Too bad it’s been gone for so long. At least i got pictures of it back in 1979. Thanks for info.

[@susandockery1838]

That’s amazing. So cool

[@maryjames7193]

I remember when it fell. Thank you for your update. Very interesting.

[@zacshaheen8286]

When i was a kid we did several school field trips to thr old man, when he was still there. I miss it so bad

[@SteelyBud]

Living in Texas, 2,000 miles from New Hampshire, I was totally ignorant of this. Even as someone who still uses quarters. When I saw the title and the words "They all couldn't save him" in the thumbnail, I thought it was a sad, tragic story of a literal old man who fell off a mountain. 🤦‍♂ But I still learned something interesting!

[@absatwell8163]

You should go to Monhegan Island, Maine, or at least to a smaller island near it. Old folklore said a hermit lived on that island alone. That’s what I heard about 30 years ago anyway.

[@no_handle_required]

What a great way to preserve the view though...

[@jeepsahara333]

Jersey Girl- will most likely never get to New Hampshire, appreciate the content!

[@Naturephile55]

Thanks for your presentation.

[@michaelgilbert7973]

I used to live in New Hampshire and I went there many times as a kid it is weird not seeing him there

[@HM2SGT]

General Stark's complete quote is *_Live Free or Die, for death is not the worst of evils._* From a toast which General Stark sent to his wartime comrades, in which he declined an invitation to head up a 32nd anniversary reunion of the 1777 Battle of Bennington.

[@anthonycalbillo9376]

Nothing should be taken for granite.

[@absatwell8163]

Boo, dad. 🤣

[@anthonycalbillo9376]

@@absatwell8163 I know, get off the stage....

[@absatwell8163]

@@anthonycalbillo9376 Ha. Brother and niece came to visit and he said, “I have this entire book of great dad jokes in the car”. We both said, “and that’s where it should stay”. 🤣

[@tiffanyburton1986]

😂😂😂

[@Edwarddiaz21]

Nothing should be taken for granite, you're right. However, sometimes things can go shale.😁😆😅🤣

[@ed6850]

I was so sad when the old man fell. It was a sad day.

[@bennetts-revenge_2]

Oh my goodness I cant believe its gone! I saw the the old man inthw mountain yrs ago when I up to New Hampshire on my honeymoon

[@tashasmith6179]

Well this here southern never heard of him but i sure wished i could've seen him. Thanks Chris. That was a neat little video

[@nikkigardiner9426]

Thank you, Chris! ❤

[@20807shane]

Really neat. Wish I could’ve seen it. I like the pole deal that’s nifty.

[@Modeltnick]

They even talked about building a fiberglass replacement and mounting it up there.

[@FatherMcKenzie66]

what a wonderful place

[@sugarandpennythepooh1211]

Thank you, I had never heard of it. 😊❤️🙏

[@Carolbearce]

Very interesting and I had heard of it but never saw it in person. So sad it is gone.

[@peterrichard3706]

Went camping one year there 1965. Saw him there.

[@wendy-klmfan1548]

thanks for sharing!!

[@Laakona]

I was in Camp Speicher, Iraq, Jan 2007, when American Forces TV had a CNN story about a guy in NJ arrested for selling granite rocks claiming that they were fragments of The Old Man.

[@anndevore7549]

I miss THE OLD MAN ON THE MOUNTAIN 😢💔

[@scottl8137]

I was lucky enough to see it in person a few months b4 it fell to its demise and was shocked that it actually had fell after everything

[@danmanning4129]

My grandmother brought us up to Bethlehem every year to ski at Bretton woods during February vacation, and every time we went up, my cousins and I would fight to get a view of the old man. Punching and pushing each other out of the way to cement our snotty faces against the windows of her Buick to see him, even when it was dark (the old man on a full moon was a sight to see). I was deployed to Iraq when the old man fell, and it was as equally doleful as anything else I had experienced that year. After getting out of the military, I have made northern New Hampshire my home, and I wander the mountains of Franconia Notch and still look up at where the old man stood watch. Every year I visit the old woman of the notch (The watcher), and talk to her about the old man while looking up at his place from eagle cliff/Mt. Lafayette on the other side of the notch. The old man is still there, the ambience of that area is one of a kind and something I have never experienced anywhere else in my travels around the world.

[@johnlazlo1908]

Had the opportunity to see it two times.. Sad that it is gone.. Down the road from Clarks Trading Post..

[@noeraldinkabam]

He went the way of all old men. Sad but true. The old men we love go, the old me we can do without however….

[@andreajohnson1796]

Sad that it's gone but awesome seen on quarters

[@Thecorgially]

14,000 years ago. Whow.

[@NaomisAdventures]

That would've been neat to be able to see it

[@c103110a]

I saw the Old Man before he took a shitter. It was a beautiful day - a bit crowded though. Still have the photos though!

[@jimsoutdooradventures2748]

RIP Old Man

[@kdogg7882]

Just kayaked Echo Lake this past week. It was lightly raining so there was no one there.

[@samanthab1923]

So sad. I remember when this happened 😮

[@bryanmorrow9235]

I went there when I was a young boy and seen it.

[@medionlvr]

i've had the privilege to have seen him many times

[@sandysue202]

Kinda sad that the face has fallen away now but it was a very interesting story about what used to be.

[@bigghoss762]

A moose the size of a horse would be a small moose.

[@SeventhSonStudios]

Did they do anything with the granite after it fell?

[@JedCurrie]

Good video.

[@aimeemoore1094]

How exciting I always wanted to see a moose

[@MobileInstinct2]

I was soo excited!

[@ModeSOLOgaming]

Someone out there believes that it was an ancient face carved out the mountain from a lost civilization thousands of years old.

[@HM2SGT]

*"Men hang out their signs indicative of their respective trades; shoe makers hang out a gigantic shoe; jewelers a monster watch, and the dentist hangs out a gold tooth; but up in the Mountains of New Hampshire, God Almighty has hung out a sign to show that there He makes men."*

[@taslimchoudhary1253]

Awesome!! 🌵🎄🇮🇳🌵🎄

[@primeorbit]

In cartoonland, Wile E. Coyote would have been standing on top of the rock face when it collapsed.

[@joestrike8537]

if they can have 4 gigantic presidential heads carved outof a mountainside in North Dakota they should likewise be able to similarly recreate the Old Man

[@scottl8137]

The first moose i ever saw was in Southwest Harbor Me. on a dark dirt road headed back to our campsite... Driving in my dads VW and just saw this giant rearend of this beast appear out of the darkness. Slammed on the brakes, stalled the bug, and heard my dad say start it up quickly incase u made it mad and it charges us! 😂😂😂 Thing was huge, if we hit it they wouldn't be able to separate it, us, and the car for burial

[@chickenwing111]

New Hampshire: the Live, Freeze and Die state

[@kb1kos]

I don't have to go there and use my imagine. I have memory. I saw it in the 1970s.

[@Chris-bz6wl]

Head on over to Lincoln and view Indian Head.

[@mypeeps333]

They Took him for Granite ! 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@janmcguire5268]

He looks a bit like Lord Voldemort now, with a flat profile.

[@tbyrdinhand3346]

There’s another granite area that resembles a Native American head. I’m not sure why it’s not as popular.

[@HM2SGT]

The Indian Head. The Indian Head Resort is across the street. The Rock was exposed during a forest fire in the early 20th Century IIRC

[@organisten]

No, thou dost not mean "they all could not save him". If thou didst, then that would mean that SOME could have saved him. What thou meanest is that NO ONE could save him!

[@dezertraider]

THANK YOU CHRIS..IF EVER OUTSIDE CORTEZ CO,DO A VIDEO ON -SLEEPING UTE...SATE TRAVELS..THANK YOU

[@MobileInstinct2]

I ll look it up. Thanks

[@bonniekaye]

😥💔

[@nathank4708]

Old man turned into a dog. Beware of the werewolves. 😂😂

[@cavy95]

Live free or die

[@kellymcgrane2690]

😥😰😱🙏

[@paulsmodels]

Gravity always wins out no matter how much we try to thwart it. Now there are these ugly rods sticking out of the rock as a testament to man's utter silliness at playing God.